Two The Macallan Whiskies Collectively Sell For Over $2.11 Million At Auction

The folks at The Macallan Scotch whisky brand seem to be having a banner year in 2018 with regards to big ticket news items. We reported just recently, for example, how their new nearly $190 million distillery had just opened in Scotland. Their older whiskies, meanwhile, are selling for jaw dropping prices, such as when two bottles from the 1920s got snapped up in Dubai earlier this month for around $1.2 million. Adding to this now is recent word of two other bottles setting new world auction records for any whisky sold at auction.

Auction house Bonhams reported earlier this month that, at its Hong Kong rare wines and spirits auction on May 18th, the Macallan Peter Blake-1926-60 Year Old went under the hammer first for HK$7,962,500 (US$1,014,422 / £751,703) to a phone bidder, and the record was further pushed when the Macallan Valerio Adami-1926-60 Year Old later sold for HK$8,636,250 (US$1,100,197 / £814,081) to a bidder in the room, surpassing the original estimate of HK$3,600,000 to HK$4,500,000 each.

If you are not familiar with these whiskies, it is not to worry – these are truly rare expressions which most mere whisk(e)y mortals such as us will never be able to touch with our wallets. What you should know to be at least generally informed is that they were, according to Bonhams, “bottled in 1986, and Macallan commissioned Peter Blake and Valerio Adami to design labels for very limited editions, to offer as corporate gifts to the distillery’s most valued customers. Only 24 bottles–12 of the Blake label and 12 of the Adami label–were ever produced. They are elegantly presented in specially commissioned cabinets or Tantaluses, based on the traditional ‘Brass and Glass’ distillery spirit safe.”

“These two bottles are the most significant whiskies ever produced in 20th century and truly presented a once-in-a-generation opportunity for collectors to acquire the Holy Grail of Macallan,” said Daniel Lam, Head of Fine Wine and Whisky, Bonhams Asia, in a prepared statement. “Active bidding came in from around the world but we saw new bidders from Southeast Asia including Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia reflecting the growing appetite and appreciation for whisky among Asian collectors and further reinforcing Bonhams market leadership in Hong Kong in the field of Whisky.”

The broken record for any individual bottle of single malt whisky comes around four years after it was previously set, ironically in Hong Kong and with another bottle of The Macallan, a 6-liter “M” Decanter by Lalique, which fetched HK$4.9 million. It should be noted as well another record was broken at this most recent whisky bidding event, when the oldest expression of Karuizawa (1960-52 year old-The Dragon) went for HK$2,450,000 (US$312,130 / £231,035), setting a new record for a single bottle of Japanese whisky.