THEDAILYWHISKY

More than 3,200 bottles, over 100 distilleries and almost 40 years of collecting, not one bottle bigger than the palm of your hand. This November, the whole lot goes under the hammer at once, in what is believed to be the largest collection of whisky miniatures ever offered in a single auction.

The Zelmanowitz Collection is a private collection of more than 3,200 miniature whiskies assembled over almost 40 years by New York collector Saul Zelmanowitz, known to fellow collectors on Instagram as @scotchminisz. Valued at over £150,000 and spanning more than 100 distilleries, it includes rare miniatures from The Macallan, Springbank, Laphroaig and Port Ellen, alongside bottles from distilleries that closed long ago. WVA Whisky Auctions will sell the entire collection in a single online auction from 9 to 12 November 2026, in what the auction house believes is the largest collection of miniature whiskies ever offered in one sale. Bidding takes place online at wvawhiskyauctions.co.uk.

Collection: The Zelmanowitz Collection

Collector: Saul Zelmanowitz, New York (@scotchminisz)

Size: More than 3,200 miniatures from over 100 distilleries

Estimated value: Over £150,000

Auction house: WVA Whisky Auctions (UK, online)

Auction dates: 9 to 12 November 2026

Format: One online auction, the entire collection offered together

Where to bid: wvawhiskyauctions.co.uk

What is the Zelmanowitz Collection?

The Zelmanowitz Collection is the life’s work of one collector who decided, almost four decades ago, that the most interesting whisky bottles were often the smallest ones. It now runs to more than 3,200 miniatures, the 5cl format (and its older 4.7cl and imperial cousins) that distilleries and bottlers have used for samples, gifts, promotions and travel.

This is not a minibar haul. The collection reaches across more than 100 distilleries and, according to WVA Whisky Auctions, contains bottles so unusual that some are believed never to have appeared at auction before. Others may never have been seen publicly at all.

For the first time, the collection is being offered in its entirety, in one sale, through WVA Whisky Auctions from 9 to 12 November 2026.

Who is Saul Zelmanowitz?

Saul Zelmanowitz is a New York-based collector who has spent nearly 40 years tracking down whisky miniatures from around the world. In the collecting community he is better known by his Instagram handle, @scotchminisz, where the cabinets you see in the photo above have been a regular feature for years.

His hobby has also taken him to some unexpected places. When he supplied miniature bottles to the American rapper Ludacris for a gig, the rapper shared them on social media, and the two have stayed friends ever since. It is a neat illustration of how far a 5cl bottle can travel.

For Saul, the November sale closes a collecting chapter that has run since the late 1980s. For everyone else, it opens up a cabinet that has mostly been visible only through a phone screen.

From Macallan Fine & Rare to Port Ellen: what’s in the Zelmanowitz Collection

WVA has named four distilleries as headline names: The Macallan, Springbank, Laphroaig and Port Ellen. Each tells you something about the depth of this collection.

Among the images released ahead of the sale is a stack of The Macallan Fine & Rare miniatures, each in its own small oak presentation box, with vintages running from 1949 and then year by year from 1964 to 1972. Flanking them are sample bottles from The Macallan’s colour-coded Edition series. Full-size Fine & Rare bottlings are among the most valuable whiskies ever sold, so the miniatures are a way for collectors to own a piece of that series in 5cl form.

The Macallan Fine & Rare 50ml miniatures from 1949 and 1964 to 1972 stacked in oak boxes, flanked by Macallan Edition series sample bottles, with the Manhattan skyline behind The Macallan Fine & Rare miniatures from The Zelmanowitz Collection.

Springbank is the Campbeltown distillery that malts, distils, matures and bottles all of its whisky on site, and its old miniatures carry real weight at auction. Port Ellen on Islay closed in 1983 and only reopened in 2024, so any miniature from the original distillery holds spirit from a site that was silent for four decades. Laphroaig, also on Islay, rounds out the named highlights.

Beyond those four, the collection includes bottles from distilleries that have long since closed. For many drinkers, a miniature is the only realistic way to ever taste spirit from a lost distillery, which is exactly why these small bottles matter.

George Kendall of WVA Whisky Auctions put the scale plainly: “It’s incredibly rare to see a collection of this scale and quality come to market at once.” He added that the variety includes bottles even experienced collectors may never have come across.

Why whisky miniatures are worth taking seriously

Miniatures have their own collecting world, with clubs, specialist auctions and record prices. Whisky.Auction has sold a 5cl Springbank 1919 50 Year Old for £7,360 and a 5cl Malt Mill 10 Year Old, from the tiny Islay distillery that shared a site with Lagavulin, for £6,670. The highest price for any whisky miniature at auction is believed to be £12,500, paid for a 5cl Macallan 62 Year Old Lalique in April 2021 via Whisky Auctioneer.

