A bottle of The Macallan Adami 1926 whiskey was sold for $2.7 million at a recent auction organized by Sotheby’s. This makes it the most expensive bottle of wine or spirit ever sold at an auction.
The Macallan Adami 1926 came from a sherry cask in which it was sitting for 60 years before being bottled in 1986. Only 40 bottles were made at the time, with 12 of them featuring original designs by artist Valerio Adami on the label. The record-breaking bottle had one of Adami’s labels.
Prior to the auction, Macallan did a reconditioning of the bottle by replacing the cork and placing fresh glue on the label, according to The Associated Press. This is the first time that a bottle of whiskey has gone through this process.
Sotheby’s initially estimated that the bottle would go for $940,000 on the low end and $1.5 million on the high end. However, a heated bidding war, both in the room and over the phone, drove the price up.
“The Macallan 1926 is the one whisky that every auctioneer wants to sell, and every collector wants to own,” said Sotheby’s global head of spirits, Jonny Fowle.
Curiously, the previous record holder was also a Macallan whiskey and came from the same sherry cask. A Fine and Rare 60-Year-Old 1926 bottle was sold for $1.9 million back in 2019.
