Macallan whisky cask sells for over £1.6million in digital auction
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A RARE Mallan '91 whisky cask has sold for a record breaking £1.69million in a digital auction.
It is one of the rarest to come to market in recent times and was sold by London based brokerage firm VCL Vintners.
The cask was represented in NFT art by global phenomenon Trevor Jones as proof of authenticity for the overseas buyer.
The piece, titled The Angel's Share, references the natural evaporation of the whisky through the wood of its barrel, which helps mature and smoothen the taste of the liquid, and also depletes its volume by up to 2 per cent each year.
The previous world record for a whisky cask sold at auction was another Macallan cask, which went for £416,208 in August 2021 at Bonhams Hong Kong.
The Macallan, which is among the top three selling producers of single-malt scotch, does not release casks to private collectors and only a limited number are available on the market.
The last re-gauge of the cask put the ABV at 51.1 per cent, with 600 bottles expected to be remaining.
This particular cask has the perfect proof of provenance, having remained at The Macallan distillery since it was filled on June 3, 1991.
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) act as a representation of ownership for any asset - digital or physical. They give owners something that cannot be copied.
Commenting on why VCL Vintners opted for an NFT artwork to sell the cask, Director Stuart Thom said: "The collaboration with Trevor and Metacask to create an abstract NFT artwork, which is based on an oil painting, gives the new owner a 21st century way to connect with their whisky.
"Instead of a photo which is for verification purposes more than anything, the way Trevor is using new technologies to engage fresh audiences with traditional artforms fits exactly what VCL Vintners and Metacask are wanting to achieve for the whisky investment industry."
