One of the world's rarest single malt whiskies is predicted to become the most expensive bottle ever sold when it is auctioned next month.
The Macallan 1926 Fine and Rare 60 Year Old is one of only 14 of its kind in existence.
It is expected to beat the current world record hammer price of £1.2m, which is held by the same bottling.
The bottle leads the sale of the second half of one the world's largest private whisky collections to go to auction.
The "Perfect Collection' was amassed over decades by former US bottling magnate Richard Gooding, who died in 2014.
The first part of the collection - more than 1,900 bottles - made more than £3.2m when it was auctioned online last year.
The remaining 1,900 lots were due to go on sale last April, but Perth-based seller Whisky Auctioneer pulled the auction after it was hit by a cyber attack. The company later reported that no data was compromised and the issues had been resolved.
Whisky Auctioneer founder Iain McClune said: "The 1926 has only been at auction once in recent years and at that time it broke the world record for the most expensive bottle of whisky ever sold, and we're hoping that will happen again.
"The second part of the collection we expect to sell for several million pounds.
"We've got whisky dating back to 1921 - 100 years ago - and others from closed distilleries in Scotland that have rarely been seen before at auction."
Crowdfunder for my next birthday present..
Crowdfunder for my next birthday present..
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”
Re: Crowdfunder for my next birthday present..
Do the contents of bottles like this ever get consumed? Be an expensive drink.
Re: Crowdfunder for my next birthday present..
And a similar question, how much better would it taste than, say, a $10,000 bottle, or even a $1000 one? The differences, if they do exist, would have to be fairly subtle.
Re: Crowdfunder for my next birthday present..
What a coincidence! I just this morning watched this brilliant documentary about scotch:
The expert distillers in the film - all from Islay - were pretty uniform in not recommending very old ultra expensive scotch. I suppose if you’ve got money to burn, but they seem to think you’re more likely to get a really good scotch bottled in the 8-12 year old range and you could buy a truckload more for the same price some folks spend on a 60 year old scotch that could very well be all puckered up from age.
Highly recommend the documentary (on Hulu), a master class with lovely Islay scenery, lots of lovely brogues and will leave you wanting to crack into the bottle of Laphroaig you’ve been saving for a special time. (Like the end of the Trump era?)
Here’s an article I found on the subject:
Fun fact from the film: most scotch these days is bottled in American oak casks reused from the bourbon distilling industry, which by law limits the use of each cask to one distilling - whereas scotch is aged in casks used over and over and over.
The expert distillers in the film - all from Islay - were pretty uniform in not recommending very old ultra expensive scotch. I suppose if you’ve got money to burn, but they seem to think you’re more likely to get a really good scotch bottled in the 8-12 year old range and you could buy a truckload more for the same price some folks spend on a 60 year old scotch that could very well be all puckered up from age.
Highly recommend the documentary (on Hulu), a master class with lovely Islay scenery, lots of lovely brogues and will leave you wanting to crack into the bottle of Laphroaig you’ve been saving for a special time. (Like the end of the Trump era?)
Here’s an article I found on the subject:
Why Ultra-Aged Spirits are Ripping You OffIf I may be frank, most super-old Scotches are super awful.
Here’s why: Most good Scotch is bottled starting at around 12 years old. Fantastic offerings can also be found up to the 18- to 21-year-old range. Beyond that, the oak tends to overpower everything else going on in the bottle. The effect can be even more pronounced with spirits that tend to age more quickly, like Bourbon. If you sip a 40-year-old Bourbon or 50-year-old Scotch, you’re basically sipping on oak tannins, bragging rights, a sense of history and little else.
Which is why it’s so perplexing to see producers and others rolling out bottles that are decades past drinkability—think stunt Scotches like a 72-year-old Macallan single malt, produced in 1946 and that fetched $110,085 at auction. It’s an interesting nod toward history to own a World War II-era whiskey but forget about drinking it. After 72 years, you might as well go suck on an oak stave.
Fun fact from the film: most scotch these days is bottled in American oak casks reused from the bourbon distilling industry, which by law limits the use of each cask to one distilling - whereas scotch is aged in casks used over and over and over.
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan
~ Carl Sagan
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Re: Crowdfunder for my next birthday present..
It is my (very slender factual support)understanding that whiskey can improve with age, but only in a wooden barrel which is properly cared for. After it goes in the bottle any change is for the worse.
snailgate
snailgate
Re: Crowdfunder for my next birthday present..
