Macallan Anniversary whisky beats auction record by 14.6%

A 50-year-old Macallan Anniversary Malt Limited Edition has top performed at a major whisky auction in Glasgow, Scotland.

The cask strength single malt hammered for £17,000 ($27,420), or £20,060 ($32,372) including buyer's premium, 100.6% above its £10,000 estimate at McTear's October 24 auction, which was dedicated to the distillery.

Macallan 50 year old whisky
One of just 500 produced by Macallan

Distilled in 1928 and bottled in 1983, it was one of 72 bottles put up for auction by Macallan's former chairman, Allan Shiach.

Numbered 107 of 500, its considerable rarity ensured a strong price, with a McTear's spokesperson suggesting that possibly just half of the bottles remain undrunk.

Indeed, it beat the previous £17,500 ($28,229) record for one of the 500 by 14.6%, such is the buoyancy of the whisky market.

Third quarter figures from whisky consultancy Whisky Highland reveal that the leading 100 bottles of Scotch have grown in value by 277% since the same period in 2008, reports Barrons.

McTear's whisky specialist, Stephen McGinty, commented: "This is not merely an exclusive selection from one of the iconic Highland distilleries, but a reflection of one man's lifelong dedication to style, quality and tradition.

"The Macallan is recognised across the globe as one of the whisky world's greatest single malts and this magnificent collection illustrates this fact perfectly."

Another of the 500 also performed well, selling for £12,500 ($20,159).

There was also a strong performance from a Macallan 1946 Select Reserve. Distilled in 1946 and bottled in 1998, it sold for £4,200 ($6,773) against a £2,800 high estimate.

Shiach explained that realising the bottles were "too valuable to drink and too rare to replace, I decided to share the proceeds of the sale with a charity and to offer worldwide collectors an opportunity to enhance their inventory with some Macallan items not often seen."

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