Shocking Sale: World’s Oldest Whisky Bought For $110,000 Higher Than Estimated Price at Auction

Macallan 81 Year Old The Reach is the world’s oldest whisky. (Photo: Sotheby’s)

The oldest whisky that the world knows of (by time spent in cask, not bottle) – an 81-year-old Macallan – was sold for £300,000 ($330,842) at a Sotheby’s auction that concluded Oct. 5.

This was a fairly shocking price, as Sotheby’s predicted the whisky’s estimated value range to be between £110,000 ($121,260) and £200,000 ($220,473). It’s not often a sale price blows the high end of that projected range of the water.

The Macallan unveiled the 81-year-old whisky, named “The Reach” in February. It immediately became the new world’s oldest whisky, beating out Gordon & MacPhail’s 80-year-old single malt, which was sold last year for about $187,000.

Bottled at 41.6% ABV, The Reach was distilled in 1940. The bottle sold at the Sotheby’s auction is No. 3 of 288 that were made available worldwide. They initially launched at a suggested retail price of £92,000 ($101,473) each.

The rare whisky is presented in a decanter held up by a bronze sculpture of three hands. One hand commemorates the distillery workers of 1940 who crafted the spirit; the second honors former chairman Allan Shiach, whose grandfather led the company when the spirit was first consigned to its cask; and the third is the hand of the company’s current master whisky maker, Kirsteen Campbell.

Alongside the bottle, the winning bidder will also receive a small bronze sculpture created for them and be offered a distillery experience at The Macallan Estate, which will include a tasting of the 81-year-old whisky.

In March, a bottle of 78-year-old Macallan sold for £79,300 ($87,607) at a Bonhams Whisky sale.

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