Spirits set could be the toast of the sale.
A one-off set of whisky given to Bletchley-based Marshall Amps staff at Christmas looks set to make at least £500 at auction this month.
The bottles of spirits, gifted by legendary amplifier maker Jim Marshall have never been opened, and experts believe they will cause excitement in the auction room when they go under the hammer at Hansons Auctioneers near Derby on 29th January.
A bottle of single malt was given to Marshall staff every December from 1996 to 2012, the year Jim Marshall died. Totalling 17 bottles in all, this set belonged to life-long employee Andy Lambourne, who lives in Bletchley, and started work at the firm in 1972, aged 16.
Now a grandfather he kept the gift intact over the years, admitting he ‘wasn’t much of a spirits drinker’.
“This special series of very rare bottlings were only given out to Marshall Amplification’s employees each Christmas,” said Stuart Palmer, auctioneer head of wines and spirits.
“They were never sold outside the company and, with the death of Jim Marshall in 2012, production ended – making them all the rarer and more sought after.”
The collection also includes an ultra-rare Marshall 50-year-old Islay blended malt – one of only 228 bottles ever produced – which was presented to Mr Lambourne to thank him for 40 years’ service with the company. The bottle, which has the words 'Fifty Years of Loud' on the box, has an estimate of £200-£400.
“I’ve never been much of a spirits drinker, so I hung on to my bottles over the years,” said Andy Lambourne. “I have a feeling most of my colleagues might have drunk theirs.”
Each of the other bottles of single malt, from the Loch Lomond Distillery, has its own distinctive label featuring drums, the Union Jack, a Marshall amp, or Jim Marshall himself.
“It was a great place to work, otherwise I wouldn’t have stayed there so long,” added Andy. “I didn’t have much to do with Jim Marshall, but he seemed like a nice man and certainly did a lot for charity.”
