The largest collection of Scotch single malt whisky ever to be sold off at auction will be split between three countries, with Scots dram enthusiasts the first to get a shot at bidding.
The Willard S Folsom collection, estimated to be worth more than £300,000, will be split in three, with the first bottles going on sale in Edinburgh on Wednesday.
Nearly 250 lots are due to be auctioned in the capital, while a further 150 will be sold in Hong Kong. The rest of the collection, featuring around 2,600 bottles, is expected to spark a bidding war in New York.
Amassed over an 18-year period, the collection features wide ranges of some of Scotland's most famous whiskies, including Ardbeg, Bowmore, Glenfiddich, and Glenmorangie, as well as some commemorative and celebration malts.
Rarities include a 50-year-old Dalmore decanter valued at over $6500 and a 1948 Macallan which is expected to fetch around $4000.
Bonhams Whisky Specialist, Martin Green, said: "In over 20 years of conducting whisky auctions, this is the most exciting collection I have ever handled.
"Many of the bottles included in the collection will never be released again or repeated by the whisky industry and so the sale of the collection provides the opportunity to buy many collectables of the future."
The collection's owner, Willard Folsom, had an adventurous life which saw him work as everything from a race car driver to a salsa dancer.
After reading an article in USA Today in 1988, he took his wife to a bar near their American home and had his first taste of single malt.
Over the next 18 years, Folsom established relationships with Scotch enthusiasts from San Francisco to Dufftown and toured the Highlands, the Lowlands, Speyside, Islay, and Orkney.
He used to purchase whisky from all over Scotland and have it shipped to a hotel in London, where it was looked after by the Scots manager until he returned with his family to collect his deliveries.
Folsom used to say: "Some say the glass is half empty, others say it's half full. I say, pour the water out and put some Scotch in that glass."
His collection is expected to raise around £300,000, with buyers in Edinburgh expected to shell out around £80,000.
