Macallan 1926 leads online whisky auction

The second half of the world’s largest whisky collection will go under the hammer next month, with a bottle of The Macallan 1926 Fine and Rare expected to sell for more than £1 million (US$1.4m).

In February 2020, the first part of The Perfect Collection sold for US$4.2 million. The sale included a new record for the highly coveted Macallan 1926 Valerio Adami 60 Years Old, which sold for US$1,072,000, breaking the previous record of US$912,000.

The Perfect Collection had been accrued by the late American private collection Richard Gooding, and was sold by Perth-based Whisky Auctioneer. The collection, which contained more than 3,900 bottles of mostly single malt Scotch, was split into two separate auctions.

In April 2020, the second part of the whisky sale had to be postponed due to a cyber attack.

Whisky Auctioneer will now hold the second sale from 12 to 22 February 2021. It will feature more than 1,900 bottles of rare single malts, including several from closed distilleries in Scotland.

The highlight of the sale will be a bottle of The Macallan 1926 Fine and Rare 60 Years Old, which is expected to set a new world record and sell for more than £1m (US$1.4m). The bottle, which comes from cask number 263, is thought to be one of 14 in the world.

Iain McClune, founder of Whisky Auctioneer, said: “Mr Gooding’s Collection is nothing short of extraordinary and we are honoured and delighted to bring it to auction. Collectors, investors and whisky lovers alike will have their interest sparked by the truly astonishing array of whiskies on offer.

“Undoubtedly the entire collection is crowned by the incomparable The Macallan 1926 Fine and Rare, a whisky that has in recent years become the pinnacle of whisky collecting and for good reason. With no more than 14 bottles in existence the rarity of this opportunity cannot be overstated and we anticipate that the battle for this icon of whisky will be a mighty one.”

Other notable whiskies in the sale include The Balvenie 1937 50 Years Old, a Bowmore 1964 vintage and a 1921 private cask bottling from Dallas Dhu, which has not been seen on the secondary market for more than 25 years.

The auction will also offer Black Maple Hill American whiskeys, which are said to be nearly impossible to buy. There will also be bottlings from Port Ellen, Glenugie and Killyloch, alongside a 1924 Royal Brackla 60 Years Old and a 1922 vintage Highland malt from Berry Bros & Rudd.