Marketing

€15,000 for a bottle of Midleton, anyone?

A bottle of Midleton 30th Anniversary Pearl Edition goes under the hammer at the second-ever Irish Whiskey Auctions.

One of only 117 bottles available worldwide, it’s expected to sell for around €15,000.

The exclusive premium Irish whiskey is just one of over 200 lots to be listed on the online auction which goes live on 16th November at www.IrishWhiskeyAuctions.ie.

Organised by Irish Whiskey Auctions, the company held its first auction last month with 167 lots up for sale and buyers logging-on and bidding from Ireland, the UK, Germany, the US and Singapore. Among the lots sold was a complete collection of Irish Midleton Very Rare (34 bottles) for €36,100 to a publican from Waterford and an early collection of 10 bottles of small-batch Dingle whiskey which sold for €5,500, bought by a bidder in Singapore.

“In January this year, the idea of building Irish Whiskey Auctions came to me during a conversation in L Mulligan whiskey shop, Dublin,” explains Anthony Sheehy, Founder of Irish Whiskey Auctions, “In less than one year we’ve superseded all our expectations, launching and hosting ‘Ireland’s first online whiskey auction’ with 167 lots and the average bottle selling for €550 – significantly surpassing our expectations of €200 for the average bottle in the first auction.

Irishwhiskeyauctions.ie registered over 250,000 hits during the final 24 hours of its inaugural auction.

“We’ve set our sights high for the huge potential for Irish Whiskey Auctions – especially within the home market, the States and China,”  said Anthony.

Running for nine days, the next online auction, launching on November 16th at 5pm, runs until 7pm Sunday 25th November. Users must register to participate in the Auctions, but sellers can sell for free as there’s no listing fee for the November auction.

Irish Whiskey Auctions was founded by Irish couple Anthony and Catherine Sheehy and investors include publican and whiskey enthusiast Alan Campbell, owner of The Bankers Bar on Dublin’s Trinity Street and Willie Aherne, owner of the iconic Palace Bar in Dublin’s Fleet Street.

The company has already invested over €100,000 in creating the online platform and developing bespoke technology to enable a streamlined and fair auctioneering process such as the automatic page refresh every two seconds which ensures buyers have the most up-to-date information in real-time.

“I’ve been involved in the whiskey world for the last 20 years and whilst whiskey auctions are common across the UK and indeed Europe, it’s hard to believe there wasn’t an online whiskey business portal in Ireland before now,” commented Alan Campbell, who’s also Chairman of the Licensed Vintners Association, “When Anthony approached me about this opportunity, coupled with my knowledge of the market and the export growth figures, it was a simple decision to get involved. I’m excited to be a part of this new venture and am looking forward to seeing some amazing and rare whiskies come to light.”

The Palace Bar’s Willie Aherne added, “Whiskey runs throughout our family history at The Palace Bar, so much so, in October 2013 I opened the Whiskey Palace above my family-owned tavern – The Palace Bar – and we even produce our own whiskey brand.”

With monthly auctions planned, the company has appealed for people from across Ireland to check their cupboards and presses for hidden treasures – whether it’s a bottle, case or a complete collection – which could be sold in one of its upcoming auctions or to get in touch for a free valuation.


Sign Up for Drinks Industry Ireland

Get a free weekly update on Drinks Industry trade news, direct to your inbox. Sign up now, it's free