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The Thomson
family, owners of one of Scotland's
largest private collections of rare
Scotch whisky casks have said that they
may sell all or part of their collection
if the offer is right.
The Thomson
family, owners of one of Scotland's
largest private collections of rare
Scotch whisky casks have said that they
may sell all or part of their collection
if the offer is right.
The announcement follows
the recent record breaking sale where a
full cask of The Macallan 30 Year Old
whisky, owned by the Thomson family,
Cask No. 3335, was sold in Spink's Hong
Kong auction for a record price of
£285,000.
Not only does that Macallan 30 year old
cask enjoy the record of the highest
price realised at auction, but is also
the most expensive per-bottle cask sold
in auction worldwide as it only produces
288 bottles, coming to a price of almost
£1000 per-bottle.
Following the sale of the single cask of
Macallan this is the first time that the
Thomson family have indicated that they
may sell their incredible portfolio of
casks which includes more than 150 casks
of single malt and grain whiskies from
the Speyside, Islay and Highland regions
which were mostly distilled in the
1970's and 1980's, with more than a few
gems amongst them such as 1970 Macallan
butts and Glenlivet hogsheads casks.
You may ask how does a family accumulate
such a collection of whisky, well the
collection is owned by brothers Andrew
and Stuart Thomson, whose ancestors
entered the Scotch whisky industry in
the 18th Century.
Subsequent generations of the family
developed the business over the years,
in 1922 the family company of Peter
Thomson, based in Perth, and inspired by
the luxury Gleneagles hotel which had
just been built in the area created the
Beneagles Scotch blended whisky.
The company achieved international
success after World War II when it
decided to bottle the Beneagles whisky
in china decanters, for example
in the shape of a curling stone which
proved very popular in the USA. There
was also a series of chess pieces named
"The Thistle and the Rose" and a series
of birds of prey with the golden eagle
being very popular.
In the 1970s, the company was appointed
as sole agent for selling The Macallan
as a single malt throughout Scotland.
The Thomson brothers' father Michael
sold the business to the Stakis
Corporation in 1983 but the stock
holding of malt and grain whiskies
remained in the ownership of the family.
Most of the portfolio is stored at the
Macallan Distillery at Craigallechie in
Moray and Glenfarclas Distillery at
Ballindalloch, Speyside.
Andrew Thomson said selling the entire
collection was among several options
being considered by the family, adding:
"If anyone made us an offer for some or
all of the portfolio, we would be
obliged to look at it. If you look at it
in football terms, every footballer is
available at the right price."
If the Thomson family portfolio of
Macallan and Glenlivet single cask
whiskies is a little outside your budget
don't worry you will find something a
little easier on the pocket available
from specialist online whisky shops such
as
Master of
Malt
and
The Whisky Exchange
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