Recently, a one-of-a-kind whisky bottle from The Macallan “Anecdotes of Ages Collection” hauled in $437,500 at a Sotheby’s New York saleroom, this 1967 vintage being created in collaboration with the globally-renowned British pop artist Sir Peter Blake.
Igor Boyadjian, Managing Director for The Macallan, said the collaboration with Sir Peter Blake “celebrates The Macallan’s rich legacy and Sir Peter Blake’s remarkable contribution to the art world.”
Receiving 49 bids in advance of the live sale at Sotheby’s, the nearly half-million-dollar bottle is one of only 13 original bottles from this newly-launched whisky and art collection, and was offered alongside a print donated by Sir Peter Blake as well as a bespoke VIP experience at The Macallan Estate in Speyside, Scotland.
Proceeds from the sale benefit the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum’s diversity, equity, access and inclusion initiatives, with the objective to increase both free access and outreach to a variety of diverse audiences within the New York metropolitan area. Audiences will have the opportunity to enjoy free admission to the Guggenheim Museum on select Saturdays through a new initiative, “Saturday on the House.”
“At The Macallan, community is a constant guiding principle and mindset at the heart of everything we do,” Boyadjian said in a prepared statement. “We are proud to have partnered with Sotheby’s New York to auction this one-of-a-kind bottle of exceptional 1967 whisky, featuring original Sir Peter Blake collage art on the label.”
Jamie Ritchie, Worldwide Head of Sotheby’s Wine, said, “Sotheby’s Wine and The Macallan have had a longstanding relationship for many years, and it has been a privilege to sell some of the brand’s most iconic and sought-after bottles.” This bottle now joins that illustrious group.
In addition to the proceeds from this sale of The Macallan benefitting Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum’s diversity, equity, access and inclusion initiatives, Ritchie said they were “pleased to help raise funds for both the Shawn Carter Foundation, and the Asian American Business Development Center via two other outstanding lots: the D’USSÉ 1969 Anniversaire Limited Edition Grande Champagne Cognac and Hennessy X.O x Frank Gehry Masterpiece Decanter. It was exciting to see the worlds of art, design, and rare spirits come together through these exceptional bottles, and we look forward to continuing to present collectors with more superlative spirits through distillery collaborations throughout our 2021 auctions.”
Jonny Fowle, Sotheby’s Spirits Specialist, said the results from these three charitable lots presented recently was their “first dedicated spirits sale in New York. Over the past few years, we’ve witnessed a staggering increase in demand for prized, rare whiskies … and the strong prices realized during this sale are a perfect illustration of this rapidly growing trend. With opportunities to gather again in-person with friends and family slowly becoming more frequent, now more than ever we are seeing collectors acquire special bottles from some of the world’s most celebrated spirits producers, in hopes of sharing them with loved ones in the near future.”
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Sotheby’s has auctioned numerous record-breaking wines and spirits in recent years, with 2020 alone witnessing new world auction records for any bottle of Japanese whisky, any bottle of whisky produced by the Dalmore Distillery, as well as any bottle of Cognac. Sotheby’s Wine currently holds the world records for any whisky collection ever sold at auction, any private wine collection ever sold at auction, the most expensive bottle of wine ever sold at auction and the most expensive bottle of spirits ever sold at auction.
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