Earlier this year, a jaw-dropping collection of vintage whiskys was made available at auction. Dubbed “The Perfect Collection,” the bottles came from the collection of the late Richard Gooding — 3,900 in total. The collection was made available in two parts; the first half, which opened for bidding in February, was a Scotch lover’s dream — and resulted in some world-record prices for notable bottles of Scotch.
The second half of the collection opened for bids on April 10 — but that’s where things stopped going according to plan.
According to a report by Jedidajah Otte at The Guardian, a cyberattack disrupted the second half of the auction. This comes as a significant disappointment to prospective buyers of the bottles included there — including one bottle of Macallan 1926 Fine and Rare 60 Year Old.
Initially, the auction was set to end on April 20 — but technical difficulties pushed that back by 48 hours. And soon, it became clear that these issues were far more ominous in their origin than initially believed.
A statement on the auction service’s website offers an explanation of what took place:
At approx. 22.30 (BST) on 21 April, WhiskyAuctioneer.com experienced a targeted, technologically sophisticated, sustained and malicious attack on our website and databases.
As part of their investigation, Whisky Auctioneer’s website has been taken offline. “The auction of The Perfect Collection: Part Two has been postponed indefinitely with further updates on this and future auctions to follow,” the statement continues. It also notes that the company has been in touch with customers who were affected by the attack.
It’s not the outcome any whisky sellers or prospective buyers had in mind for such a high-profile event. But it also seems like the story of this auction is far from over.
Subscribe here for our free daily newsletter.
Join America's Fastest Growing Spirits Newsletter THE SPILL. Unlock all the reviews, recipes and revelry — and get 15% off award-winning La Tierra de Acre Mezcal.
