Macallan cask sets new world auction record for Pitmedden company
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
AN extremely rare cask of Macallan whisky which had been forgotten about by its owner for more than 30 years has sold for £1,017.000 at auction.
The winning bid, which arrived from a US based private individual, smashed the previous record for most expensive cask of whisky ever sold - a record set by another cask from Macallan which fetched £440,000 last year.
Specialist auction site Whisky Hammer which is based at Pitmedden sold the cask via digital auction in what turned out to be a fiercely competitive international bidding war on Sunday, April 24.
Daniel Milne, co-founder and managing director of Whisky Hammer, said: "When this cask was listed in our auction, we knew it had the potential to make history.
"To come across a cask of this age, quality and size is extraordinary in itself, enhanced by the fact the liquid was distilled at The Macallan which is reflected in the global attention the cask has attracted.
"It's been incredibly exciting for everyone at Whisky Hammer to have represented what has become the most expensive cask ever to be sold at auction."
Held in bond at The Macallan Distillery for almost 34 years, the cask was originally filled on May 5, 1988.
The Whisky Hammer April auction included more than 2000 lots, but it was the Macallan cask which attracted headlines around the world.
Bought for just £5000 more than three decades ago, the 374-litre refill butt sat forgotten until Macallan reminded the cask seller that it remained maturing in the warehouse.
If bottled today, the cask would yield 534 x 70cl bottles of 33-year-old single malt whisky.
With bottle numbers in mind, the price paid for the cask on a 'per bottle' basis of £1906 / bottle is also a new world record.
