Most expensive whisky: The world’s most expensive bottle of whisky has been sold for a record price of about Sh. 100 million (about 1.1 million U.S. dollars) at an auction in Edinburgh on Wednesday.
The 60-year-old bottle of The Macallan Valerio Adami, distilled in 1926 and bottled in 1986, set a new world record at the Bonhams’ whisky sale, fetching 700,000 pounds plus a sales premium of 148,000 pounds, the BBC reported.
It has been described by experts as the “holy grail of whisky” because of its rarity, vintage and unique artwork, the BBC said.
The previous record was set by another bottle of The Macallan Valerio Adami 1926 sold in May at Bonhams Hong Kong for a then record price of 814,081 pounds.
The Scotch whisky distillery Macallan commissioned pop artists Valerio Adami and Peter Blake to design labels for a limited edition of 24 bottles, with each artist contributing to 12 bottles.
The lately auctioned whisky is among the 12 bottles designed by the 83-year-old Italian painter Adami, who is best known for his bold and colorful imagery bordered by black lines.
Interestingly enough, the Blake bottles haven’t done quite as well at auctions, according to luxury lifestyle magazine The Robb Report. The English pop artist is best known for creating the cover of the Beatles’ album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
It remains unclear how many of the Adami bottles still exist. One is said to have been destroyed in an earthquake in Japan in 2011, and it is believed at least one of them has been opened and consumed, the BBC said.