AUCTION
Record-setting auction price for world’s most expensive bottle of Scotch whisky
In London an auction record for the most expensive bottle of scotch whisky has been broken once again... What you need to know about the sale.
A new record has been set in the alcohol market, with a bottle of the world’s “most sought-after” scotch whisky sold for around $2.7 million at an auction in London.
The bottle sold at Sotheby’s in London, a Macallan Adami 1926, now stands as the most expensive bottle of liquor ever purchased during an auction. A bidding war over the bottle ensued shortly after bidding began, with one competitive bidder joining virtually and the winner attending the event in person.
Why is the scotch whisky so valuable?
In 1986, a scotch whisky was bottled as part of a collection of 40 bottles produced from sherry that had been aged for six decades. The label on this bottle increases its value, as it is the only one of 14 that was “decorated with the iconic Fine and Rare labels.” Collectors and enthusiasts highly sought this liquor because it was not available for purchase; instead, some of the bottles were offered exclusively to The Macallan’s top clients. In 1993, an additional twelve bottles were pained by Valerio Adami, the Italian painter. It was one of these bottles that was up for auction on Saturday, 18 November.
Previous auctions of Macallan whisky
Although this isn’t the first time that a bottle from this collection has been sold, the recent sale shattered the bids from the 2018 and 2019 auctions. Out of the twelve remaining bottles that bear the “Adami label,” one was believed to have been destroyed during a Japanese earthquake in 2011, while the other unlabelled bottle is unaccounted for. The collection only had two unlabeled bottles, and the other one was sold at an auction in 2018, becoming the first bottle of whisky to surpass £1 million.
While this is not the first time a bottle from this collection has been sold, the bids from the 2018 and 2019 auctions were shattered by the recent sale. The auction house has reported that there are two bottles from the collection that have no labels at all. One of these bottles was given to Michael Dillon, an Irish artist, to hand-paint and was auctioned off in 2019. According to Sotheby’s, “when sold in 2018, it became the first bottle of whisky to surpass £1 million.”