Bonhams broke auction record with £848,750 ($1.1 m) sale of Macallan Valerio Adami 1926 at its Whisky Sale on 3 October.
“The holy grail of whisky”, which dates back almost a century, has been sold for £848,750, including a hammer price of £700,000 and a buyer’s premium of £148,750.
This super rare whisky was distilled in 1926 and then bottled in 1986. Macallan commissioned Peter Blake and Valerio Adami to design the labels for the limited edition bottlings – 12 of the Adami and 12 of the Blake labels. This 750-milliliter bottle of 60-year-old whisky was on of Adami’s 12. It is not known how many of them still exist.
1926 Macallan Valerio Adami
The identity of the private buyer was not revealed. But a Bonhams spokesman said on Wednesday that the person was from Asia and had made the bid over the phone.
Bonhams whisky specialist, Martin Green, said: “The Macallan 1926 60-year-old has been described as the Holy Grail of whisky.
“Its exceptional rarity and quality puts it in a league of its own, and the world’s most serious whisky collectors will wait patiently for many years for a bottle to come onto the market.
“It is a great honour to be offering this amazingly rare whisky at our Edinburgh sale.”
1926 Macallan Valerio Adami
