[Omah]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotlan...lands-22308904

Two rare bottles salvaged from the shipwreck that inspired the book and film Whisky Galore are being auctioned.

The collectors' items were part of the cargo on the 8,000-tonne SS Politician, which sank off the shores of Eriskay, in the outer Hebrides, in 1941.

The incident inspired Compton Mackenzie's book Whisky Galore and an Ealing comedy of the same name.

Glasgow auction website, Scotch Whisky Auctions, will take bids for the bottles until 5 May.

The SS Politician was headed for Jamaica when it ran aground on the northern side of Eriskay in bad weather.

Islanders recovered hundreds of cases of whisky from the wreck and some of the bottles were buried to keep them hidden from customs officers.

Other bottles have since been found washed up on the island's shores and also recovered by divers.

The two being auctioned are among eight bottles that were recovered in 1987 when Donald MacPhee, from South Uist, explored the wreck.

Mr MacPhee sold his find at auction at Christie's for a total of £4,000.

Two of those bottles were bought by a man in Fraserburgh in Aberdeenshire. He recently died and his widow decided to sell them along with the neck tags from Christie's and letters of authentication.

The whisky is thought to be not fit for consumption, however, Scotch Whisky Auctions' director Bill Mackintosh said their story was likely to attract bids.

"Ye can't have a wedding without a reiteach, and ye can't have a reiteach without the whisky."

[Omah]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotlan...lands-22428609

Two bottles of whisky salvaged from the shipwreck that inspired the book and film Whisky Galore have been sold for £12,050 after an online auction.

They were part of the cargo on the SS Politician, which sank off Eriskay in the Outer Hebrides in 1941.

Scotch Whisky Auctions, which sold the bottles, said they had gone to a buyer in the UK after worldwide interest.