A bottle of Scotch whiskey sold at auction this weekend for a staggering sum, setting a new record in the spirits industry. The Macallan Adami 1926 was sold at Sotheby’s in London for almost 2.2 million pounds, equivalent to about $2.7 million. Dating back to 1926, only 40 bottles of this exclusive whiskey were bottled in 1986 after being aged in sherry casks for 60 years. The bottle, featuring a label designed by Italian painter Valerio Adami, was the cause of a bidding war between potential buyers both in the room and on the phone.
This is not the first time a bottle from this cask has fetched such a high price. A similar bottle was sold in 2019 for almost £1.5 million, also at Sotheby’s in London. Jonny Fowle, global director of spirits at Sotheby’s, highlighted the significance of these sales, stating that the Macallan 1926 is highly coveted by both auctioneers and collectors. He described the record-breaking sale as “nothing short of momentous for the whiskey industry as a whole.”
The high demand for this particular whiskey is evident in the final sale price, which far exceeded the pre-sale estimate of £750,000 to £1.2 million. The final price of 2,187,500 pounds, or roughly $2,714,250 US dollars, includes a buyer’s premium in addition to the asking price of 1.75 million pounds.
Remarkably for such a rare and valuable bottle, this is the first from the distillery to have undergone reconditioning before auction. The process included replacing the cork and applying new glue to the bottle labels.
It’s clear that the market for rare and valuable whiskeys continues to thrive, as collectors and enthusiasts seek out increasingly rare bottles to add to their collections.