A bottle of one of the world’s oldest whiskies has been bought for an incredible £92,500.
The Macallan 78 is the oldest released by the Speyside distillery and is part of an exclusive collection.
It was put up for a week-long auction on website Whisky Hammer with a starting price of £10,000 before the hammer came down on Sunday.
Because of the age and exclusivity, it was expected to attract vast attention from collectors and investors.
It was laid down decades ago in Macallan’s “hand-picked oak casks” with tasting notes describing it as “sunset on the Spey”.
It is the oldest age statement whisky brought out by the distillery which refers to the length of time spent in the oak casks, whereas vintage refers to the year it was distilled.
The 42.2 per cent ABV Macallan 78 is part of a new Red Collection which also comprises 40, 50, 60, 71 and 74-year-olds.
Macallan said the new collection is an “exquisite range of distinguished and rare single malt whiskies, shaped by the actions of our founder Alexander Reid”.
A set of six bottles of the Macallan Red Collection is set to go to auction this weekend at Sotheby’s.
Experts believe it will fetch between £200,000 and £800,000.
The auction is to raise money for charity with the whiskies donated by the Macallan Distillery.
Funds raised are to support City Harvest, which redistributes surpluses from the food industry to vulnerable people across London.
Last year, a 60-year-old Macallan 1926 sold for a record £1.5million.
