A rare 1926 Macallan whisky sold for a record price at a Sotheby auction

A 1926 Macallan whisky created history by selling at a record price of Rs 22 crore at a Sotheby auction in London. The whisky also has a label of Valerio Adami

An auction was held by Sotheby in London, which created history as a rare 1926 Macallan single-malt whisky, with a label of Valerio Adami, was sold in a bid for Rs 2.7 million (approximately 22 crores).

This is a rare whisky which is an exclusive collection of 40 bottles each distilled in 1926 and bottled in 1986, 60 years after maturing in barrels. The bottles become more unique as their labels are painted by Italian artist Valerio Adami. Among the collection of 40 bottles, 14 featured renowned and rare labels, two remains were labelled, and one of the bottles was hand-painted by Irish artist Michael Dillon.

The Macallan 1926 is one of the most sought scotch whisky bottles which is sold at double its estimated price. 

The auction house's head, Jonny Fowle, in his interview with AFP news agency, said that the whisky comprises a lot of dried fruit as you would expect, a lot of wood, and a lot of spice. He also mentioned that he had been allowed to taste a 'tiny drop' of the whisky beforehand. 

This is not the first time that a Macallan 1926 bottle is in the headlines. In 2019, another bottle was also sold for a price of $1.86 million, which was a previous record as the most expensive bottle ever sold at auction.

A month before, Fowle said that the Macallan 1926 "is the one whisky that every auctioneer wants to sell and every collector wants to own."

"I am extremely excited to bring a bottle to a Sotheby’s auction for the first time since we set the record for this vintage four years ago,” Fowle added.

The bidding went very serious, but it was finally sold off. However, the name of the buyer is still unknown.

The Macallan whisky spent sixty years in barrel maturing and the specific bottle underwent a reconditioning process at The Macallan Distillery before the bottle was present for the auction. This process also involves the replacement of both the capsule and the cork with fresh glue was also added to secure the labels’ corners. 

A 1 ml liquid sample was also extracted from the bottle for the purpose of testing against another 1926 bottle at the Edrington offices in Glasgow to ensure the bottle's authenticity and quality.