Queen's whisky auctioned off for $50,000

Money to benefit the Regions Hospital Burn Center

St. Paul, Minn. — A $50,000 bid on one of two bottles of vintage Bowmore Whisky from "The Queen's Cask" was accepted by the Regions Hospital Foundation on Monday

The bottle was put up for auction at Saturday's 26th annual Wine Auction, but no formal bids were placed on Saturday despite multiple inquiries. The anonymous buyer is the first American to own one of the commemorative bottles, which were dedicated to Queen Elizabeth II when she visited the Bowmore Distillery in Scotland in 1980.

"We are so grateful to so many different people," said Keevan Kosidowski, Executive Director of the Regions Hospital Foundation. "To have whisky donated from Buckingham Palace and now to be able to sell one of the bottles at $50,000 – this money will directly impact patient care at the Regions Hospital Burn Center."

The second bottle is scheduled to be auctioned off on Nov. 20 by Bonham's, an international auction house in New York. Due to the multiple inquiries, the foundation is considering possible bids prior to sending it to New York in an effort to secure more money for the Burn Center.

All proceeds from the whisky auctions will strengthen programs at the Regions Hospital Burn Center, which opened in 1963 and has become the most complete and extensive facility of its kind in the Upper Midwest. Each year, our Burn Center cares for more than 250 people from across the country including patients injured in oil field explosions, house fires or severe frost bite.