Whiskey is perhaps the most collectible of spirits: it is enjoyed by millions around the globe and is produced on every continent except Antarctica (though even Antarctica has its own piece of whiskey history [https://nzaht.org/shackletons-whisky/]). Because whiskey is widely produced and enjoyed, there is a variety of whiskies available to collectors. Of course, like any collectible, whiskey can sell for a range of prices. A nice, great-tasting bottle of whiskey can cost you well under $100, and many are even under $60. Rarer whiskies can sell for quite a bit more and can easily fetch hundreds or even thousands.
Beyond these rare bottles, however, there is another tier. This is the abode of super-rare whiskies. There is no one reason that makes a particular bottle super rare. These bottles are often one-of-a-kind or of extremely limited runs. They could be barrel-aged for incredibly long periods of time, or they may have simply been bottled ages ago. Others have storied pasts, either who made this whiskey or who owned it (and, apparently, never drank it). Super rare whiskies can sell for hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars, and it is news when major bottles come to auction. This article will explore some of the rarest whiskies ever to cross the auction block and explore why these bottles brought such high prices.
Glenlivet Eternal Collection First Edition 55 Year Old Scotch Whisky
(https://qz.com/a-one-of-a-kind-bottle-of-scotch-sold-for-67-000-1851690677)
One of the ways that a whiskey can become super rare is by, simply, being aged for a very long time. The longer a whiskey ages, the more it takes on the characteristics of the barrel(s) in which it is aged and the more the flavors and tasting notes develop. An excellent example of this is Glenlivet Eternal Collection First Edition 55-Year-Old Scotch Whisky.
Produced by Glenlivet, one of the most well-known Scotch distilleries, the Eternal Collection is sourced from a single cask. The whisky within the cask has been aging, as of 2025, for around 56 years. In the First Edition of the Eternal Collection, 100 bottles were produced, but more whisky will be coming out in later years after having aged for a longer period of time.
This long aging alone would make any bottle of Glenlivet Eternal Collection First Edition 55 Year Old Scotch worth a significant premium, but one bottle in particular got special treatment. This bottle was specially designed by the architect Michael Hansmeyer and decorated with 24 karat gold and peridot gemstones. In addition, Hansmeyer made a specially designed 24-karat gold display plinth for the bottle. Finally, the bottle was sold as a benefit for the National Trust for Scotland. All of these factors (the age of the whisky, the exquisite bottle and display plinth, and with proceeds going to charity) aligned so that this beautiful bottle of Scotch sold for over $67,000 at Sotheby’s in 2024.
Macallan The Reach 81 Year Old Scotch Whiskey
(https://www.foodandwine.com/news/oldest-scotch-whisky-auction-macallan-the-rea)
If rarity was based on age alone, then The Reach might be one of the rarest whiskies known to man. Bottled by one of the most famous Scotch distilleries, Macallan, in 2021 and sold in 2022, The Reach is an astonishing 81 years old. It was barreled in 1940 during the opening salvos of the Second World War. It aged for 81 years at Macallan’s distillery; the intervening decades saw the end of the War, the Space Race, Man on the Moon, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union, and even the beginning of the global COVID-19 pandemic before the whisky was finally bottled. In short, by whisky standards, 81 years is nearly ancient.
Lest you think that the “juice” alone is a work of art, however, Macallan also decided to make the presentation of this bottle a work of art. The Reach was specially bottled in a hand-blown glass bottle, nestled in a bronze sculpture of hands, and (finally) enclosed in a cabinet made from an elm tree on the Macallan Estate that was allegedly there when the whisky was originally barreled. It makes the entire ensemble a beautiful experience and a feast for all the senses.
All indications were that this bottle would sell high, and it did not disappoint. The final selling price of The Reach was about $340,000, which is an incredible amount of money: a journalist for Food & Wine pointed out that this was about the price of a house at the time. What is most shocking, however, is that this price, while astronomical, was not the highest price paid for a bottle of whisky.
