Whisky, Wine & Spirits

Here at the whisky, wine and spirits department we are busy researching and cataloguing for our upcoming auctions, providing insurance and other types of valuations for single bottles, cases and collections throughout Scotland and the north of England and helping clients with identifying unknown items held in their own personal collections or sourcing desired material. 

If you have a collection or bottle of whisky, wine or spirits that you wish to learn more about, have identified and valued or professionally catalogued and presented for auction then contact our specialist to receive free no obligation professional advice.

The whisky, wine and spirit auctions are held four to six times a year at our Edinburgh auction room and broadcast worldwide online to an international market. The department record for a single lot is the £3,300 achieved in August 2018 for a bottle of Macallan 1955 with damaged label. Other notable results include: 

£2,200 in April 2013 for a case of twelve bottles of vintage 1996 Chateau Haut Brion;
£2,000 in November 2022 for a bottle of Macallan 1982 18 year old;
£2,000 in April 2022 for a bottle of Macallan 1981 18 year old;
£1,800 in March 2019 for a bottle of Macallan 'Nicol's Nectar';
£1,400 in November 2019 for a bottle of Talisker 8 year old sherrywood whisky bottled by Gordon & MacPhail;
£1,100 in November 2022 for a bottle of Glenlivet 1963 Chairman's Reserve;
£950 in August 2019 for a bottle of Dalmore 1973 30 year old sherry cask finish whisky;
£900 in August 2020 for a bottle of Lagavulin 12 year old Scotch malt whisky; 
£900 in November 2019 for a bottle of Smith's Glenlivet 1948 unbleded potstill Highland malt Scotch whisky;
£550 in March 2019 for a bottle of Penfolds Grange Hermitage Bin 95 1966 vintage red wine; 
£550 in May 2017 for a bottle of Chateau D'Yquem 1945 vintage sauternes white wine;
£500 in May 2019 for a bottle of La Tache 1970 vintage red wine; 

You may have heard of Thomson Roddick from advertisements in publications including Token Publishing’s Coin Yearbook, Coin News, Stamp & Coin Mart, Spinks’ Coins of Scotland or the Antiques Trade Gazette, The Scotsman or Scottish Field. If you are social media inclined, and don’t follow us yet, then we are on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook: you can find our social media icons in the footer of the website to start following us. Perhaps you have seen a member of our team on tv recently? We feature regularly on Bargain Hunt, Antiques Road Trip, Dickinson’s Real Deal, Cash in the Attic and the much missed Flog It, or you may have met one of our valuers presenting a talk on antiques to your local group.

We like jargon, if you do too, then here are some related jargon and terms that you may find in one of our coin and banknote auction catalogues:
Malt     Scotch     Whisky     Whiskey     Miniature     Blended     Distilled     Pot Still     Ardbeg     Macallan     Bruichladdich     Port Ellen     Cadenhead     Laing     Gordon & Macphail     Signatory     Decanter     Gin     Brandy     Cognac     Champagne     Port     Wine

Gavin Durward Tavendale BSc (Hons) is the head of Department and is always happy to conduct free no obligation valuations whether that be in person at the auction room, over email or in the comfort of your own home. 
Gavin can be contacted by telephone on 0131 440 2448 or by email edinburgh@thomsonroddick.com.