Macallan 1926: One Bottle Of This Whisky Is Sold For $2.7 Million; Know Why It Is The Costliest Whisky

A Scotch whisky bottle has created history as it was sold for a staggering 2.2 million pounds ($2.7 million) at a recent Sotheby's auction in London. This sale has set a new record for the highest-ever auction price paid for a single bottle of wine or spirits. This bottle was sold on November 18 for over twice its estimated price.

The Macallan Adami 1926, called the "most valuable whisky in the world," grabbed fierce bidding from buyers both in the auction room and on the phone. This rare whisky, with only 40 bottles produced in 1986 after being aged for 60 years in sherry casks, is highly sought after due to its exclusivity. The bottle sold at the auction features a label designed by Italian artist Valerio Adami, one of only twelve bottles with this distinctive label.

So far, the record has been broken three times between 2018 and 2019 by three of the different variations - Sir Peter Blake, Michael Dillon, and Fine and Rare.

In 2019, Sotheby's sold another bottle from the same cask for nearly 1.5 million pounds, which was a record at the time. Jonny Fowle, Sotheby's global head of spirits, expressed his excitement about the sale, stating, "The Macallan 1926 is the one whisky that every auctioneer wants to sell and every collector wants to own."

Sotheby's said, "After being aged in sherry casks for six decades, just 40 bottles of The Macallan 1926 were bottled in 1986, representing the oldest Macallan vintage ever produced. The 40 bottles were reportedly not made available for purchase; instead, some were offered to The Macallan's top clients. The appearance of any of these bottles at auction over the years has resulted in extraordinary results - across 2018 and 2019, the auction record was broken three times by three of the different variations (Sir Peter Blake, Michael Dillon, Fine & Rare)."

Fowle described this sale as an important moment for the whisky industry as a whole. He added, "It's not a whisky to take lightly. It's a rich, rich dram, but it is incredible." The bottle sold at the auction underwent a reconditioning process at the distillery, where the cork was replaced and glue was reapplied to the label corners.

What makes Macallan 1926 so special?

The last sale price of 2,187,500 pounds ($2,714,250) includes the buyer's premium on top of the hammer price of 1.75 million pounds, exceeding the early estimates of 750,000 to 1.2 million pounds. Kirsteen Campbell, Macallan's Master Whisky Maker, shared her experience of sampling the whisky during its reconditioning. She described it as having a complex profile with flavors of rich dark fruits, black cherry compote, sticky dates, and intense sweet antique oak. Campbell also noted the presence of dark chocolate, treacle, and ginger, among other notes.