An extremely rare bottle of 1926 Macallan Adami is going under the hammer at Sotheby’s on 18th November, with the bid expected to fetch up to a mammoth £1.2 million. 

The Macallan 1926 is the most sought after whisky in the world, with it being the oldest vintage ever released. Only 40 bottles were ever produced, all the way back in 1986. Having set a record of £1.5 million for a Macallan 1926 in 2019, there is excitement in the whisky world that the bottle going to auction will fetch a similar price. This particular bottle is one of just 12 to feature a label that was designed by Valerie Adami, the Italian painter.

It has undergone some extensive reconditioning, which Macallan undertook ahead of the auction. The operation to restore the bottle saw the capsule and cork being replaced, new glue being applied to the corners of the labels and a 1ml sample being taken to test against another 1926 bottle that Macallan own. 

“The Macallan 1926 is the one whisky that every auctioneer wants to sell and every collector wants to own,” said Jonny Fowle, Sotheby’s global head of spirits. “I am extremely excited to bring a bottle to a Sotheby’s auction for the first time since we set the record for this vintage four years ago. Working alongside our friends at the Macallan distillery to recondition and perform clinical analysis on this bottle and liquid has elevated it to an unparalleled status”.

These bottles are incredibly rare, Macallan have only offered these bottles to their top clients. Don’t think however that this bottle will be opened, only one of the 40 bottles has been known to have be opened, with another being lost to the Japanese earthquake in 2011.