A very rare set of whiskies are on-sale now on an Aberdeenshire auction site.
The series of casks were created by Holyrood Distillery, Edinburgh’s first single malt distillery for almost a century.
They are up for sale on Whisky Hammer, which is based in Udny.
Holyrood Distillery is recreating historic single malt whiskies based on those produced during the city’s distilling past.
They are selling them exclusively on Whisky Hammer.
What’s on offer?
The distillery has adopted the whisky-making styles used in the 1800s and early 1900s and is filling 30 casks with barley varieties from that period: Chevallier barley and Plumage Archer.
Each winning bidder will get to choose what barley they want and choose what wood to age the whisky in: American oak Olorose Sherry Hogsheads or Spanish oak Pedro Ximenez Sherry Hogsheads.
The casks will be filled with spirit in early 2021 and left to mature into Scotch whisky.
The auction went live last Friday with bids starting at £3,000 for each numbered cask.
It closes at 7pm on Sunday.
Holyrood history
The majority of Edinburgh’s distilleries closed in the 19th century, with the last ones being Dean (shut in 1922) and Glen Sciennes (shut in 1925).
Holyrood Distillery opened in 2019.
The company starting distilling in September last year in the city centre.
They are located in the heart of Edinburgh’s historic distilling district, on St. Leonard’s Lane.
Holyrood renovated the 180-year-old building and now produces gin, liqueurs, and whisky.
David Robertson, the co-founder of Holyrood Distillery, said: “It’s great to see the interest in these unique casks.
“At Holyrood Distillery, we’ve taken a contemporary, flavour-led approach to our spirits, so recreating these historic whisky styles has been a fascinating process for us.
“I know the lucky winners will enjoy continuing this journey with us as they watch their whisky develop and mature.”
Whisky Hammer
Whisky Hammer launched in 2016 and auctions lots of rare and collectible whiskies.
Their partnership with Holyrood Distillery marks the company’s first dedicated cask auction.
In October, the company auctioned a rare bottle of the world’s oldest whisky ever released by Macallan, a 78-year-old from the producer’s Red Collection for £92,500.
They also recently relocated to a new purpose-built facility in Udny.
Daniel Milne, managing director of Whisky Hammer, said: “Since the Holyrood Distillery cask auction went live on Friday, we’ve had great interest with a number of bids arriving from across the world.
“Purchasing whisky by the cask is continuing to grow in popularity, and we feel this is offering is further enhanced given Holyrood’s innovative recreation of historic Edinburgh heritage whiskies.
“We’re honoured to partner with Holyrood Distillery to offer these casks exclusively to our customers and would urge anyone interested in participating in the auction not to miss out on this fantastic opportunity.”
How to get involved
To bid in the Holyrood 2021 Heritage Barley cask auction, visit here.
New members can sign-up to bid using Whisky Hammer’s quick and straightforward registration process.