When it is auctioned next month, a rare bottle of whisky, known as the “holy-grail” to whisky lovers, could fetch up to £1.2m.
Sotheby’s is going to auction a 96-year old bottle of Macallan Single Malt Whisky in London, starting with the advance bids at the beginning of November.
The Macallan Adami 1926 will likely sell for at minimum £750,000, but Sotheby’s set a price guide of up to £1.2m.
If the price reaches this level the bottle would be one of the most expensive bottles ever sold.
The record of the most money ever spent on wine or spirits is another bottle The Macallan, 1926. It sold for £1.5m in 2019.
A third bottle of the same cask had previously held the record, selling for £1.2m (£1.2m) in 2018.
The Macallan whisky 1926 is often referred to as the “holy-grail” or “most sought after Scotch Whisky”.
The Speyside Distillery produced only 40 bottles, aged for 60 years and bottled in the year 1986. The bottles were given to Macallan’s most important clients.
The bottle that will be sold next month has been reconditioned, with the cork replaced and glue applied to the corner of its label. The label was created by Italian artist Valerio Adami.
Sir Peter Blake co-designed the sleeves for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, designed labels for the bottles. Michael Dillon, an Irish artist, hand-painted one of the labels.
Macallan claims that these designs are a part of the reason why the price for the whisky is so high. However, the distiller insists “the 60-year old liquid inside the bottle is exceptional and rare by itself”.
According to Sotheby’s one of the bottles with a label designed by Mr Adami, was destroyed in an earthquake that struck Japan in 2011.
Pictures taken in Japan show that only one bottle has been opened.
The information about the taste is not readily available. The Macallan claims that the whisky has a woody and resinous taste, and is “sweetened with medium treacle and rich dried fruit”.
Jonny Fowle is Sotheby’s global head for spirits. He said, “The Macallan 1926 whisky is the whisky every auctioneer and collector wants to buy.”