Whisky history made as online bidder pays £1m for rare Macallan – part of sale of US philanthropist's 'Perfect Collection'

WHISKY history was made this week as the curtain came down on the auction of "The Perfect Collection" of whisky – which included a rare 60-year-old Macallan going under the hammer for £1 million.

The collection was amassed by late US businessman and philanthropist Richard Gooding, who dedicated over two decades to collecting whiskies from almost every Scottish distillery. His collection of 3,900 bottles of primarily single malt whisky generated extensive global interest due to its coveted and rare bottles, as well as its size.

With a total final hammer price of £6,675,000, the collection has become the highest-value private collection ever to sell on the secondary market at an auction dedicated to one single collector’s whisky.

The auction was hosted in two parts by Whisky Auctioneer due to the sheer scale of Mr Gooding’s whisky library.

Part two of the sale, on Monday, February 22, saw 1,557 bidders from 54 countries battling it out for over 1,900 lots.

The most expensive bottle in the collection, The Macallan 1926 Fine & Rare 60 Year Old, sold for a hammer price of £1 million – the first time a single bottle of whisky has sold at an online-only auction at that price.

Part one of the auction saw The Macallan 1926 Valerio Adami 60 Year Old sell for £825,000 at hammer price.

Iain McClune, founder of Whisky Auctioneer, said: "This auction was solely dedicated to one collector's magnificent library of whisky – a man who was dedicated to building The Perfect Collection.

"As enthusiasts of whisky ourselves, we knew that this collection deserved its own spotlight to allow us to truly convey the rarity and sheer scale of something so historic.

"The results from The Perfect Collection clearly show that our auction model is significantly shaking up the traditional secondary market.

"It has been a privilege for us to share Mr Gooding’s legacy with the world and we would like to thank everyone who participated in making whisky history.

"With so many incredible bottles attracting the attention of high-value investors and passionate collectors across the world, the sale is one for the record books – not just for Whisky Auctioneer but for the whisky industry as a whole."

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