Most Expensive Whiskies Ever Sold (Top 10)

It’s amazing to know that some of the most expensive whiskies ever sold were sold for as much as $2 million at auctions. Some of these drinks are over 60 years old, yet, sought after by some of the richest in the game.

Although Scotland is the biggest producer of whisky in the world, many other countries like the UK and China have a record for making big whisky sales. Most of the auctions on this list were held in China the UK and some other countries.

Without further ado, let’s delve straight into the top 10 most expensive whiskies ever sold.

10. The Macallan Red Collection – $975,756

Starting off the list is The Macallan Red Collection that sold for $975,756 at Sotheby’s in London in November 2020. The collection features 6 aged whiskies including two of the oldest whiskies ever released by The Macallan distillery. This collection, despite being available for purchase in very few numbers, is different from the standard releases as a result of its exclusive labels.

As it is with most whiskies on this list, the illustration for The Macallan Red Collection was done by a famous artist, Spanish illustrator, Javi Anarez. The collection had a modest presale estimate of $259,000 but eventually sold for a whopping $975,756 after bids started arriving from all over the globe.

The proceeds of this sale was given to the food charity City Harvest London.

9. The Macallan Lalique Six Pillars Collection – $993,000

The priced attached to this whisky may come as a shock but the rest of the list contain even more shocks. Read on. The Macallan Lalique Six Pillars Collection is a set of 6 crystal bottles containing some of the scarcest of The Macallan’s single malts from 50 to 65 years old.

All six bottles were once single releases as well as products of a collaboration between The Macallan and the iconic French brand. Although each bottle comes with a high cost of its own, the entire collection was up for auction in April 2017 at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong and eventually sold for $993,000.

8. The Macallan Peter Blake 1926 60 Year Old – $1.04m

Although there are many Macallan collections on the list of the most expensive whiskies ever sold, the Macallan Peter Blake 1926 60 Year Old is the first whisky from the Macallan cask #263. Interestingly, the sherry-seasoned cask was filled in 1926 but was left untouched until 1986, 60 whole years later.

In 1986, the whisky’s golden elixir was divided into 40 bottles. Of all 40, 24 of them were dressed in labels by famous artists, two were auctioned in blank bottles while one was commissioned to be painted. The other 14 were to be offered as a part of Macallan’s vintage release program.

In May 2018, one out of the 12 The Macallan Peter Blake 1926 60 Year Old collection was up for auction at Bonhams in Hong Kong, eventually selling for £751,703 (approximately $1.04m).

7. The Macallan Valerio Adami 1926 60 Year Old – $1.07m

The Macallan brand is known for featuring famous artists to design the label of its whiskies. This time, Italian painter, Valerio Adami was assigned the task of designing the label and he depicts a nude model probably admiring the Macmallan 1926 bottle.

The famous release of 12 bottles from the Macallan 60 Year Old cask in 1993 attracted a lot of bidders from 56 countries- 1,642 bidders in total. The bidders were from Australia, Singapore, and the UK among other countries. The winning bidder is reported to be an European who eventually paid £825,000 (approximately $1.07m). It was auctioned at Bonhams in Scotland and was sold on October 8, 2018.

6. The Dalmore Decades No.6 Collection – $1.24m

As of October 8, 2021, The Dalmore Decades No.6 Collection was the most priced whisky auction lot ever sold by Sotheby’s in Asia. Bought by a private collector, the whisky sold for $1.24m in the area. The Dalmore Decades No. 6 Collection is only one of the very few whiskies on this list that isn’t part of the Macallan collection.

The collection is a blend of six releases between 1951 to 2000. The Dalmore will donate 15% of the proceeds (£100,000) to the V&A Dundee, Scotland’s first design museum.

5. The Macallan The Intrepid (The Largest Bottle of Scotch Ever) – $1.38m

One could never get tired of seeing Macallan on the list of the most expensive whiskies ever sold. This is because the brand has proven to be one of the priciest whiskies ever auctioned. The Intrepid is the world’s largest bottle of scotch. Standing at 5’11, the bottle contains 311 liters of whisky, approximately 444 regular-sized bottles.

The Macallan The Intrepid sold for $1.375m (£1.1 million) at Lyon & Turnbull in Edinburgh. The bottle is made up of distinct whisky from two American oak hogshead casks that have been maturing for 32 years. The bottle has immortalized faces of 11 of the world’s most famous explorers as a way of paying tribute to them.

The whisky was was officially named the largest bottle of Scotch whisky in the world by Guinness World Records on September 9, 2021 when it was filled by Duncan Taylors Scotch Whisky.

4. Hanyu Ichiro’s Full Card Series- $1.52m

The Hanyu Ichiro’s Full Card Series is the most expensive set of Japanese whisky ever sold. In 2020, the rare whisky series broke the record of its previous 2019 record by a whopping $600,000. Selling for $1.52m, the series comprises 54 bottles with each of the bottle representing a playing card in the deck.

Some people find this whisky series highly desirable partly because of the story behind its existence. The Hanyu distillery was formed in 1941 by Isouji Akuto who was a sake brewer. Akuto’s grandson conserved 400 casks of fine whisky from the distillery before it ceased in the year 2000. It was from these casks that he handpicked each whisky representing a distinct card. He then released the bottles between 2005 and 2014 to bring about the Hanyu Ichiro’ Full Card Series.

It was sold for $1.52m in November 2020 at Bonhams’s Fine & Rare Wine and Whisky auction in Hong Kong.

3. The Macallan 1926 60-Year-Old Michael Dillon- $1.53m

Asides being one of the most expensive whiskies ever sold, the Macallan 1926 60-year-old Michael Dillon is equally the second most expensive single bottle of whisky ever sold at an auction. The bottle’s distinguishing design was hand painted by Irish artist, Michael Dillon. Dillon singlehandedly painted the Easter Elchies House of The Macallan as well as the Scottish Highlands on the whisky’s label in great detail.

The rarity of the bottle is such that even the distillery was not aware of its existence until it was put up for auction. It was auctioned at Christie’s in London on November 29, 2018.

2. The Macallan 1926 60-Year-Old Fine and Rare- $1.9m

The Macallan 1926 60-Year-Old Fine and Rare was sold for a whooping sum of £1,452,000 (Approximately Rs 14 crores) when it was expected to sell for a range between £350,000 and £450,000 (Approximately Rs 3.4 crores – Rs 4.4 crores). The whiskey was distilled over 90 years ago

Sold at a Sotheby’s auction, Sotheby described the whisky as the “most iconic of all bottles of Scotch whisky”. The drink is rare and its quality comes from ageing in Sherry casks for 60 years (which gives it its dark colour).

The Macallan 1926 60-Year-Old Fine and Rare is considered to be the founding father of the Macallan Fine and Rare series. The series is a collection of 57 vintage single-malt series produced by the distillery over 80 years. It remains the most coveted whisky collection to this day.

1. Craft Irish Whiskey Co.’s The Emerald Isle Collection – $2m

Craft Irish Whiskey Co. boasts of having the most expensive Whiskey in the world. In partnership with Fabergé, its Emerald Isle Collection sold for $2m on St. Patrick’s Day 2021. Although the Emerald Isle Collection is the most expensive whiskey ever sold at an auction, it cannot lay full claim to the title.

This is as a result of its exquisite outlook including the 18k gold and emerald Fabergé Celtic Egg and 22k gold Fabergé timepiece embedded in rose gold and sapphire crystals. This is where a huge part of its value emanated from. Take them all away and the Emerald Isle Collection may as well be way down as the 8th on this list.

The whiskey itself contains two bottles of the Emerald Isle. It is the oldest triple-distilled Irish single malt that exists. The Emerald Isle Collection is 30 years old.

Top 10 Most Expensive Whiskies Ever Sold (Summary)

There are still many scotch brands with so much whiskies up for auctions. In the years to come, there will definitely be more expensive whiskies and maybe, more notable whisky brands emerging. For now however, the table below shows the top 10 most expensive whiskies ever sold.

READ ALSO: Top 10 Most Expensive Photographs Ever Sold at Auctions

SOURCES: ELITETRAVELER.COM, MANOFMANY.COM, LIFESTYLEASIA.COM