# Inside the Auction for the Most Expensive Bottle of Whisky Ever

Published 2019-11-07 · Updated 2026-03-19 · Food & Beverage on MarketScale
Canonical: https://www.marketscale.com/industries/food-beverage/inside-the-auction-for-the-most-expensive-bottle-of-whisky-ever

> Distilling whiskey can be a form of art, and the finished product can oftentimes come with the same price tag as a pristine painting. Sotheby’s auction house proved that recently when it broke the record for the most expensive bottle of whiskey ever purchased. The historic bottle is a 1926 Macallan Fine and…

Block Field

Distilling whiskey can be a form of art, and the finished product can oftentimes come with the same price tag as a pristine painting.

[Sotheby’s](https://www.sothebys.com/en/) auction house proved that recently when it broke the record for the most expensive bottle of whiskey ever purchased. The historic bottle is a [1926 Macallan Fine and Rare 60-year-old](https://robbreport.com/food-drink/spirits/macallan-1926-whisky-auction-record-christies-2831194/) and was sold for $1,873,951 in London, England.

“That’s a world record for any bottle of wine or whiskey or spirit at all,” Sotheby’s Wine Worldwide Chairman [Jamie Ritchie](https://marketscale.com/industries/contributors/jamie-ritchie/) said.

It is the fifth time in history that a 1926 [Macallan](https://www.themacallan.com/en-us) 60-year-old has exceeded a $1 million price tag at auction. The collection, which came from a single seller in the Americas, sold for more than $10 million in total. Only 40 bottles of this kind were produced, according to [Macallan](https://www.themacallan.com/en-us).

[Ritchie](https://marketscale.com/industries/contributors/jamie-ritchie/) provided [MarketScale](https://marketscale.com/industries/) with the behind-the-scenes story of the prized bottle and how a new bidding platform helped the auction house facilitate the sale.

## [Made In America: Kentucky Bourbon](https://marketscale.com/industries/food-and-beverage/made-in-america-kentucky-bourbon-trail/)

### [https://marketscale.com/industries/food-and-beverage/made-in-america-kentucky-bourbon-trail/](https://marketscale.com/industries/food-and-beverage/made-in-america-kentucky-bourbon-trail/)

### Bourbon & Bluegrass

If you’ve ever had a glass of American Whiskey, there’s a high chance it was distilled near Lexington, Kentucky. On this bonus episode of [Made In America](https://marketscale.com/industries/architecture-and-design/made-in-america-big-ass-fans-in-the-bluegrass-state/), we are going to discover what has made this drink so popular for generations, and how Kentucky puts its own stamp on it.

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