Yes, unlike wine, scotch (and whiskey in general) doesn’t continue to age in the bottle. A 12 year old scotch bottled 100 years ago is still a 12 year old scotch, and so long as it’s not stored in light and high heat conditions, it will maintain its quality indefinitely. Once the bottle is open and air gets in, deterioration of quality begins.Burning Petard wrote: ↑Sat Jan 23, 2021 12:15 amIt is my (very slender factual support)understanding that whiskey can improve with age, but only in a wooden barrel which is properly cared for. After it goes in the bottle any change is for the worse.
snailgate
The scotch Gob highlights in the OP was bottled in 1986 after 60 years in the barrel. Presumably it’s sealed and has been stored properly. Since the last one auctioned sold for the equivalent of $40,000 per shot, I’m sure the buyer will rave about the taste IF s/he ever opens it, but I trust the distillers and blenders in the business for decades who claim it’s not likely all that tasty after so many years in the oak.
Having only ever had the whiskeys kids drink in high school, I wasn’t a fan until not too many years back when my dear friend Linda took me on a tasting adventure through her scotch collection. After having my first single malt I understood everything. I love detecting the different flavors and aromas in good scotches and I can certainly understand how wood would overwhelm everything else after so many years in the cask.
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan
~ Carl Sagan
Re: Crowdfunder for my next birthday present..
This type of bottle is an artifact, as opposed to a product. You would no more drink this than you would play with a collectible toy that is worth 5 or 6 figures and up. So, Gob is just asking for a bunch of money so he can be rich and buy good scotch and stuff.
Re: Crowdfunder for my next birthday present..
The most expensive whisky I ever had, (at Dinner by Heston,) was £80 ($110) a glass. Did it taste better than my favourite off the shelf tipple, Lagavulin?
Nope.
Nope.
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”
Re: Crowdfunder for my next birthday present..
It all tastes like dirt.
Re: Crowdfunder for my next birthday present..
Funny. I just noticed just how similar Rubato and Jaraxles’ posting style is.
Okay... There's all kinds of things wrong with what you just said.
Re: Crowdfunder for my next birthday present..
If you regularly have those hallucinations, see a doctor.
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Re: Crowdfunder for my next birthday present..
It's currently at £810,000 Gob: sounds like a steal to me. You might want to jump in there.
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Re: Crowdfunder for my next birthday present..
In about 30 minutes it's jumped to £835,000. If I were you Gob I'd get in there with a bid that will blow the competition all out of the water - maybe something like £1.3 million.
I don't give out this sort of advice for free, you know.
I don't give out this sort of advice for free, you know.
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- Location: Near Bear, Delaware
Any German Wine experts?
Any suggestions for a fairly young german ice wine (made from grapes that have been frozen by the weather before harvest) that might be available here in the mid-Atlantic USA region now, and worth putting down a bottle or two for a few years before drinking?
And about the aged whiskey question? If it was bottled in the 8-15 year range, but now more than 50 years old, would it still be pretty good? Specifically, would there be good reason, beside sentimentality, for me to buy and preserve 'good' 10 year old American whiskey and save it for a now only hypothetical great grand chld?
Thanks, Snailgate
And about the aged whiskey question? If it was bottled in the 8-15 year range, but now more than 50 years old, would it still be pretty good? Specifically, would there be good reason, beside sentimentality, for me to buy and preserve 'good' 10 year old American whiskey and save it for a now only hypothetical great grand chld?
Thanks, Snailgate
Re: Crowdfunder for my next birthday present..
Whether an 8-15 year old whiskey is still good after 50 years in the bottle depends on how it was stored - if it was kept out of heat and light and kept sealed, it should be fine.
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan
~ Carl Sagan
Re: Crowdfunder for my next birthday present..
You're all heart mate!ex-khobar Andy wrote: ↑Mon Feb 15, 2021 10:00 pmIn about 30 minutes it's jumped to £835,000. If I were you Gob I'd get in there with a bid that will blow the competition all out of the water - maybe something like £1.3 million.
I don't give out this sort of advice for free, you know.
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”
Re: Crowdfunder for my next birthday present..
you should try putting Gorilla Glue in your hair to raise money.
Okay... There's all kinds of things wrong with what you just said.
Re: Crowdfunder for my next birthday present..
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”