The market for whisky has been red-hot in 2018 with a number of new records set on different occasions. The most expensive bottles sold in auctions this year all fell to Macallan 60-Year-Old, which broke new auction records four times this year alone.
The record for the most expensive bottle of whisky is currently held by a bottle of 1926 Macallan whisky that sold for £1.2m in London this November. Dubbed ‘The Holy Grail of Whisky’, the one-of-the-kind bottle has a label uniquely hand-painted by the Irish artist Michael Dillon.
1926 Macallan with a label designed by Michael Dillon
Valerio Adami (left) and Peter Blake (right)
In 1986, after six decades of maturation, The Macallan’s master distiller decided that this particular elixir had reached its zenith, and it was bottled, with appropriate reverence, into 40 bottles. Of the original 40 bottles, 12 had labels designed by Peter Blake, who is best known for designing the cover of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper album, and a further 12 individually numbered bottles were designed by the Italian painter Valerio Adami.
Two bottles from the same batch of 1926 Macallan appeared at auction this May, one with the ‘Peter Blake’ design and the other one with the ‘Valerio Adami’ design. They started the market’s frenzy for Macallan whisky after selling for record-breaking HK$7.96m and HK$8.63m.
The record was later replaced by another ‘Valerio Adami’ bottle of Macallan whisky sold in Edinburgh in August. The bottle of whisky was sold for £848,750 (HK$8.64m), slightly surpassing the previous record. And the one sold in London for £1.2m is the first bottle of whisky breaking the £1m mark.
60-Year-Old Macallan with label designed by Peter Blake (right)
Auction house: Bonhams Hong Kong
Sale: Rare and Fine Wine and Whisky Sale
Sale date: 18 May 2018
Price realised: HK$7,962,500
60-Year-Old Macallan with label designed by Valerio Adami (left)
Auction house: Bonhams Hong Kong
Sale: Rare and Fine Wine and Whisky Sale
Sale date: 18 May 2018
Price realised: HK$8,636,250
The Macallan Valerio Adami 1926 60-year-old
Auction house: Bonhams Edinburgh
Sale: Whisky Sale
Sale date: 3 October 2018
Price realised: £848,750
The Macallan 1926 60-Year-Old malt in a bottle painted by Michael Dillon
Auction house: Christie’s London
Sale: Finest and Rarest Wines and Spirits
Date: 29 November 2018
Price realised: £1,200,000
Japanese whisky also saw strong interest from collectors and buyers in 2018. In January, a Yamazaki Single Malt Whisky Aged 50 Years NV sold for HK$2.33m at Sotheby’s Hong Kong and smashed the record for the most expensive bottle of Japanese whisky. The record was later reset by a bottle of 50-year-old Yamazaki first edition, which was sold at Bonhams Hong Kong for nearly HK$2.7m in August.
Yamazaki Single Malt Whisky Aged 50 Years NV
Auction house: Sotheby’s Hong Kong
Finest and Rarest Wines Featuring the Spectacular Cellar of A Respected Aficionado
Auction date: 27 January 2018
Price realised: HK$2,337,000
Yamazaki-50 year old. 1st Edition
Auction house: Bonhams Hong Kong
Sale: Whisky
Sale date: 17 August 2018
Price realised: HK$2,695,000
An American Hogshead Cask from Macallan Distillery, 1996-22 year old, sold for HK$3,430,000, a record price for the most valuable per bottle cask sold in auction worldwide. It is expected to produce 310 bottles valued at HK$11,064 per bottle.
A 1996 American Cask from Macallan Distillery
Auction house: Bonhams Hong Kong
Sale: Fine & Rare Wine and Whisky
Sale date: 16 November 2018
Price realised: HK$3,430,000
The price for Macallan whisky has increased 14-fold in the 11 years, which shows the strength of the whisky market, and how collectable these bottles have become. Let’s keep an eye and see if the whisky market will build new momentums next year.