The Whiskey Reviewer A World of Whiskey, Poured Every Weekday
The largest private collection of whisky ever to go to auction has been unveiled today (Monday 9 December). By value and volume, the collection is the most significant to ever go on public sale and has been described as ‘The Perfect Collection.’
The collection has been built and nurtured by the late Mr. Richard Gooding – an American private collector from Colorado. Mr. Gooding spent decades in pursuit of creating ‘The Perfect Collection’ of whisky, leaving no stone unturned by travelling regularly to Scotland with his pilot in search of special bottles at auctions and distilleries.
“The Perfect Collection” by Mr. Richard Gooding, consists of over 3,900 bottles of primarily single malt Scotch whisky and will be sold by Perthshire online whisky auction specialists, Whisky Auctioneer next year. The Collection is comprised of some of the most coveted, valuable and rare bottles from distilleries including The Macallan, Bowmore and Springbank, some of which are individually valued at over £1m.
The eclectic library of whiskies also consists of a number of bottlings from some of Scotland’s lost distilleries, including Old Orkney from Stromness Distillery and Dallas Dhu; some of these have never been seen before at auction, by whisky experts or connoisseurs.
Until recently, the Collection has been housed in Mr. Gooding’s ‘Pub’ – a dedicated room located in his Colorado family home that was specially designed to showcase each one of his whiskies in all their glory.
In what is a major coup for the Perthshire-based company and part of a growing trend of the democratization of whisky sales from traditional auction houses to online, each bottle in Mr. Gooding’s collection will go on sale next year over two separate auctions.
Nancy Gooding, wife of the late Mr. Gooding commented, “It was clear to us as a family that collecting Scotch was one of Richard’s greatest passions – an endeavor that spanned over two decades. He loved every aspect of it; from researching the many single malt distilleries to visiting them and tasting their whiskies.”
Iain McClune, Founder of Whisky Auctioneer, said, “This library of whiskies is filled with very special bottles, each of which has been researched and meticulously examined for condition and authenticity. Amongst the over 3,900 bottles is the largest collection of The Macallan ever to go to auction, including the limited opportunity to acquire the 1926 Valerio Adami and 1926 Fine & Rare 60 Year Old bottlings.”
“The Perfect Collection” by Mr Richard Gooding will go live on Whisky Auctioneer from 7-17 February and 10-20 April 2020.
