THE £15,000 NIP
Two bottles of rare malt whisky sell for record-breaking $1.2m in Dubai auction
TWO rare bottles of Scotch whisky have smashed the world sales record after being snapped up for more than a million dollars.
The pair fetched a combined $1.2million – more than £860,000 – at an auction in Dubai yesterday.
The Macallan 1926 malts have labels by artist Sir Peter Blake, who designed The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper album sleeve, and Valerio Adami – one of the 21st century’s most acclaimed pop artists.
Both bottles were bought by an international businessman at an auction hosted by Le Clos, Dubai BY CHARLIE GALL airport luxury spirits retailers.
With each Macallan costing £430,000 and 28 servings in a bottle, a single nip works out at a whopping £15,000.
Macallan 1926 – distilled in 1926 then aged 60 years in sherry-seasoned oak barrels before being bottled – was released in 1986.
Speyside-based Macallan already hold the record for the most expensive single whisky bottle sold at auction with The Macallan M Imperiale fetching about £450,000 at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in 2014.
Geoff Kirk, director of prestige at The Macallan, said: “These are some of the most exclusive bottles ever produced, making this an iconic sale that will be remembered for years to come.
“It’s incredibly rare for The Macallan 1926 to be made available for purchase. The sale offered whisky connoisseurs the chance to secure historic bottles emblematic of 20th century pop culture.
“It also demonstrates the brand’s standing as a leading figure in the whisky industry.”
The bottles originally sold for £20,000 and the last known individual bottle was bought for more than £50,000 in 2007.