A cask of Macallan 1991 achieved a world record price at Bonhams on August 20 when it sold for HK$4,464,000, or about £417,505. The cask, which will yield 202 bottles, sold for the highest per-bottle price for any whisky cask offered at auction, equating to HK$22,099, or £2,040.

Commenting on the result, Daniel Lam, Bonhams director of Wine and Spirits, Asia, said: “In terms of both buying and selling, 2021 has been a strong and resilient market for whisky. Our year-to-date total has surpassed that for the same period before COVID-19 in 2019.

“Cask-collecting is fast growing as a trend and one which has become a Bonhams speciality. In 2019, we set a world record when we sold a Macallan 1989 cask for a per-bottle price of HK$17,103. The cask in this sale has achieved a per-bottle price of HK$22,099 – and a new world record – a very strong increase in just two years. Meanwhile, Japanese whisky continues to be a hotly contested field, with Yamazaki and Karuizawa lots 100% sold in our sale. The announcement that the final editions of Karuizawa whisky will be released later this year has fuelled demand.”