Rare Macallan whisky sells for world record price

A bottle of Macallan Valerio Adami 1926 has been auctioned for a record $1.5million (STG848,750).

The buyer was a private collector from Asia who bid by phone, auctioneer Bonhams said.

The 60-year-old whisky was bottled in 1986 and is one of only 24 bottles of its kind. Macallan commissioned two famous pop artists, Valerio Adami and Peter Blake, to design labels for a very limited edition of 24 bottles – 12 of the Adami and 12 with the Blake labels.

It is not known how many Adami's still exist. One is said to have been destroyed in an earthquake in Japan in 2011, and it is believed that at least one of them has been opened and drunk.

Martin Green, the whisky specialist at the Bonhams, 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."

The bottle is presented in a specially commissioned cabinet, or tantalus, based on a traditional brass and glass distillery spirit safe.

It was bought by the seller direct from the Macallan distillery for an undisclosed sum in 1994.

In May, another bottle of The Macallan Valerio Adami 1926 was sold at Bonhams Hong Kong in May for a then world record-breaking price of £814,081, the most paid for a bottle of Scotch whisky at public auction.

At the same sale, Bonhams also sold a bottle of The Macallan Peter Blake 1926 60-year-old for £751,703.

Is it worth the hefty price tag?

Not everyone's a fan of the rare offering, whisky broker David Robertson tasted it when he was Macallan’s master distiller in the mid 1990s.

“It is a delicious dram,” he told The Sunday Post. “But is it the best whisky I have ever tasted? Probably not.

“I distinctly recall it being hugely oaky with an incredibly fruity flavour.”

Robertson rates the Macallan 1979 Gran Reserva as his personal all-time favourite. “It has strong hints of sultanas, figs and raisins.

“It’s a classic sherry-matured single malt which also has an interesting taste of rich clove and ginger spices. But a whisky just being old doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a better dram – even if it is about 30 grand a nip.”