This is a number people have been aiming to get to for a while. A similar bottle reached the $1million mark recently, but this is the first time the hammer price has reached £1 million.
Some might think this a ridiculous waste of money, but I don’t agree: It is no different from an artwork –even without the image on the bottle. The whisky itself is a unique work of art. From the craftsmanship involved in creating it, to the selection of the type of cask and deciding when to bottle it, there is a lot of skill involved.
The price is completely justifiable: Because of the organic nature of whisky this bottle can never be replicated. The previous record holder was part of a series of 12 and every time one is opened we are getting closer and closer to the extinction of that particular liquid.
I think the people who created it 60 years ago made it to be opened and enjoyed, and some buyers do that. Others hang on to it as a trophy item, like an art collector who keeps a masterpiece in storage, where noone gets to appreciate it. The way the market has been going I think this bottle may re emerge to be auctioned again.
I think this is really exciting for the whole Scottish whisky industry. Scotch has such a high reputation around the world because of the quality and heritage. A brand like Macallan is seen as the ultimate prestige luxury item around the world and that is great for the industry, and for brand Scotland.
Blair Bowman is a whisky consultant and author
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here