World’s first rare whisky NFT in Bonham's auction

Bonham’s in Hong Kong is auctioning a single bottle of Gordon & MacPhail’s Glen Grant 72 year old whisky alongside a single one-off NFT artwork and its original which commemorates Hong Kong in the year 1948 when the whisky was first laid down in its cask.

The artwork was commissioned from celebrated South China Morning Post artist Harry Harrison, whose controversial sketches over the years have captured the unique essence of Hong Kong. It also marks the first time Harrison’s work has been minted as an NFT.

“The May auction is shaping up to be one of the most spectacular auctions of 2022,” said Daniel Lam, director of Fine and Rare Wines and Whisky at Bonham’s.

Bottle number 88 of only 290 of bottles of this remarkable 72 year old whisky set a world record price when auctioned a year ago by Bonham’s. “This time, with a world-first NFT artwork attached, we think it likely that the previous record for a single bottle of the rare Glen Grant 72 year old single malt will be exceeded and could even reach HK$1 million,” he added.

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Gordon & MacPhail’s Glen Grant 72 year old is one of the greatest and most historically significant whiskies ever produced. For serious drinkers, connoisseurs or investors looking for the Holy Grail of beautifully aged rare whisky, securing a bottle for their collection is a must. 

The NFT minted alongside one of these exceedingly rare bottles is the first project of Meta Malts, a newly formed Hong Kong company which plans to take the premium whisky market into “the metaverse” and create a Hong Kong-based crypto exchange for trading in rare whisky tokens.

“Our aim ultimately is to bring the realm of investment in fine and rare whisky to a much wider audience through tokenisation, allowing many more whisky enthusiasts to own a share of the world’s rarest malts” said Nicholas Breton, founder of Meta Malts and CEO of Premier Whisky who masterminded the production of the 72 year old rare whisky.

Recorded in the Top 5 Oldest Whiskies globally, this remarkable 1948 cask was named the World’s Finest Single Cask and “Scottish Single Malt Whisky of the Year – 2022”. 

Presented in a beautiful hand-cut crystal decanter, the finished product is a Premier Whisky masterpiece. A total of 200 bottles sold before the whisky ever hit the shelves, which is a good indicator of massive demand. Market expectations are that prices may reach more than £100,000 per bottle once the final allocation is diminished and this is traded in the secondary market.

The auction at Bonham’s in Hong Kong is scheduled on May 20, 2022.

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