A bottle of The Macallan 1926, bearing the Fine & Rare label, sold for £2,125,000 ($2,807,975) at a Sotheby’s auction held at The Macallan Estate in Speyside, Scotland, on 9 October 2026. The result makes it the second most valuable bottle of whisky ever sold in sterling, but the most valuable ever sold at auction when measured in US dollars.
The bottle led Live from The Macallan Estate, the first auction ever to take place at The Macallan Distillery.
The sale was conceived to mark the centenary of the distillation of The Macallan 1926. It comprised 42 lots drawn almost exclusively from private collections worldwide.
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The ‘white-glove’ auction was 100% sold, achieving an above-estimate total of £3.3 million ($4.4 million) against an estimate of £2.4-3.2 million. It became the second most valuable whisky auction Sotheby’s has ever held, after The Ultimate Whisky Collection in 2019. Some 86% of the lots sold achieved prices above their high estimates.
“Today’s result reflects the enduring fascination that The Macallan 1926 inspires among collectors around the world,” said Jonny Fowle, global head of whisky & spirits at Sotheby’s. “More than a century after it was distilled, it continues to stand alone as the benchmark for rarity, provenance and desirability in whisky.”
Bottled in 1986 at 60 years old, the 1926 vintage is the oldest ever bottled by The Macallan. Just 40 bottles were drawn from a single sherry-seasoned oak cask, number 263.
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READ THE STORYUp to 14 of those bottles were decorated with the Fine & Rare label, 12 were designed by Sir Peter Blake, and a further 12 by Italian artist Valerio Adami. Two bottles were left unlabelled, and one was hand-painted by Irish artist Michael Dillon, commissioned through Fortnum & Mason.
The £2.1 million achieved 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 in 2019 by almost 50%, an increase of approximately $900,000.
The current overall whisky auction record remains the Valerio Adami labelled 1926, which sold at Sotheby’s London in November 2023.
The sale opened with The Macallan Romantica Collection, consigned directly by the brand, which sold for £162,500 ($214,278). Proceeds will benefit three registered charities selected by the artists, split equally between Graeae Theatre Company, Cancer Research UK and Associazione VIDAS in Milan.
“We are humbled by the response to the auction live from The Macallan Estate and the results achieved,” said Jaume Ferras, creative director at The Macallan. “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.”
The second most valuable lot was a complete set of The Macallan in Lalique Six Pillars Collection, which realized £350,000 ($462,490).
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