‘Ultra rare’ Scotch whisky sells for £2.1M at first time distillery auction
An old and rare bottle of Macallan has sold for £2.1M at an auction held within the distillery for the first time.
It has made headlines before, but it’s not often that a bottle of The Macallan 1926 Fine & Rare label comes up for sale, but one has again and, once again, it has broken records.
During an auction staged by Sotheby’s at The Macallan Estate in Speyside, Scotland, a bottle of The Macallan 1926, featuring the Fine & Rare label, sold for £2,125,000 / $2,807,975, becoming the second most valuable bottle of whisky ever sold in sterling, but the most valuable bottle ever sold at auction when measured in US dollars. Sotheby’s now holds the top three prices for any bottle of whisky sold at auction.
In 2023 a bottle sold for £2,187,500 / $2,714,250 making this the most valuable bottle of whisky ever sold to date.
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Jonny Fowle, global head of whisky and spirits at Sotheby's, said: “Today’s result reflects the enduring fascination that The Macallan 1926 inspires among collectors around the world.
“More than a century after it was distilled, it continues to stand alone as the benchmark for rarity, provenance and desirability in whisky. Achieving the second-highest price ever paid for a bottle of whisky at auction, and setting a new record for a Fine & Rare bottling, at the first auction held at The Macallan Estate during the centenary year of the vintage itself, is a remarkable milestone in the history of whisky collecting.”
Bottled in 1986 at 60 Years Old, the fabled 1926 vintage has long been the benchmark for collectible whisky, its extraordinary value driven as much by its rarity as by its enduring place in the history of Scotch whisky collecting.
After maturing for six decades, just 40 bottles of The Macallan 1926 were drawn from a single sherry seasoned oak cask (cask number 263) in 1986, representing the oldest vintage ever bottled by The Macallan. A maximum of 14 were decorated with the Fine and Rare label, 12 were designed by Sir Peter Blake, and a further 12 by Italian artist Valerio Adami.
Two bottles were left unlabelled – one was later hand-painted by Irish artist Michael Dillon (the first bottle of whisky to surpass £1 million when sold in 2018; the other is the last unlabelled Macallan 1926 in existence.
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The Macallan Fine & Rare 60 Years Old 1926 is one of 14 bottles released in 2002 which became the foundation of The Macallan’s iconic Fine & Rare collection. This was the first of these celebrated 1926 vintage bottlings to return to auction since 2023, and the first Fine & Rare example to appear at auction since 2019, when Sotheby’s in London set a then world auction record of £1.5 million / $1.9 million.
The £2.1 million achieved in 2026 establishes a new auction record for a bottle of The Macallan 1926 Fine & Rare. In US dollar terms, the result exceeds the previous record set seven years ago by almost 50 percent, an increase of approximately $900,000.
The world’s most valuable whisky led Live from The Macallan Estate, the first auction ever to take place at The Macallan Distillery. Comprising whiskies from The Macallan drawn almost exclusively from private collections worldwide, the sale - conceived to mark the centenary of the distillation of The Macallan 1926 in the same location where the auction took place - brought together a selection of the brand’s finest and most sought-after single malts, spanning decades.
Comprising 42 lots, the landmark ‘white-glove’ auction was 100 percent sold, achieving an above-estimate total of £3.3 million / $4.4 million (est. £2.4-3.2m), and becoming the second most valuable whisky auction Sotheby’s has ever held after The Ultimate Whisky Collection in 2019. 86% of the lots sold achieved prices above their high estimates.
The auction was an exclusive, invite-only event attended by 50 of the world’s leading whisky collectors, with additional participation from collectors around the world who chose to bid online and on the telephones via Sotheby’s staff in the room.
The sale began with a special presentation of The Macallan Romantica Collection - consigned directly by The Macallan and featuring exclusive liquid and packaging created specifically for Sotheby's auction - which sold for £162,500 / $214,278. Proceeds will benefit three registered charities selected by each of the artists and their representatives, with the funds to be split equally between Graeae Theatre Company, London; Cancer Research UK, and Associazione VIDAS in Milan, Italy.
Jaume Ferras, creative director of The Macallan, said: “We are humbled by the response to the auction live from The Macallan Estate and the results achieved. It was a privilege to welcome Sotheby’s and guests to our home, and to see such appreciation for whiskies that represent different chapters in our history.
“We are especially proud that the sale of The Macallan Romantica Collection Artists’ Edition, which has raised funds for charities nominated by the artists Valerio Adami, Sir Peter Blake and Michael Dillon, giving this remarkable collaboration a meaningful legacy beyond the auction itself.
Unveiled in May, the collection, conceived in honour of the centenary of The Macallan 1926, unites Sir Peter Blake, Valerio Adami and Michael Dillon. Each artist was commissioned to create an original work celebrating the passage of time from 1986 to 2026, interpreting four decades of maturation.
The version created especially for the sale comprises three bottles filled at a bespoke strength of 42.6% ABV, deliberately selected to match the 1926 60 Years Old and distinct from the limited edition of 258 bottles released earlier this year at 48.6% ABV. Just two examples of each artist edition have been produced at this strength, with the companion set retained permanently in The Macallan Archive.
The second most valuable lot in the sale was a complete set of The Macallan in Lalique Six Pillars Collection, among the first true luxury collections in the whisky world, which realised £350,000 / $462,490.
A collaboration between The Macallan and renowned French crystal maker Lalique, the exclusive series of six limited-edition decanters containing some of the rarest and oldest single malt whiskies ever released, was released over a decade, from 2005 to 2016. The decanters have become highly sought after, both individually and as complete collections, which are far rarer to appear on the market.
Also presented for sale by The Macallan was The Reach 81 Years Old single malt, which achieved £131,250 / $173,434. Crafted from a single sherry seasoned oak cask and presented in a mouth-blown glass decanter, cradled by a bronze sculpture of three hands representing figures from the Distillery's history, the release was originally unveiled in February 2022.
The version presented for sale was distinguished by the deep red leather lining the display cabinet, in place of the cream leather lining featured on the original release - chosen especially to reflect the red thread that has run through The Macallan since the distillery was founded over 200 years ago.
Marking the first time the release has ever been offered by Sotheby’s, The Macallan in Lalique Golden Age of Travel Ocean Liner brought a triple-estimate £106,250 / $140,399. The 1937 vintage is one of the rarest bottles ever produced by the distillery.
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