On 9 October 2026, a bottle of The Macallan 1926 Fine & Rare whisky sold for £2,125,000 at auction, making it one of the most expensive bottles of whisky ever sold. The sale took place at Sotheby’s first auction at The Macallan Estate in Speyside, Scotland, during the centenary year of the spirit’s distillation. The bottle came from sherry-seasoned oak cask number 263, which was emptied in 1986 after 60 years of maturation and yielded just 40 bottles. Sotheby’s has reported that the 40 bottles were said not to have been made available for purchase in the usual way, with some reportedly offered to the distillery’s top clients. Their rarity, distinctive labels and auction histories have made surviving examples important objects in the rare-whisky market. The October 2026 sale set a new auction record for the Fine & Rare version, although the overall sterling record remained with the Adami-labelled bottle sold in 2023.
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