'Holy grail of whisky' sells for record £2.1m at auction
A rare bottle of Macallan 1926 Scotch whisky has sold at a Sotheby's auction for £2.1 million. The bottle is one of only 40 produced from a single cask, making it a highly sought-after collector's item.
Why it matters
This sale highlights the extreme valuation of luxury goods and the growing investment market for rare spirits.
Share Save Add as preferred on Google Sotheby's The auction event was invite-only for leading whisky collectors A rare bottle of Scotch whisky distilled 100 years ago has sold for £2.1m ($2.8m) at a Sotheby's auction in Scotland.
Sold at the Macallan Estate in Speyside, it saw the Macallan 1926 became the second most valuable bottle of whisky ever sold, when measured in pounds.
It narrowly missed out on the previous record set by the Adami Edition of the same whisky from the same cask which fetched slightly more in 2023.
The spirit was bottled in 1986 after maturing for 60 years, with just 40 bottles drawn from a single sherry seasoned oak cask.
It is one of 14 bottles that were decorated with the Fine & Rare label that were first released in 2002.
Sotheby's has previously described it as The Macallan 1926 as the "holy grail" of whisky.
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