Thousands of Bottles From the World’s Biggest Private Whiskey Collection Are Now Up for Sale

Bryan Hood
·3 min read

It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you set your mind to something. Take, for example, the whisky novice who ended up compiling the world’s largest and most diverse collection. And now that assemblage of 9,000 bottles is going up for auction.

Starting on Friday, selections from Pat’s Whisk(e)y Collection will hit the block courtesy of Whisky Auctioneer. The massive collection, which includes bottles from over 150 Scottish distilleries, as well as rare releases from independent bottlers and other labels from around the globe, is considered one of the most complete ever put together by a single individual.

So how exactly does a novice stumble into building history’s largest private whisky collection? As legend has it, the mysterious Pat, who wishes to remain nameless, just wanted to acquire bottles he could open, enjoy and share with friends and family. But as his passion and collection grew, so did his determination to explore every aspect and area of the spirit. Next thing he knew, 15 years had passed, and he’d collected 9,000 bottles.

And now the first selection of offerings from the collection will go up for auction. This assortment of bottles includes whiskies from around the world as well as a number of rare ranges, according to the auction house. Of particular note are bottles from sought-after Japanese distilleries Karuizawa and Hanyu, as well as ranges from Daftmill, Bowmore, Port Ellen, Caperdonich and Highland Park from the Duncan Taylor Tantalus series. If that wasn’t enticing enough, some of the lots have never appeared at auction before now.

“I have always fought against whisky snobbery and wanted to create a collection for drinking and enjoying responsibly,” Pat said in a statement. “Good whisky can be discovered literally anywhere and come at any price, wherein lies its beauty. The significance of this wide range of whisky styles, from single malts to grain and blends, is that it’s unlikely anybody will ever be able to replicate such a collection on the open market without directly acquiring large private collections. Many bottles included will simply never or at least rarely be available again. I was fortunate to start my collection at the time I did.”

The first bottles and ranges from “Pat’s Whisk(e)y Collection” will be available for bid on Whisky Auctioneer from September 25 to October 5. The rest of the collection is scheduled to go up for bid in different spotlight auctions between now and next June.

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