It's only going up when it comes to the price of rare and collectible whisky. Auction records continue to be broken, resulting in eye-watering bids and news headlines, and predominantly Scotch whisky is the one that commands the most impressive price tags. Scotland has traditionally dominated in recent years, but its Celtic neighbour across the sea has seen a remarkable comeback.
The Emerald Isle Collection, a collaboration between Craft Irish Whiskey Co. and famed jeweller Fabergé, broke records in March 2021 when the hammer sold for $2 million, but purists may disagree with its position at the summit. The final sum being higher than expected could (quite easily) be argued to be influenced by the Fabergé additions to the set. Regardless of the fact that Craft Irish is putting Irish whiskey back on the world stage, Irish whiskey is putting Irish whisky back on the world stage.
The Macallan has broken several world records at auction on the basis of its pure whisky quality alone. No other Scotch whisky brand comes close. The Speyside distillery appears in all but three of our nine slots, of which four are from the same cask, the legendary #263, which Sotheby's has described as the "holy grail" of whisky.
In this article, we examine a few of the most costly whisky bottles ever auctioned.
Glenfiddich - The 1937 Rare Collection
The Glenfiddich is a blend of malted barley and wheat whiskies distilled in Scotland. It was first produced in 1824 and is considered to be the finest expression of Scottish malt whisky.
This particular blend contains 12 different malts and grains, including barley, wheat, rye, oats, peat moss, and caramelized sugar.
The 1937 vintage of Glenfiddich was distilled at the Glenfiddich Distillery in Speyside, Scotland before World War II and bottled 64 years later in 2001. There was only 61 bottles' worth of liquid left in the cask by this time, making it an extremely rare whisky. That bottle of whisky is priced at a whopping US$120,000. In 2016, The record-breaking single malt whisky sold at an Edinburgh auction house in the Bonhams whisky sale is now the most expensive.
The Macallan Lalique - Six Pillars Collection
Macallan has partnered with famed French glassmaker and jeweller Lalique to create the Macallan Lalique Legacy Collection, a set of six crystal decanters containing some of Macallan's oldest single malt whiskies, aged 50 to 65 years. The Macallan and the famous French company have been working together for over a decade to produce six exclusive decanters.
The entire set of Macallan Lalique bottles, which are each highly valued, was auctioned off in April 2017 in a bespoke natural ebony cabinet that also held six miniatures and six Lalique Macallan glasses. The spring auction at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong saw the incredibly rare set sell for $993,000.
The Macallan Peter Blake 1926
Macallan cask #263 was filled with golden elixir in 1926, and it remained untouched in the Macallan distillery until 1986 when it was divided into just 40 bottles. It is the first whisky on the list, and it is worth telling you a bit about its history.
Macallan released 24 bottles with labels designed by famous artists and two blank bottles that were auctioned off. The remaining 14 bottles were part of Macallan's vintage release programme.
In 1993, The Macallan released 12 limited edition single malts to commemorate the brand's centenary. To maintain the exclusivity of the whisky, Sir Peter Blake (best known for his design of The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover) was enlisted as the artist. The 60-year-old Macallan whisky was sold for the highest ever price after three collaborations between the artist Keith Haring and the designer Marc Askew on the label.
A bottle of Macallan's 60-year-old The Macallan Peter Blake 1926 was sold for £751,703 at Bonhams in Hong Kong in May 2018 ($1.04m).
Craft Irish Whiskey Co.’s The Emerald Isle Collection
On St. Patrick's Day 2021, Craft Irish Whiskey Co. set records when its Emerald Isle Collection in collaboration with Fabergé was sold for $2 million. Despite technically being the most expensive whisky lot ever auctioned, the Emerald Isle Collection cannot claim full ownership of the title, as a large portion of the value comes from the meticulously-crafted 18k gold and emerald Fabergé Celtic Egg and 22k gold Fabergé timepiece encased in rose gold with sapphire crystals, which also comes as part of the set.
There are only seven sets in the world, making it extremely desirable. The limited production of only seven sets inspired by Ireland's seven wonders makes this whisky uniquely covetable. However, let us not forget the whisky itself. The set comes with two bottles of Craft Irish Whiskey Co.’s Emerald Isle, a triple-distilled Irish single malt Irish whiskey. Because the initial launch of the 30-year-old whiskey sold out, four additional sets were released the following year, and only two remain.
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