The Macallan 1926 60 Year Old has had a makeover, but perhaps not in the way that you would expect.
Nguyễn Đình Tuấn Việt, a world-record-holding collector from Vietnam, has taken a bottle of The Macallan 1926 60 Year Old Fine & Rare and turned it into a “Masterpiece”.
Italian neo-classical artist, Roberto Ferri, was commissioned by Việt to strip the label off the Fine & Rare whisky and create a uniquely stunning artwork of which The Macallan would be proud. He has done just that.
If you are curious about this one-of-a-kind piece of whisky art, read on for the six things you absolutely need to know.
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For a more in-depth look at this creation, you can watch here or read everything there is to know about The Macallan 1926 60 Year Old Masterpiece Edition on Forbes,
1. Owned By The World’s Most Decorated Whisky Collector
The Macallan 1926 60 Year Old Masterpiece Edition was created by Nguyễn Đình Tuấn Việt. Mr Việt has made quite a name for himself in the spirits world through his astronomically big (and extremely valuable) spirits collection. In fact, he is now recognised across 20 categories in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Among these 20 accolades are two that Việt holds particularly dear: The Most Valuable Whisky Collection In The World, valued at around £113 million ($150 million USD), and The Most Valuable Cognac Collection In The World, valued at £20 million ($25 million USD).
Included in these collections are no less than five Macallan 1926 60 Year Olds (including The Masterpiece Edition), and two complete verticals of The Macallan Fine & Rare.
Speaking about his ‘Rare whisky must be owned’ philosophy, Việt said: “I chose the phrase ‘Rare whisky must be owned’ because I have a profound passion for collecting rare and extraordinary whiskies. Whenever I encounter such a bottle, I feel it must become part of my collection—not merely to possess it, but to ensure it is cherished and preserved in the right way.
“For me, true ownership is an act of guardianship—protecting these works of art so their legacy can endure for generations to come.”
2. The Painting Represents Scotch Whisky Itself
The Masterpiece was meticulously hand painted onto the bottle of 1926 Macallan be renowned Italian artist Roberto Ferri. For The 1926, Ferri turned his distinctive, sensual style towards whisky itself, mythologising the ingredients needed to make scotch whisky.
On the bottle, two red-haired nymphs embody barley and oak while water flows between them, as the element that unites every stage of the process. Their red hair evokes both Scotland and the fire of transformation at the heart of distillation. The result is an allegorical work that takes the raw mechanics of whisky-making and turns them into art and myth.
Ferri stands apart in contemporary art as a painter who bridges past and present. Trained in the techniques of the old masters, his work is somewhat Caravaggio-esque in its lighting and anatomical precision. What sets Ferri’s work apart, however, is the use of surrealist undertones that draw on dreams, psychology, and symbolism.
Classical in form but modern in spirit, Ferri has been called a “modern Caravaggio” for the way he animates mythological and religious subjects with a modern twist. His success has seen him entrusted with major commissions, including portraits of Pope Francis for the Vatican. He is one of Italy’s most accomplished living artists.
3. The Masterpiece Was Hand Painted In Italy
Given the extreme value and rarity of such a bottle, The Macallan 1926 60 Year Old had to be treated with the utmost care and reverence. This fact was something that was never far from Roberto Ferri’s mind when he was completing the work. The bottle was personally flown to Ferri in Italy, a move which he called “a ceremonial act of absolute trust” from Mr. Việt.
Prior to the first brush stroke, Ferri spent months conceptualising and practicing the process on similar surfaces. Once Ferri was ready to paint, the bottle was housed in a specifically engineered support cradle to ensure absolute safety. His studio in Sutri was also meticulously controlled for temperature, light, and humidity.
The painting itself is an oil work and contains ground lapis lazuli and 24-carat gold leaf. Such a high-stakes commission was nerve-wracking for Ferri, who told Mark Littler: “Only upon completing the painting did I finally exhale with relief—for this is not merely a work of art, but a priceless treasure where perfection was the only option.”
4. The Sixth Macallan 1926 60 Year Old
Anybody who is interested in whisky collecting has, undoubtedly, heard of The Macallan 1926 60 Year Old. The legendary whisky was drawn from cask #263 in the 1980s after the barrel was found slumbering in the corner of a warehouse by The Macallan’s marketing director, Hugh Mitcalfe. Remarkably, the ABV of the whisky was 42.6%, despite having been aged for six decades.
Just over 30 litres of liquid were left in the cask, enough to produce forty bottles. The resulting bottles were released in different iterations over the next 16 years:
1986 Peter Blake labels—12 bottles
1993 Valerio Adami labels—12 bottles
1999 Michael Dillon label—one bottle
2001-2002 Unlabelled—two bottles
The Macallan Fine and Rare labels—up to 13 bottles (now 12)
2025 The Macallan 1926 60 Year Old Masterpiece Edition—one botte
Various versions of The Macallan 1926 60 Year Old have held the record for the most expensive bottle of scotch whisky ever to sell at auction. The current world record holder is The Macallan 1926 60 Year Old Valerio Adami, which sold for a staggering £2,187,500 in 2023.
5. The Masterpiece’s Value “Can No Longer Be Measured In Numbers”
You would be forgiven for wondering how much this new version of the most expensive whisky in the world is now worth. If the bottle was valued at $3 million USD before Ferri’s brush even touched the surface, then what is its value now? Well, Mr. Việt, custodian of this rare artifact, believes that this question cannot be answered.
“Its value can no longer be measured in numbers. It has transcended the realm of pure collectability to become a true work of art,” Việt said in an interview with Mark Littler. “ It is the culmination of time, distillation mastery, artistic craftsmanship, and the vision of a collector.”
Mr. Việt has already turned down an offer of $10 million for The Macallan 1926 60 Year Old Masterpiece Edition. To him, its worth cannot be determined by a cheque. Instead, Việt says, “The value of the Masterpiece Edition is now symbolic—representing the intersection of tradition and innovation, heritage and the future.”
6. The Macallan’s Legacy Of Artistic Commission
As mentioned above, two bottles of The Macallan 1926 60 Year Old were left unlabelled when they were sold in 2001 and 2002. The distillery invited the purchasers of these bottles to design their own bespoke labels. In their official marketing booklet, The Definitive Guide To Buying Vintage Macallan, the distillery also invited purchasers of bottles with the Fine & Rare labels to customise their purchase
Nguyễn Đình Tuấn Việt, however, did not feel the need to acquire an unlabelled bottle to realise his artistic vision. He removed the label from aone of his three Fine & Rare Macallan 1926 60 Year Old bottles and commissioned Roberto Ferri to create the unique Masterpiece Edition.
As Mark Littler said in the initial press release, “This commission perfectly fulfills the original vision Macallan had in the 1980s. They deliberately left several bottles unlabelled, intending for them to become unique artistic collaborations. Nearly 40 years later, that vision has been realised spectacularly.”
The Macallan 1926 60 Year Old Michael Dillon is another example of artistic interpretation. Much like Việt’s newest edition, this bottle was hand-painted by Irish mural artist Michael Dillon under commission from Fortnum and Mason in 1999. The bottle depicts Easter Elchies House on The Macallan estate in Speyside and once held the world record price for a single bottle of whisky.
Two additional unlabelled bottles were sold in 2001 and 2002. As such, there are two more bottles out there somewhere, opening the door to future artistic interpretations of The Macallan 1926 60 Year Old.
