THE 5 MOST EXPENSIVE WHISKYS IN THE WORLD
Could you ever guess how many zeros the 5 most expensive whiskies in the world might have in their price? If you combine age, quality, quantity and rarity of being available for purchase, you might be able to do it...or maybe not.
Whiskey is one of the drinks that I have never loved and have not been able to consume with pleasure, until today. The reason is probably that I never gave it the time it deserves, or it may be because I always combined the drink with the best choice of food for pairing, so that's where things got difficult. The most likely thing is that I simply made some mistakes in my approach to it.
Of course, studies come to place me in the overwhelming minority, since whisky has remained for countless consecutive years the number one in preferences and consumption of alcoholic beverages in the world. Its history is mysterious and lost in time with many references starting from Iraq and spreading to Scotland, Ireland, and America.
There is a direct correlation with wine (we will talk about it in a future article) and one of the many things they have in common is the sworn collectors who chase luxury at auctions and have astronomical amounts of money to acquire a bottle of the rarest spirits. Prices are on the rise and many of them believe that it is better to have some expensive whiskey in your collection than gold in a safe! Limited production, rare barrels and aging techniques, famous distilleries, placement in specific historical periods, and luxurious materials for packaging, are some of the reasons why their price is on fire!
1. The Macallan 60 Years Distilled Old Valerio Adami 1926
Macallan is one of the first distillers in Scotland to legally produce and bottle whisky. The wealth of the region and the immense tradition of distillation have placed them since 1824 on the list of the most expensive and admirable whiskies that always make their presence felt at auctions around the world. The bank has been blown up by the 1926 edition, with the general name Macallan 60 Years Distilled, which is also the oldest edition of a whisky that has been aged for 60 years in sherry casks. Only 40 bottles emerged from these casks, which were never released on the market, but some of them were offered to distinguished collectors, sending their fame and of course, their prices skyrocketing!
The most notable thing about them is that their labels were different for each group, with some being designed by very famous artists. The price went up even more and over the years each group was auctioned at magical prices!
For the Macallan 60 Years Distilled Old Valerio Adami 1926, Valerio Adami made the labels for 12 bottles, one of which was sold in 2023 at a Sotheby's auction for 2.6 million dollars!
2. The Macallan 60 Years Distilled Old Michael Dillon 1926
This is the only bottle of the famous Macallan 1926, whose label was created by Irish painter Michael Dillon. Its uniqueness made it sought after and collectible, resulting in it being purchased in 2019 for 2.7 million dollars!
3. Macallan 60 Years Distilled Fine & Rare Collection 1926
Some of the above 40 bottles, their exact number unknown, were entered into the Fine & Rare category, which indicated their rarity and glamour. Availability was now very limited and the "opportunity" to find one to buy seemed dreamy. Which justified the purchase price of $3.6 million, at auction in 2019.
4. The Emerald Isle The Craft Irish Whiskey Co.
This is the rarest triple-distilled single malt whiskey made by The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. and bottled in only 7 bottles, which in turn created 7 unique sets. It is an Irish whiskey from the village of Bushmills that has been aged for over 30 years in a combination of rare barrels, giving it intensity and complex aromas. But beyond the contents, what makes its price soar is its packaging. A walnut box, which contains a decanter and a genuine handmade Fabergé egg, from the third generation of the family. The 18-carat yellow gold holds a real diamond from the Zambian mine with a Celtic knot of diamonds! As an accompaniment, inside the box, there is also a 22-carat gold watch of the same style, as well as two Siglo VI Grand Reserva cigars with their gold cutter.
The moment of truth
In 2021, collector Mike Daley bought the first of the 7 in the US for $2 million, which was donated to a charity that supports children with cancer. That same year, its price reached $3.8 million, and today ONLY two are available. Please don’t fight…
5. Isabella’s Islay
Or luxury at its peak, it is a single malt whisky from the island of Islay in Scotland and has matured in old Scottish barrels. Here we have again the case of the very expensive packaging, a crystal English decanter coated with white gold, 8,500 diamonds, and 300 rubies.
The moment of truth
This particular whisky has created a huge mystery because there is a report about it from the Luxury Beverage Company and at the “privileged” price of 6.2 million dollars! The company is rumored to have split up in 2013, taking with it the fate of this particular whisky whose fate no one knows to this day.
Every drop of the above costs a lot and here the luxury surpasses logic and leaves us wondering if it is inextricably linked to quality since we will probably never try such a whiskey.
To return to our own now, I will never forget the day a few years ago when the movie “The Angels' Share” was playing in the cinema. After the screening, my appetite for whiskey after the detailed descriptions of the distillation and production process had opened up so much that I felt that whiskey would become my drink. I immediately visited a nearby bar and there I asked for the one that caught my attention. The classic green bottle, reindeer on the label, and in my mind I was already taking walks on the slopes of Scotland with a plaid hat, wellies, Barbour jacket, and the flask in my hand. The creation of belief that I was born for this changed abruptly when I rushed and took a very brave sip and felt my insides catch fire, while all the aromas and flavors were in the superlative degree. The film is great, very misleading and when I said above about the mistakes, that's exactly what I meant.
Whiskey takes time, it needs study and respect. There is a whole and very interesting ritual around it that you have to follow to appreciate it and ultimately enjoy it as it deserves.
So we will never know what the above tastes like, but we are not afraid! We can start with the right approach, so that we can enjoy a good whiskey exactly as it should, but also get closer to understanding why a bottle of the above costs about as much as a fleet of vintage cars, a small island, or a couple of houses in Ekali...
Christina Tsogka
