Sotheby's will hold its first auction at The Macallan Estate in Speyside, Scotland, on October 9, placing one of the world's most sought-after whisky bottles at the center of the sale.
The headline lot, The Macallan Fine & Rare 60 Years Old 1926, carries an estimate of £1.7 million to £2.2 million. Distilled in 1926 and bottled in 1986, the whisky matured for six decades in sherry-seasoned oak cask No. 263.
Only 40 bottles were drawn from the historic cask. Fourteen received the Fine & Rare label, while other examples became distinctive collector pieces through designs by British artist Sir Peter Blake and Italian artist Valerio Adami. One unlabeled bottle was later hand-painted by Irish artist Michael Dillon.
A meeting point for craft and collecting
The Fine & Rare bottle offered in Scotland is among the original 14 and could approach the auction record for a whisky bottle. A Macallan 1926 with an Adami label previously achieved £2.2 million at Sotheby's.
The sale also includes a special edition of The Macallan Romantica Collection, featuring three bottles connected to Blake, Adami and Dillon. Just two examples of each artist edition were produced at the stated strength, with one three-bottle set entering the auction and the other remaining in The Macallan archive.
Additional highlights include The Macallan The Reach 81 Years Old and a complete Macallan in Lalique Six Pillars Collection, created with the French crystal house Lalique between 2005 and 2016.
By bringing a landmark bottle back to its place of origin, the sale underlines how rare spirits can connect heritage, design and connoisseurship. This growing intersection of craftsmanship and collecting may continue to position exceptional whisky as a cultural asset for future generations.