Timing is part of the appeal. Collectors who started in the 1980s often point out that distilleries produced far more miniatures in the 1980s and 1990s than they do today, which makes older bottles steadily harder to find. A collection started in that era, as this one was, captures a period that has not been repeated.

There is also a drinking case. A 5cl bottle holds enough for a proper tasting of one or two measures. If you have ever wanted to know what a closed distillery actually tasted like, the miniature is usually your most affordable way in.

How the Zelmanowitz Collection compares with earlier miniature sales

Larger miniature collections have existed, but very few of this size have come to auction as a single sale.

In 2021, Kettering collector Brian Marshall’s collection of around 4,000 miniatures, gathered from the late 1980s onwards, was sold by Gildings Auctioneers across two online auctions and reached £29,750. In January 2022, 1818 Auctioneers offered around 2,500 single malt miniatures belonging to Kendal collector Keith Young.

The Zelmanowitz Collection sits between those two in bottle count, yet its estimate of over £150,000 is roughly five times the Marshall result. That gap says a lot about how much the miniature market has grown in five years, and about the density of rare and old bottles in this particular collection.

One note on the record claim: WVA describes the sale as believed to be the largest miniature whisky collection offered in a single auction, based on publicly documented auction records. It is not a certified world record, and the auction house says so itself.

How to bid on the Zelmanowitz Collection from outside the UK

WVA Whisky Auctions is a UK online auction house, established in 2016, that sells to buyers around the world. Bidding for the Zelmanowitz Collection runs online from 9 to 12 November 2026 at wvawhiskyauctions.co.uk, and you will need a registered account before the sale closes.

A few practical points for international bidders. Check WVA’s current buyer’s premium and shipping terms before you bid, and build both into your maximum. If you are in the EU, shipping from the UK means import VAT and excise duty on arrival. Buyers in the US should check whether their state allows spirits to be shipped to a private address.

With old miniatures, condition matters as much as rarity. Look closely at fill levels, closures and labels in the lot photos, and ask the auction house for more images if a lot is important to you. Evaporation through old screw caps is common in miniatures from the 1970s and 1980s.

Our take: who the Zelmanowitz Collection auction is for

If you collect miniatures, this is the sale of the year, and probably the most important miniature sale since the Marshall collection in 2021. A collection built over almost 40 years by one person tends to fill exactly the gaps other collectors have been chasing.

If you collect a single distillery, particularly The Macallan, Springbank or the Islay names, it is worth going through the catalogue lot by lot. Miniatures are often the missing pieces in a distillery set.

And if you simply drink whisky and have always wondered about a closed distillery, look past the headline lots. The best value in a 3,200-bottle sale is usually further down the catalogue, in the bottles that do not make the press photos.

Set your budget per lot before 9 November, including premium and shipping. Four days and 3,200 bottles is a long time to resist chasing. We will be following the results and will report back on what the Macallan Fine & Rare miniatures and the closed-distillery lots achieve.

Frequently asked questions about the Zelmanowitz Collection

What is the Zelmanowitz Collection? The Zelmanowitz Collection is a private collection of more than 3,200 miniature whiskies assembled over almost 40 years by New York collector Saul Zelmanowitz, known on Instagram as @scotchminisz. It covers more than 100 distilleries, including The Macallan, Springbank, Laphroaig and Port Ellen, and is being sold in its entirety by WVA Whisky Auctions.

When is the Zelmanowitz Collection auction? The Zelmanowitz Collection will be sold in one online auction by WVA Whisky Auctions from 9 to 12 November 2026. Bidding takes place at wvawhiskyauctions.co.uk, and you need a registered account to bid. Lots typically close at the end of the auction period, so check the closing times on the WVA site.

How much is the Zelmanowitz Collection worth? WVA Whisky Auctions estimates the combined value of the Zelmanowitz Collection at more than £150,000, across over 3,200 miniatures. That is roughly five times the £29,750 achieved by Brian Marshall’s 4,000-bottle miniature collection in 2021. Final prices will depend on bidding, and individual lots will vary widely in value.

Which distilleries are in the Zelmanowitz Collection? The collection represents more than 100 distilleries. WVA highlights rare miniatures from The Macallan, including Fine & Rare vintages, Springbank, Laphroaig and Port Ellen, alongside bottles from distilleries that closed long ago. Some bottles are believed never to have appeared at auction before, and some may never have been seen publicly.

Can I bid on the Zelmanowitz Collection from outside the UK? Yes. WVA Whisky Auctions is a UK online auction house that sells to buyers worldwide. Check WVA’s shipping terms for your country before bidding. Buyers in the EU should expect import VAT and excise duty on bottles shipped from the UK, and US buyers should check their state’s rules on shipping spirits.

Is this the largest miniature whisky collection ever auctioned? WVA believes the Zelmanowitz Collection is the largest collection of miniature whiskies ever offered in a single auction, based on public auction records. Larger collections have existed, such as Brian Marshall’s 4,000 miniatures, but that one was sold across two auctions. The claim is not a certified world record.