Miniature Bottle of Rare, 100-Year-Old Whisky Sells for $8,863

A miniature bottle of Scotch whisky, containing just 50 milliliters of the rarefied liquid, recently sold at auction for the exorbitantly high price of £6,440 (approximately $8,863 USD).

The production of Scotch whisky is serious business, and rare bottles are known to sell at a hefty price. According to the Scotch Whisky Association, the beverage dates back at least to the 15th century. By 1644, the Scottish Parliament had begun imposing tariffs on its sale, prompting “an increase in illicit whisky distilling across Scotland.”

In the present day, Scotch Whisky is enjoyed globally—but the beverage must meet strict standards in order to protect the product’s heritage and quality. “Scotch Whisky must, by law, be distilled and matured in Scotland in oak casks for at least three years and bottled at a minimum alcoholic strength of 40 percent abv [alcohol by volume],” noted the organization.

According to BBC News, this particular whisky was distilled in 1919, at Campbeltown’s Springbank Distillery. It was one of over 400 bottles in a collection that, collectively, sold for a grand total of £56,732.95 ($78,082.13 USD).

Sukhinder Singh, a whisky collector and co-founder of The Whisky Exchange, put the miniature, 50 milliliter bottles up for sale. “I am extremely pleased that after 40 years of collecting these miniatures they have found their way into other collections around the world,” said Singh to the BBC.

The Springbank whisky is highly-coveted: the distillery only ever produced 24 full-sized bottles, all the way back in 1970. At the time, it was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the globe’s most expensive whisky.

Of the 400 miniatures Singh put up for auction, ten yielded prices exceeding £1,000 ($1,376.20 USD). All of the items were sold via online auction, at Whisky.Auction.

Singh decided to put his massive collection on sale to make room for new whiskies, noted BBC News. He is holding onto only one bottle from each distillery, which he will reportedly put on display.

According to the Daily Record, the nearly-$9,000 bottle is the highest price ever paid for a miniature. “I am thrilled to see that interest in miniature collecting is at an all-time high as it’s something I fell in love with four decades ago,” said Singh.

Auction director at Whisky.Auction Isabel Graham-Yooll told the news outlet there’s recently been a “​​wonderful renaissance” for whisky miniatures.

She added: “Bidders are willing to pay what seems like a lot of money for tiny bottles of whisky but it is the opportunity to taste a piece of history—particularly when standard 70cl or 75cl formats have become inaccessible for many enthusiasts to buy.”