For those who appreciate the finer tipples in life, a bottle of the world’s “most sought-after Scotch whisky” sold for more than £2.1 million ($2.7 million) Saturday at Sotheby’s in London.
The Macallan 1926 is one of just 40 bottles drawn after ageing in sherry casks for 60 years, making it the oldest Macallan vintage ever produced, according to the auction house.
Sotheby’s had expected it to raise between £750,000 and £1.2 million ($934,274 and $1.4 million), but were in for a shock when the prized bottle fetched a whooping £2,187,500 ($2,724,967), making it a “new record for any bottle of spirit or wine sold at auction,” the auction house told AFP news agency.
A bottle of The Macallan 1926, the world’s most expensive whisky estimated at £750,000- 1,200,000, is unveiled at Sotheby’s on October 19, 2023 in London, England. After being aged in sherry casks for six decades, just 40 bottles of The Mcallan 1926 were bottled in 1986. The Mcallan Adami 1926 is one of 12 bottles in the series with a label designed by Italian artist Valerio Adami and is the first bottle to have undergone reconditioning by The Mcallan Distillery ahead of being presented at auction at Sotheby’s in London on November 18, 2023.
This bottle of The Macallan 1926, is one of 12 that were labelled by Italian painter Valerio Adami.
Tristan Fewings/Getty Images
Ahead of the sale, Sotheby’s head of whisky Jonny Fowle told AFP that he had tried a small sample.
“I tasted a tiny drop – a tiny drop – of this. It’s very rich, it’s got a lot of dried fruit as you would expect, a lot of spice, a lot of wood,” he said, calling it an “incredible” whisky that should not be taken lightly.
Of the 40 bottles filled in 1986, none were made available for purchase, with some instead being offered to The Macallan’s top clients, a luxury that adds to its appeal, as evidenced in previous sales of the bottles, its description on Sotheby’s website added.
Source: cnn.com
