Minibar Sized Bottle Of Rare Whisky Sells For Record-Breaking $12,100

In the world of rare whisky collecting, “miniatures” are increasingly hot property. The 50ml bottles might only be the size of a minibar Absolut Vodka, but one particularly rare vial of Springbank single malt just sold for a record-breaking £6,440 (AU$12,100).

In the past, rare whisky miniatures haven’t always been taken as seriously as their larger siblings. However, in a market where bottles of rare whisky can fetch hundreds of thousands and occasionally millions of dollars (just check out this Macallan or this Yamazaki), miniatures have become a more affordable entry point into the market.

The miniature in question contained a rare expression of Springbank single malt, which was distilled in 1919. Only 24 full-sized 700ml bottles were produced at the distillery when it was bottled in 1970, making this miniature likely to be one of the only surviving drops.

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The Springbank single malt miniature was sold as a part of a 400 bottle collection of miniatures that went under the hammer, which fetched an impressive £56,732 (AU$107,000) for the entire collection. The collection had been put together over four decades by Sukhinder Singh, the co-founder of the online whisky retailer The Whisky Exchange.

Understandably, Singh was delighted with the results, stating, “I am extremely pleased that after 40 years of collecting these miniatures they have found their way into other collections around the world.”

“Ten miniatures from my collection reached prices of £1,000 (AU$1,885) or more including the Springbank 1919, which achieved £6,440 (AU$12,100), breaking the record for the highest price ever paid for a miniature. I am thrilled to see that interest in miniature collecting is at an all-time high as it’s something I fell in love with four decades ago.”

The record-breaking miniature was sold by Whisky.Auction. The next quarterly miniature auction at Whisky.Auction will be held on 17 October 2021.