Jonny Fowle, Sotheby’s Global Head of Spirits, with the Macallan 1926.
The 60-year-old whisky, featuring a label designed by Italian artist Valerio Adami, is one of only 40 bottled by Macallan in 1986 from ex-Sherry hogshead cask #263, and one of 12 featuring the Adami label.
The final sum paid for the bottle – £2,187,500 (US$2,714,250) – was almost £1m above the auction house’s pre-sale high estimate of £1.2m, and eclipses the old record of £1.5m, paid at Sotheby’s in 2019 for another Macallan 1926, this time featuring the distillery’s Fine & Rare label.
Jonny Fowle, Sotheby’s global head of spirits, described Saturday’s sale – part of the auction house’s ‘Weekend of Whisky’ – as ‘nothing short of momentous for the whisky industry as a whole’.
He added: ‘This new record result for The Macallan Adami feels all the more emotional for me, having worked directly with the consignor and distillery to recondition, nose and authenticate this bottle, then finish this journey on the rostrum fielding bids in the room and on the phone. Bringing down the hammer for a new whisky world record is a feeling I’ll never forget.’
During reconditioning, the bottle’s capsule and cork were replaced, fresh glue was applied to the corners of the labels, and a 1ml sample was taken to test against another Macallan 1926 bottle at the Glasgow offices of distillery owner Edrington.
Macallan master whisky maker Kirsteen Campbell, who nosed the single malt as part of the process, said: ‘The whisky had an
