A Speyside village is toasting success after raising nearly £38,500 selling whisky at auction.
Dozens of rare bottles were among 167 to go under the hammer in Craigellachie yesterday.
The village council, which organised the sale, will receive a cut of £9,500 through the sale of bottle donated and commission on other lots.
It will go towards maintenance of the iconic Craigellachie Bridge and the local hall – and plans to extend it.
Although the auction was dominated by Speyside distilleries, bottles from Scapa in Orkney and Dalwhinnie and Glen Ord in the Highlands were also up for sale.
Macallan whiskies – distilled nearby – were the big earners on the day.
A bottle of the brand’s 25-year-old Anniversary Malt, distilled in 1962, sold for £2,000 and a 30-year-old Macallan Fine Oak went for £1,900.
There were high hopes after a lot of interest in a 1960s crystal decanter of 25-year-old Macallan.
It had been valued at £8,000 – but did not sell.
Bidders from across Scotland went up against the 100 people in the village hall to land some of the best lots.
This year’s annual auction had the most items up for sale in its seven-year history.
Village council chairwoman Jane Tweedie said: “Interest seems to be snowballing.
“It’s a lot of hard work for our volunteers but we’re very fortunate the village turns out for us.
“The money helps with our ongoing costs and the project to extend the village hall.
“It will give us more space for community groups to use and the chance to install better disabled facilities.”
The council has raised around half of the £100,000 needed to fund the work.
