THE world’s largest bottle of single malt whisky will go under the hammer this weekend as part of online whisky auction house, Just Whisky’s Christmas collection. The 105.3 litre bottle of 14-year-old Tomintoul is nearly 1.5 meters tall, serving up to 5250 drams and is expected to fetch in excess of £15,000 in the auction.

Open for bids until Sunday at 8pm, the record-breaking bottle of natural non-chill-filtered whisky weighs more than 180kg and was commissioned by four Tomintoul local residents who wanted to create something iconic to promote the village and the distillery on a global stage. The giant bottle was filled at the Tomintoul Distillery on August 29, 2009 by a team of 14 under the leadership of distilleries director, Robert Fleming. It holds 150 bottles, has a 20cm long cork and features an oversized label.

Commenting on the festive auction, Graham Crane, director and co-founder of Just Whisky, said: “Every now and then the opportunity to purchase a truly unique bottle of whisky occurs – this is one of those times. We’re delighted to be auctioning this supersized bottle this month and hope that the lucky buyer has either an appropriate sized stocking for Christmas if it’s a gift, or is planning a memorable Hogmanay celebration to welcome in 2020. There has already been a lot of interest and we are looking forward to seeing the bids roll in.”