A £3.9 million whisky collection of 9,000 bottles built up by a man who initially did not enjoy the drink is to go on sale in an online auction.

The whisky collector, known only as Pat as he wishes to remain anonymous, created what is said to be the world’s largest and most diverse private collection over the course of 15 years.

He bought his first whiskies based on the recommendation of a colleague, but became “hooked” on collecting and went on to source bottles from more than 150 Scottish distilleries as well as bourbon and rare Scotch releases from independent bottlers in Europe, and whisky from other distilleries across the globe.

It will be sold in an auction on WhiskyAuctioneer.com, founded and based in Perth, with the sale running from September 25 to October 5.

Iain McClune, the founder of Whisky Auctioneer, said: “The entire collection has an estimated hammer price of approximately 5 million US dollars (£3.9 million), however the focus for starting the project was never on ultra-premium priced whiskies.

“The value of the collection lies in its completeness, with many of the most lauded series from some of the finest distilleries in the world featured here in their entirety.

“The story behind how the collection started is an intriguing one. The collector came from not even enjoying whisky to becoming hooked and he pursued with zealousness this journey to not only collect, but also gain knowledge and experience in the world of whisky.”

The collection features more than 9,000 bottles (Peter Dibdin/PA)

He described it as “a collection for everyone, accessible to all”.

The sale includes bottles from Japanese distilleries Karuizawa and Hanyu, and “aged expressions” of Bowmore, Port Ellen, Caperdonich and Highland Park from the Duncan Taylor Tantalus series.

Pat said: “​I have always fought against whisky snobbery and wanted to create a collection for drinking and enjoying responsibly. Good whisky can be discovered literally anywhere and come at any price, wherein lies its beauty.

“The significance of this wide range of whisky styles, from single malts to grain and blends, is that it’s unlikely anybody will ever be able to replicate such a collection on the open market without directly acquiring large private collections. Many bottles included will simply never, or at least rarely, be available again.”