Shropshire Star

‘Holy grail’ of whisky to be auctioned for up to £900,000

The 1926 Macallan Valerio Adami is due to be auctioned at Bonhams Whisky Sale in Edinburgh in October.

Published
1926 Macallan Valerio Adami

A bottle of rare whisky is expected to fetch up to £900,000 when it goes under the hammer later this year.

The 1926 Macallan Valerio Adami is due to be auctioned at Bonhams Whisky Sale in Edinburgh in October with an estimation of between £700,000 and £900,000.

Bottled in 1986, the 60-year-old whisky was bought by the vendor direct from the Macallan distillery for an undisclosed sum in 1994.

A similar bottle was sold at Bonhams Hong Kong in May this year for £814,081 – the most ever paid for a bottle of Scotch whisky at public auction.

Only 12 bottles of the special whisky with a label designed by Italian pop artist Valerio Adami were produced, and it is unknown how many still exist.

One is said to have been destroyed in an earthquake in Japan in 2011, and it is believed at least one more has been opened and consumed.

Martin Green, whisky specialist with Bonhams in Edinburgh, said: “The Macallan 1926 60-year-old has been described as the Holy Grail of whisky.

“Its exceptional rarity and quality puts it in a league of its own, and the world’s most serious whisky collectors will wait patiently for many years for a bottle to come onto the market.

“It is a great honour to be offering this amazingly rare whisky at our Edinburgh sale.”

Sorry, we are not accepting comments on this article.