Incredibly rare 19th century Scottish illicit still found in barn set to go up for auction

John Devlin 09/01/2019. GLASGOW. 31 Meiklewood Rd, Glasgow G51 4GB.
SALE OF ILLEGAL STILL.
An incredibly rare illegal Victorian (18th centuary) copper still is being auctioned by McTear's Auctioneers in Glasgow. (sale date 18th Jan) The still was found in a farm house barn in New Galloway. Used for illegal distilling nothing of this age and quality has been on the market. It is expected to fetch between 5 and 6 thousand pounds. The still is sure to attract interest from home and abroad and is a great opportunity to own a piece of whisky distilling history. McTears have already had inquires from overseas. — John Devlin 09/01/2019. GLASGOW. 31 Meiklewood Rd, Glasgow G51 4GB. SALE OF ILLEGAL STILL. An incredibly rare illegal Victorian (18th centuary) copper still is being auctioned by McTear's Auctioneers in Glasgow. (sale date 18th Jan) The still was found in a farm house barn in New Galloway. Used for illegal distilling nothing of this age and quality has been on the market. It is expected to fetch between 5 and 6 thousand pounds. The still is sure to attract interest from home and abroad and is a great opportunity to own a piece of whisky distilling history. McTears have already had inquires from overseas.

placeholder image — John Devlin 09/01/2019. GLASGOW. 31 Meiklewood Rd, Glasgow G51 4GB. SALE OF ILLEGAL STILL. An incredibly rare illegal Victorian (18th centuary) copper still is being auctioned by McTear's Auctioneers in Glasgow. (sale date 18th Jan) The still was found in a farm house barn in New Galloway. Used for illegal distilling nothing of this age and quality has been on the market. It is expected to fetch between 5 and 6 thousand pounds. The still is sure to attract interest from home and abroad and is a great opportunity to own a piece of whisky distilling history. McTears have already had inquires from overseas.

McTear's Auctioneers are already seeing growing interest in a rare mid-19th Century copper still that was unearthed in a New Galloway barn, ahead of its appearance in the Rare & Fine Whisky Auction on 18th January.

Experts expect the piece, which stands 110cm high, to fetch between £5,000 and £6,000.

Commenting on the unusual lot, McTear’s whisky expert, Graeme Maxwell, said: “This is a fascinating piece that gives a rare insight into the world of illicit distilling in the Victorian era.

“Many farmers in the mid-19th Century owned small stills which they could distil their own spirit out of sight from the exciseman.

"Compared to the setups used by modern, commercial legal distilleries, this is a very primitive piece of equipment, which would have produced strong and questionable spirits to be shared among friends and family.”

In addition to the copper still, the auction will include a selection of hugely collectable single malts, including a rare bottle of Black Bowmore 1964 Final Edition which is expected to sell for between £8,000 and £12,000, and a Macallan 1946 Select Reserve 52 years old which could fetch £12,000.