This “Holy Grail” Bottle Of Scotch Whisky Just Sold For £1.5 Million

The “alternative asset” market seems to still be in a boom, judging by the bid for one rare bottle of Scotch whisky. 

A bottle of Macallan 1926 60-year-old single malt from cask number 263 sold for a world record £1.5M at auction in London, according to the BBC. Sotheby’s, who held the auction, didn’t release the name of the buyer. 

This sum dwarfs the previous record for a single bottle of scotch, which stood at £1.2M and was set by another bottle of Macallan from the same cask that was sold last November. Sotheby’s described the Macallan 1926 from cask number 263 as the “holy grail” of whisky. 

The cask was distilled in 1926 and bottled in 1986. It yielded only 40 bottles. Sotheby’s said at auction that the bottle featured was part of the “ultimate whisky collection”, which consisted of 467 bottles across 394 lots. The collection sold for £7,635,619, which was double its pre-auction estimate. 

The auction marked Sotheby’s first offering of spirits from a single owner. 

Jonny Fowle, Sotheby’s spirits specialist, concluded: “This fantastic result is testament to the quality of the collection. It was remarkable to see so many iconic bottles break records – homage to the importance of distilleries such as Bowmore, Brora, Springbank and, of course, The Macallan.”