Glenfiddich auctions Spirit of Speyside bottling for Ukraine

Glenfiddich has announced it will be auctioning its 2022 Spirit of Speyside whisky bottling to support the people of Ukraine.

The single malt Scotch whisky brand will be autioning all 460 bottles of its limited-edition expression through Whisky Auctioneer, with all proceeds going to the Disasters Emergency Committee's Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal. The auction will run on whiskyauctioneer.com from 5-10 May.

One of the biggest and most highly respected events of the whisky calendar, the Spirit of Speyside Festival took place this year from 27 April to 2 May.

Claudia Falcone, Glenfiddich's global brand director, said: "Our teams around the world have been so shocked by the continuing impact of the conflict on the people of Ukraine and neighbouring countries that we decided to do what we can to help. 

"We have decided to use this year's Spirit of Speyside exclusive bottling to raise as much money as possible to support the Disasters Emergency Committee and its invaluable efforts in helping Ukrainian citizens and refugees on their long road to recovery in the months ahead."

Joe Wilson, head curator and spirits specialist at Whisky Auctioneer, said: "As the Glenfiddich Spirit of Speyside bottling is a highly sought-after release, we would expect that this rare edition will raise a great amount for such a worthy and important cause. To ensure as much as possible can be raised from the auction to support those affected by the conflict in Ukraine, we will also be waiving our selling fees and donating the 10 per cent buyer's commission in addition to the hammer price raised."

Created by Glenfiddich's malt master Brian Kinsman, the Spirit of Speyside 2022 edition, The Cooper's Cask, comprises whisky from three barrels: virgin American oak, ex-bourbon oak, and refill American oak.

Kinsman said: "This is a truly unique microvatting of three hand-crafted barrels coopered by Ian MacDonald, former head cooper at Glenfiddich. In 2009, Ian took it upon himself to experiment with building a barrel using a variety of oak types... His aim was to see how the casks would mature and how each type of oak would contribute to the final flavour. In 2022, we are delighted to reveal the results with a one-off release of 460 bottles from these very special casks."

The whisky has been bottled at cask strength of 60% in 70cl bottles which have each been hand-numbered and signed by Kinsman.

5 May 2022 - Bethany Whymark