Laphroaig 1967 15-year-old Sherry Wood smashes record sale at over £60,000

A rare bottle of Laphroaig 1967 15-year-old Sherry Wood whisky signed by the late bottler Silvano Samaroli has sold for $79,000 (£61,233) at auction, smashing all known records for the malt.

(Photo: Whisky Auctioneer)

The bottle was auctioned online in a sale that started on 27 July, and closed on Monday 6 August. It was initially expected to go for anywhere upwards of £25,000.

The £61,000 hammer price it achieved is up from the last auction sale of a Laphroaig 1967 Samaroli in 2014 for £5,700 — the equivalent of a 240% annual increase in value.

More than 65 collectors from around the world placed bid on the rare bottle — one of just 720 in circulation — with the eventual winner coming from Germany.

The Laphroaig auction follows on the heels of another high-stakes bottle of Bowmore 1966 Samaroli Bouquet that made over £50,000 in a sale last month.

The next auction goes live on 24 August and will close on 3 September.

Sean McGlone, director at Whisky Auctioneer, said his team have witnessed “an increasing demand” for rare and limited edition bottles of Scotch.

“The Laphroaig 1967 Samaroli was sure to draw a huge amount of attention and interest,” he said, “with the added uniqueness of the bottle being signed by the legendary Silvano Samaroli himself.”

“We are seeing an increase in demand in the market for rare and sought-after whiskies, particularly these admired bottlings from Samaroli.”

The news comes as the popularity of Scotch whisky has started to grow worldwide, following years of decline.

As part its annual survey, The Scotch Whisky Association found that spending at visitor centres rose 15.6% to reach £60.9 million with the highest number of whisky tourists hailing from Germany and the US, following by India, China and Japan.