One of Speyside’s most famous distilleries has raised £240,000 in a online auction for local charities affected by the pandemic.
Glenfiddich auctioned off 450 bottles of the 2007 Spirit of Speyside Distillery Edition 2020 which attracted 13,000 bidders from 55 countries.
On top of the £215,000 raised by the auction, an additional contribution of over £24,000 was added to the overall auction result by host Whisky Auctioneer.
The online whisky auction specialist donated the 10% buyers’ commission plus fees from registrations.
On average each lot sold for £480.
Moray Food Plus, Kierans Legacy and NHS Grampian benefited from the auction fundraiser.
Glenfiddich Global Brand Director Claudia Falcone said: “We are thrilled with the success of this auction.
“The money raised will help so many people in the Speyside community, a community that is as important to us today as it was to William Grant over 130 years ago when the distillery first opened.”
Founder of Whisky Auctioneer Iain McClune added: “We’re incredibly proud to have hosted the sale of this exceptional Glenfiddich bottling, and to contribute to the funds raised.
“The auction has captured the attention of the generous global whisky community and will make a real difference to those in need during these difficult times.”
NHS Grampian Endowment Fund operations manager Sheena Lonchay was grateful for the cash received from the whisky firm’s charity auction.
She said: “We’re grateful to hear that we are one of the benefiting charities of the online auction organised directly by Glenfiddich Distillery.
“The money raised will go towards supporting our NHS Staff and helping to provide extras for patients in hospital to make their stay more comfortable across Grampian.”
The Keiran’s Legacy charity received money from the auction to help in their mission to deploy more defibrillators and improve education about saving lives.
The charity continues to urge people in communities without a defibrillator who have been actively trying to raise funds for one to contact them on keiranslegacy@outlook.com or call 07776373747.
Meanwhile Moray Food Plus’s project manager Mairi McCallum was pleased that the foodbank benefited from the charity auction.
She added: “We would like to thank Struan and everyone at William Grant & Sons for including us as one of the charities who will benefit from this auction.
“It has been a very innovative and exciting way to raise funds and will help us continue to deliver services and expand the work we do during what has proven to be our busiest year so far.”