The final 20 bottles of the Duke of Rothesay’s own whisky will be auctioned off to raise money for a Deeside community.
The Royal Lochnagar 30-year-old single malt is from the duke’s 1988 cask, which was produced at the distillery in Crathie.
All the funds raised from the last batch will be invested locally, in the recently redeveloped Old Royal Station at Ballater.
A fire devastated the station building in 2015, and it lay empty until re-opening, fully refurbished and to great fanfare, last year.
A recent auction of bottle number one of the prince’s single malt raised £9,100, and the foundation is releasing the remaining bottles for auction in March.
In total, the cask has raised £235,865 to support the foundation’s work in getting Ballater back on its feet after the fire.
“We are overwhelmed by the interest in His Royal Highness’s cask of Royal Lochnagar Scotch Whisky and would like to give every chance for people to own a bottle,” said Robert Lovie of the Prince’s Foundation.
“All proceeds raised from the sale of these bottles will be used to support the work of The Prince’s Foundation in Royal Deeside.”
Proceeds from sales of the 1988 cask will be used to support the work of The Carriage at Ballater Station.
Located less than 10 miles from Royal Lochnagar Distillery, The Carriage is a destination tearoom, bistro, exhibition space and Highgrove Shop which opened along with the rest of the station building in 2018.
The eatery now provides employment for local people, drives tourism to the area and delivers hospitality training for young people.
The final 20 bottles, each with a starting price of £1,450, will be a highlight of the next monthly auction at whisky and fine spirits specialist Whisky Auction.
The auction will run from March 3 to March 12.
Originally a gift to mark the 140th anniversary of the first royal visit to Royal Lochnagar Distillery, by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1848, the duke donated the cask to his Prince’s Foundation charity.
The duke tasted the whisky himself during a visit to the Royal Lochnagar Distillery to mark his 70th birthday.
It was on that same visit that the remainder of the cask was bottled.
Information on the auction will be available at www.whisky.auction/charity.
