This Scotch Whisky Just Became the Most Expensive Wine or Spirit Ever Auctioned After Selling for $2.7 Million

The Macallan Adami Edition was distilled in 1926. This scotch sold for $2.7 million. (Photo: Sotheby’s/Instagram)

A rare bottle of scotch whisky from The Macallan featuring an Italian artist’s artwork made history by selling for $2.7 million at an auction, The Associated Press reported Saturday.

The sale was the most expensive ever for a wine or spirit at an auction.

The offering was just one of 40 bottles drawn in 1986 after the liquid, which was distilled in 1926, rested in sherry casks for 60 years. This bottle was labeled with a painting from the Italian painter, Valerio Adami.

The bottle was projected to sell for somewhere between £750,000 ($911,000) and £1.2 million ($1.46 million.)

“The Macallan 1926 is the one whisky that every auctioneer wants to sell and every collector wants to own,” Johnny Fowle, global head of spirits for Sotheby’s, said, per The Associated Press.”I am extremely excited to bring a bottle to a Sotheby’s auction for the first time since we set the record for this vintage four years ago.”

The whisky was reconditioned by The Macallan. The bottle’s capsule and cork were replaced, and a new coat of glue was applied to the corners of the label.

The distillery additionally took a 1-milliliter sample to test side-by-side with another bottle at Edrington’s offices in Glasgow, to make sure the whisky was in good form.

Most of us will never in our lifetime be able to taste a $2.7 million whisky. Yet one has to wonder — what does it taste like?

The Associated Press reported that Kirsteen Campbell, the Macallan’s master whisky maker, described the scotch as having “rich dark fruits, black cherry compote alongside sticky dates, followed by intense, sweet, antique oak.”

She continued to express that the spirit had notes of “dark chocolate, treacle, ginger… the notes go on and on.”

“It was a very special moment to experience the opening of this iconic 60-year-old single malt, first bottled 37 years ago, and I hope the new custodian will enjoy the same privilege,” Campbell concluded.

Join the Whiskey Raiders Bottle of the Month Club, where you will receive hard-to-find bottles curated by Whiskey Raiders staff with a 90+ rating on whiskeyraiders.com plus live virtual tastings. Sign up here!