A rare bottle of whisky worth over £2million has become the second most valuable ever sold at auction.
The Macallan 1926 sold for £2.1million at an invite-only auction attended by 50 of the world’s leading whisky collectors.
When measured in US dollars, it becomes the most valuable ever sold.
A number of Macallan whiskies, mostly from private collections, were put under the hammer to mark the vintage’s centenary.
Sotheby’s held the auction at the Macallan estate in Craigellachie, Moray, marking the first time it staged an event within a Scottish distillery.
The vintage was bottled in 1986 after maturing for 60 years.
Cask 263, crafted by Janet Isabella Harbinson, was not considered especially remarkable, according to The Macallan.
But an inventory of the brand’s old warehouses in the 1980s revealed the whisky had matured, darkening and drawing flavours from the cask’s Spanish wood.
Just 40 bottles of The Macallan 1926 were produced
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SOTHEBY’S
Sotheby’s previously described The Macallan 1926 as the “holy grail” of whisky. After much of it had evaporated – the Angel’s Share – there was only enough for 40 bottles.
Macallan then commissioned artists to design special labels for 25 of them.
Italian painter Valerio Ademi provided artwork for 12, and English pop artist Sir Peter Blake, designed another 12.
Another 14 received a label reading Fine and Rare, and two more were left unlabelled.
PICTURED: Sotheby’s global head of spirits poses with a separate bottle of The Macallan 1926 in 2023
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GETTY
One of those bottles was later hand-painted by Irish artist Michael Dillon, and became the first bottle of whisky to surpass £1million when it sold in 2018.
The £ 2.1million bottle barely missed out on the record, held by a bottle of The Emerald Isle after American collector Mike Daley paid £2.2 million ($2.8 million) for it in 2024.
Jonny Fowle, global head of whisky & spirits at Sotheby’s, described the event, which is the first ever staged at the distillery, as a “remarkable milestone”.
“Today’s result reflects the enduring fascination that The Macallan 1926 inspires among collectors around the world,” he said.
“More than a century after it was distilled, it continues to stand alone as the benchmark for rarity, provenance and desirability in whisky.
“Achieving the second-highest price ever paid for a bottle of whisky at auction, and setting a new record for a Fine & Rare bottling, at the first auction held at The Macallan Estate during the centenary year of the vintage itself, is a remarkable milestone in the history of whisky collecting.”
Jaume Ferras, creative director at The Macallan, said the estate was “humbled” by the auction response.
He said: “It was a privilege to welcome Sotheby’s and guests to our home, and to see such appreciation for whiskies that represent different chapters in our history.”
“We are especially proud that the sale of The Macallan Romantica Collection Artists’ Edition, which has raised funds for charities nominated by the artists Valerio Adami, Sir Peter Blake and Michael Dillon, (gives) this remarkable collaboration a meaningful legacy beyond the auction itself.”