Public sale Debut for One of many Rarest Choices Ever from
The Balvenie Distillery
Hammer Proceeds from the Sale of
The Balvenie Non-public Cask Trunk to be Donated to WWF and The King’s Belief
On-line Public sale Open for Bidding Till 29 Could
LONDON, 19 Could 2025 – An distinctive alternative to amass one of many rarest choices ever from The Balvenie – or from any whisky distillery – is at the moment underway at Sotheby’s in London. Bidding is now open on a sale of Most interesting Whisky, through which The Balvenie 50 12 months Previous Non-public Cask #16560 Trunk is a headline lot. Fairly actually a treasure chest, the looks of this hyper-rare merchandise containing 10 bottles of single cask 50-year-old whisky from The Balvenie Distillery marks the primary time that any bottles from The Balvenie’s uncommon cask programme have been seen at public sale.
Each one of many 220 bottles produced from this cask – and the 22 wood trunks in whole through which they’re housed – is owned by one collector, who has kindly chosen to consign one of many trunks to public sale to ensure that the sale proceeds from the hammer value to be donated to 2 charities: WWF and The King’s Belief. Carrying an estimate of £240,000-450,000, The Balvenie Non-public Cask Trunk is obtainable to collectors till 29 Could solely.
Jonny Fowle, Sotheby’s International Head of Whisky & Spirits, mentioned: “This uncommon trunk represents not solely ten fantastically previous and uncommon bottles of whisky with distinctive presentation, however extra importantly, it’s a glimpse into the key world inside the higher echelons of whisky accumulating. The rarest providing from Balvenie has lastly grow to be public and all for the good thing about two very worthy charities.”Cask #16560 is among the few casks ever to be chosen for the William Grant & Sons Non-public Shopper cask supply “occasion sale”, an annual programme through which just one cask chosen from The Balvenie might be supplied to at least one fortunate non-public purchaser and bottled for them that 12 months. This Sherry Butt was chosen by The Balvenie Malt Grasp, David C. Stewart MBE, for its extraordinary richness of character and depth of color and bottled in 2021. On 14 December that 12 months, Cask #16560 was faraway from its house at The Balvenie distillery the place it lay for almost 51 years to be able to be remodeled into 220 darkish sherry whisky bottles.
The cask itself went on to grow to be not simply the inspiration for, however the instruments with which the labels have been designed. For the label design idea, The Balvenie workforce labored with award-winning Scottish artist Paul Furneaux to fee an unique paintings, from which 220 particular person and distinctive labels have been produced.
The place to begin was a go to to The Balvenie’s Cooperage, a barrel-making facility that permits this explicit distillery to manage high quality and creativity of their cask curation. Borrowing from a standard lithography method, Furneaux used the oak staves from Sherry Butt #16560 to create a collage of paint imprints on canvas utilizing varied colors and hues to invoke the Speyside panorama that surrounds the distillery. As soon as Furneaux’s imaginative and prescient was full and the paint had been utilized to canvas as a completed work, the ultimate piece was scanned after which divided into 220 particular person equal parts, one for every hand-applied label, giving each bottle from the cask its personal distinctive look.
On the again of every bottle is one other label containing the small print of the liquid. Every label is individually numbered, and every bottle is packed in an identical wood presentation case with a corresponding quantity etched into the highest. For extra data and detailed imagery of the manufacturing course of, please click on right here.
The ten bottles are every contained with a carved wood presentation case mounted with brass tube hinges. The circumstances have been lovingly produced and completed by hand and measured completely to suit the trunk itself. The stable oak trunk is laser engraved and gold gilded with the cask quantity and The Balvenie emblem, then completed with Renaissance wax. For extra data on the manufacturing course of of those presentation circumstances, please click on right here.
The WWF (World Huge Fund for Nature) is a world conservation group that works to guard the surroundings and protect biodiversity. It focuses on points like wildlife conservation, local weather change, deforestation, oceans and freshwater ecosystems, and selling sustainable practices. The WWF companions with governments, communities, and companies to create long-term options for a more healthy planet.
The King’s Belief, previously referred to as The Prince’s Belief, is a UK-based charity based in 1976 by King Charles III (then Prince of Wales). Its mission is to assist younger individuals aged 11 to 30 who’re going through challenges equivalent to unemployment, instructional difficulties, psychological well being points, or danger of exclusion. The Belief affords applications that assist younger people construct confidence, achieve abilities, and discover pathways into schooling, employment, or entrepreneurship. Since its inception, The King’s Belief has assisted over one million younger individuals within the UK and has expanded its attain internationally, working in additional than 20 international locations. By means of varied initiatives, it continues to empower youth to remodel their lives and obtain their potential.
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