Nordic Whisky at Auction: A Market Comes of Age
From a niche curiosity to regular auction presence
The Nordic whisky industry has changed dramatically over the past decade, not only in the number of distilleries and bottles reaching drinkers, but also in the visibility of Nordic whisky on the secondary market. Auction data from DramX records 11.608 lots of Nordic whisky at auction since 2012. The growth is particularly striking in the annual number of lots: from 88 recorded in 2014 to 1.876 in 2024.
Over the same period, the number of Nordic distilleries represented at auction rose from nine in 2014 to 38 in 2025. Sweden dominates by volume, while Denmark, Norway and Finland have made a significant impact since 2020.
The chart below illustrates this development (note that the 2026 data is YTD as of 2026-09-14).
Nordic whisky lots at auction by country of distillation. Source: DramX.
If you apply the code whiskysaga on DramX you get 50% off first monthly subscription.
The distilleries dominating the market
A small group of distilleries make up much of the auction activity. Mackmyra is by far the largest name in the dataset, with 4.071 lots recorded since first appearing in 2012. This is not surprising as Mackmyra was the first single malt distillery in modern times in the Nordics. They started production back in 1999.
Fellow Swedish distillery High Coast (formerly Box) ranks second with 2.299 lots. Interestingly, Norway's Aurora Spirit, whose whisky is sold under the Bivrost brand, is third with 1.836 lots. This is interesting because Aurora Spirit was only established in 2016 and first appeared at auction in 2020.
Stauning is the largest Danish presence on this list, with 1.041 lots. Again, not very surprising as it is one of the oldest Danish distilleries and by far the largest in production capacity. Smögen from Sweden ranks fifth with 524 lots.
I find it a little surprising that the Finnish distillery Teerenpeli is only in 10th place. They started whisky production back in 2002, making them one of the oldest Nordic distilleries.
Top 10 Nordic distilleries by number of auction lots
| Distillery | Country | Lots | First seen | Typical price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mackmyra | Sweden | 4071 | 2012 | £40 |
| High Coast (formerly Box) | Sweden | 2299 | 2014 | £36 |
| Aurora Spirit (Bivrost) | Norway | 1836 | 2020 | £110 |
| Stauning | Denmark | 1041 | 2013 | £45 |
| Smögen | Sweden | 524 | 2014 | £75 |
| Spirit of Hven (Backafallsbyn) | Sweden | 240 | 2014 | £44 |
| Braunstein | Denmark | 239 | 2014 | £46 |
| Fary Lochan | Denmark | 205 | 2014 | £47 |
| Kyrö | Finland | 195 | 2017 | £40 |
| Teerenpeli | Finland | 186 | 2013 | £45 |
More bottles for sale, but prices are going down
The increase in auction volume has not been accompanied by a general rise in prices. The typical Nordic whisky bottle in 2026 sells for £38. Between 2016 and 2023 the price per bottle hovered in the range £50 to £65.
I do not think we should read too much into this. Most Nordic whisky brought to market is still young (5 to 10 years old), and only a select few have even been around long enough to release a 20-year-old whisky. For example, in Norway only two distilleries have released 10-year-old whiskies.
Also during this period, more and more Nordic distilleries have slowly moved from releasing a couple of expensive and very limited editions annually to having their first core range products which naturally sell in larger volumes and at lower prices.
Typical hammer price for Nordic whisky at auction. Source: DramX
The premium end of Nordic whisky
Now let us look at the typical bottle prices per distillery rather than number of lots. This gives a radically different list. Det Norske Brenneri (their brands are Eiktyrne and Audny) sits at the top of the list, with a typical price of £118. Please note that this is based on just seven lots! Aurora Spirit is close behind in second place with a typical bottle price of £110. This is a lot more significant as this sales price is based on 1.836 lots. It should be noted here that Aurora Spirit has actively used auctions to promote their brand and whisky. They have themselves launched a small number of exclusive bottles of their first releases at auction.
Smögen is the highest-priced Swedish distillery in the top ten at £75, followed by Denmark's Thy Whisky at £65 and Norway's Myken at £60.
It’s also notable that Mackmyra, with the by far highest number of auction lots, is nowhere to be seen on this second table.
Top 10 Nordic distilleries by typical auction price
| Distillery | Country | Lots | First seen | Typical price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Det Norske Brenneri (Audny, Eiktyrne) | Norway | 7 | 2018 | £118 |
| Aurora Spirit (Bivrost) | Norway | 1836 | 2020 | £110 |
| Smögen | Sweden | 524 | 2014 | £75 |
| Thy Whisky | Denmark | 124 | 2017 | £65 |
| Myken | Norway | 34 | 2020 | £60 |
| Fary Lochan | Denmark | 205 | 2014 | £47 |
| Braunstein | Denmark | 239 | 2014 | £46 |
| Teerenpeli | Finland | 186 | 2013 | £45 |
| Stauning | Denmark | 1041 | 2013 | £45 |
| Spirit of Hven (Backafallsbyn) | Sweden | 240 | 2014 | £44 |
Nordic whisky reviewed on Whisky Saga
All in all, I have reviewed 514 different Nordic whiskies since I started the blog in 2012. I thought it would be interesting to add a graph showing how the reviews are spread across the Nordic countries and the years since I started:
What we have learned - if anything
The most obvious is that Nordic whisky has moved from being a very small presence at auction to a more visible and available category. We now see close to 2,000 lots per year, and close to 40 Nordic distilleries are represented.
A greater auction activity has not resulted in increasing prices. I believe this is mainly down to 1) a changed mix of bottles reaching auction; more higher volume core range products, and 2) a greater supply both in terms of number of distilleries and higher volumes for the individual releases. I am sure other factors also contributed, such as a higher cost of living and consumers moving toward more affordable products.
I also see this data as further proof that Nordic whisky is an up-and-coming category.
Data note: Figures supplied by DramX and based on 4.8 million auction results across 30 auction sites. The charts state that the figures are current to 14 September 2026. Prices shown are hammer prices.
Sláinte!
- Thomas
