The whisky world is abuzz this week with the news that a rare cask of Macallan scotch whisky sold for a record $1.3 million. So what makes this cask so special?
According to an article in Forbes, the barrel was left in the distillery’s warehouse for more than 30 years, forgotten by the person who was supposed to pick it up as well as the Scottish distillery’s staff.
Here are some interesting tidbits from the Forbes story:
- It’s more than double the previous record of $572,000 fetched last year by a 30-year-old re-racked Sherry hogshead, also from The Macallan.
- The Macallan 1988 cask’s seller was a whisky novice who paid $6,500 to fill the 374-liter cask of single malt Scotch in May 1988, according to Whisky Hammer.
- However, the owner — described only as an expatriate in Scotland who frequently traveled — forgot to pick the cask up and accidentally left it to mature for 34 years at Macallan’s warehouse in bond before the distillery called to remind them just months ago.
If the new owner of this cask would like to share some samples with us, we would love to try this record-breaking whisky. We’re just putting that into the universe, along with every other whisky-lovin’ person out there.
Since we’re talking about high-priced whisky, did you know that the most expensive bottle ever sold at auction was a Macallan 1926? It fetched an incredible $1.87 million.
The high bidder of the Macallan cask, a U.S. resident, has until June 10 to pick it up from the distillery.
