On October 5th at the Distillers One of One auction in partnership with Sotheby’s at Hopetoun House near Edinburgh, KANDOBLANC’s Founder & Artistic Director, Dhavall Gandhi, debuted the Maison’s first creation, AGA, which was one of 39 unique and ultra-rare lots. Rightly proud and confident in what he created, little was he to know that his whisky would reach a staggering £45,000 following some enthusiastic bidding.
AGA, which was distilled in 1979 and bottled in 2023 exclusively for the Distiller’s One of One auction, attracted lively bidding in the room of 200 guests and online with a global audience.
The competitive bidding resulted in KANDOBLANC selling AGA for £45,000/$54,346, which sets a new record for the most expensive first whisky ever sold from a new brand.
Dhavall previously broke the record in 2018 with his first creation for The Lakes Distillery and the single malt bottle, Genesis, at £7,900. More than £2.25 million / $2.7 million has been raised for The National Youth Fund at the 2023 Distillers One of One auction, doubling the pre-sale low estimate.
The auction marks the launch of the Maison’s Special Projects division, which is already working with private clients, global artists and luxury brands around the world on exclusive commissions.
Dhavall said, “My vision for KANDOBLANC is to be an artistic platform which celebrates the fusion of ideas, cultures and aesthetics through exquisitely crafted objects and intricate whisky compositions. Each object created by KANDOBLANC is a contemporary art piece which will never be replicated and will always remain ultra-rare and exclusive to each client.”
Dhavall Gandhi’s expertise and keen sense of aesthetics empower KANDOBLANC to design and create bespoke commissions for our private clients, both present and future, tailored to their interests, from contemporary art to cultural inspirations.
The second Distillers One of One Auction raised a total of £2.25 million, or $2,715,815 for charity. You can read about the auction and some of the other record-setting lots here.