LeNell’s Red Hook Rye 24 Year Old Rye Whiskey
Both of the whiskeys we have discussed up to this point have been Scottish, and the rest of this list will be similar, so we did want to discuss one super rare American bottle. That bottle would be LeNell’s Red Hook Rye 24 Year Old, a Kentucky bourbon that was bottled and sold by one liquor store in Red Hook, Brooklyn, New York in 2008.
The story, as far as we can find it, goes like this: LeNell Camacho Santa Ana opened a liquor store in Red Hook and decided to sell her own whiskey. She bought four barrels of 1984 Willet (a fantastic whiskey in its own right), and sold individually numbered bottles of the whiskey, with each barrel marked as well. The whiskey, by the account of one individual who drank her bottle, is fiery and strong, fitting the bill for the rough and ready image of this bottle.
The Red Hook Rye originally sold in Camacho Santa Ana’s store for about $75 to $100 back in 2008, but then the prices began to rise on the secondary market. By 2022, a bottle sold at Sotheby’s for a whopping $43,750, tying it for the title of the most expensive rye whiskey sold at auction. From there, however, the price has kept going up. As of 2025, you can buy a bottle for about $100,000 retail.
1926 Macallan Adami 60 Year Old Single Malt
(https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-67466202)
(https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scotch-whisky-auction-record-180983299/)
By far, the most expensive bottle of whiskey ever sold at auction is 1926 Macallan Adami 60 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky. This bottle was produced by Macallan in 1986. Macallan pulled whisky from barrels that had been aging for 60 years, since 1926. The incredible barrel aging of this whisky alone would make it super rare, but there were other factors as well. Only 40 bottles of the 1926 Macallan 60 Year Old Single Malt Scotch were produced in 1986, and, of those, only 12 were decorated with a special label by the Italian artist Valerio Adami. It is believed that only 10 of the Adami variety still exist: one broke in an earthquake, and the other one was (I hope) thoroughly enjoyed.
Based on these criteria, the 1926 Macallan Adami 60 Year Old Single Malt Scotch whisky is sure to sell for a significant premium at auction. A bottle auctioned in 2023 at Sotheby’s sold for a staggering $2.7 million dollars. This is an astronomical price: to give context, you could buy seven brand new Ferraris for this price and still have change left. The reason why this bottle brought such a premium is all of its factors working in concert: it’s a well-known distillery, a well-known bottle, a very small production, and an artist-designed label. All of these factors, then, combined to make an incredibly enticing bottle to collectors.
The Emerald Isle
(https://craftirishwhiskey.com/the-emerald-isle/)
(https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2024/01/irish-whiskey-becomes-most-expensive-ever-sold-at-auction/)
While the 1926 Macallan Adami is the most expensive whiskey to (yet) sell at auction, this does not make it the most expensive whiskey ever sold. That honor, rather, goes to an even rarer bottle, The Emerald Isle. Produced by the Craft Irish Whiskey Company, The Emerald Isle is of an extremely small production: only seven bottles were produced.
The Emerald Isle was aged in a combination of three barrels for thirty years, including a 2001 American bourbon barrel and 401 Pedro Ximenez sherry casks. This has allowed the whiskey to sport a very refined flavor, with notes of leather, tobacco, and Christmas cake spices. So, the Emerald Isle is not only a very rare bottle, but promises to taste incredible should one drink it (and I think you should).
What really brings this bottle to the stratosphere of value, however, are its accouterments. The Emerald Isle was produced in association with Fabergé. In addition, then, to the very handsome bottle and wood case, the Emerald Isle includes:
- A custom Fabergé egg, entitled “The Celtic Egg”, which is made of 18 karat gold and features green enamel work and an uncut emerald from Zambia.
- A handsome rose gold Fabergé watch
- Two Cohiba Siglo Gran Reserva VI cigars
Not only are you buying a super rare Irish whiskey, but you are also buying the clout of having bought this whiskey and getting all of the rarefied objects that come with it.
So, just how much is the Emerald Isle worth? This is a moving figure. They have sold at auction for $2 million dollars, but buyers have paid up to $3 million through private sales. In one published sale in January 2024, