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World’s 'most coveted' whisky – 60-year-old Macallan – set to break records


By Lorna Thompson

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A BOTTLE of 60-year-old Macallan considered the most coveted bottle of whisky in existence will headline an auction next month.

The second half of one devoted whisky lover’s "Perfect Collection" will feature in the sale hosted by online whisky auction specialists Whisky Auctioneer.

The collection was amassed by late US businessman and philanthropist Richard Gooding, who dedicated over two decades to collecting whiskies from almost every Scottish distillery. His collection of 3,900 bottles of primarily single malt whisky is one of the largest and most significant ever to go to public auction.

From February 12-22, more than 1,900 bottles of the rarest and most expensive single malts, including many from Scotland’s long-lost distilleries, will go under the hammer.

Leading the auction is the world’s most expensive bottle of whisky – The Macallan 1926 Fine and Rare 60 Year Old – expected to fetch a hammer price of more than £1 million.

Drawn from hallowed Cask #263, containing liquid distilled nearly a century ago in the height of America’s Prohibition, the bottle is one of no more than 14 in the world adorned with the iconic Fine and Rare label.

It is considered the pinnacle in rare whisky collecting.

The Macallan 1926 Fine and Rare 60 Year Old, estimated to fetch more than £1 million at auction.
The Macallan 1926 Fine and Rare 60 Year Old, estimated to fetch more than £1 million at auction.

Other collectors items include The Balvenie 1937 50 Year Old and icons of the whisky world from Bowmore’s 1964 vintage.

Elusive whiskies from a bygone era also appear, including a 1921 private cask bottling of Dallas Dhu which has not been seen on the secondary market for more than 25 years.

The Perfect Collection Part Two, which initially launched last April, was postponed following a major cyber-attack.

Part one of the auction took place in February last year, fetching a total hammer price of £3.2 million. Whisky Auctioneer also became the first online auction house to sell a million-dollar bottle.

Iain McClune, founder of Whisky Auctioneer, said: "The entire collection is crowned by the incomparable The Macallan 1926 Fine and Rare, a whisky that has in recent years become the pinnacle of whisky collecting, and for good reason.

"With no more than 14 bottles in existence, the rarity of this opportunity cannot be overstated, and we anticipate that the battle for this icon of whisky will be a mighty one."

Expert in old and rare whisky Angus MacRaild added: "The Macallan 1926 Fine & Rare is one of those handful of iconic whisky releases which has accrued such a lofty status that it exists more in relation to fine art these days than other whisky bottlings.

"Its performance at auction will no doubt be a powerful, bellwether statement about just how iconic and culturally relevant Scotch Whisky remains in the 21st century.

"Irrespective of where you sit in the whisky world, the chance to see such a bottling come to auction and potentially break price records is undeniably fascinating and exciting."


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