New Auction Record for Any Bottle of Whisky — The Macallan 1926 Sells for £2.2 million / $2.7 million

18 NOVEMBER 2023 – This afternoon at Sotheby’s in London, a new auction record for any bottle of spirit or wine was set when The Macallan 1926, featuring the Valerio Adami label, sold for £2,187,500 / $2,714,250 – almost three times the pre-sale low estimate (est. £750,000-1.2 million) and eclipsing the previous record of £1.5m ($1.9m) achieved by Sotheby’s in 2019, for the Fine & Rare version.

After being aged in sherry casks for six decades, just 40 bottles of The Macallan 1926 were bottled in 1986, representing the oldest Macallan whisky ever produced at that time. The appearance of any of these bottles at auction over the years has produced extraordinary results – across 2018 and 2019, the auction record was broken three times by three of the different variations (Sir Peter Blake, Michael Dillon, Fine & Rare).

Jonny Fowle, Sotheby’s Global Head of Spirits, said: “This record-breaking result for The Macallan 1926 is nothing short of momentous for the whisky industry as a whole. When we first set the record for the Fine & Rare back in 2019 it was a defining moment not just for Sotheby’s, but for me personally. This new record result for The Macallan Adami feels all the more emotional for me, having worked directly with the consignor and distillery to recondition, nose and authenticate this bottle, then finish this journey on the rostrum fielding bids in the room and on the phone. Bringing down the hammer for a new whisky world record is a feeling I’ll never forget.”