An "exceptionally" rare bottle of Scotch whisky has fetched a massive £25,200 after going under the hammer in Edinburgh.

The 73-year-old malt, one of only 61 bottles produced by the Glenfiddich distillery in 1937 and the first ever to appear at auction, will now be listed as one of the most expensive malts ever sold at auction. The current world record is held by a 19th century bottle of Bowmore, which sold in 2007 for £29,400.

The unique dram, which attracted fierce bidding at Edinburgh's Bonhams auction house, was allowed to mature for 64 years, making it one of the oldest whiskies ever to be released onto the market.

The whisky is described as having a bouquet of "newly dug peat, burnt leather, old books, leather and oak” and the taste of treacle toffee, crème brûlée and toasted almonds."

The bottle had attracted international attention from collectors and enthusiasts and experts had predicted it would fetch between £15,000 and £20,000. However, the rare dram went on to exceed expectations when the lot was called on Wednesday afternoon.

Bonhams Whisky specialist, Martin Green, said: "The moment I saw it I knew we had something special and I’m delighted that it reached such a high price.

"Even in these difficult economic times very high quality items will still excite a lot of interest and this was a truly exceptional opportunity to acquire an exceptional bottle."

Prior to the sale, the bottle was taken back to its Speyside home to be photographed for posterity.

Libby Lafferty, from Glenfiddich, added: "We were very excited when we heard that the 1937 was going into the sale and immediately invited Martin Green from Bonhams to bring the bottle back to its home distillery to photograph for our archives. It really is that special."