Whisky auction raises $25,000 for military families

The Royal New Zealand Air Force is bringing the Iroquois helicopters to Tauranga for their farewell tour of the country. Photo / Ruth Keber

Bottles of special whisky to mark the retirement of the Iroquois helicopter fleet have raised $25,000 for families of people killed while serving in the Air Force.

Fourteen bottles - one for each of the 'Huey' helicopters being decommissioned on July 1 - went under the hammer at RNZAF Base Ohakea on Saturday night.

Oamaru-based New Zealand Whisky Company presented 16 bottles of the 25 year-old single malt whisky to the Air Force.

Fourteen bottles were auctioned off to the highest bidder and two were held back by the military to "respect those two aircraft that went down on the Kapiti Coast in Anzac Day 2010," the company's operations manager Grant Finn said.

Each bottle was boxed and labelled with a tailored design, showcasing the airport and its tail number.

Auction winners got an enclosed personalised history of the aircraft, with details including notable events in the helicopter's service career.

The bottles fetched a total of $25,855.70, which will be donated to the Missing Wingman Trust.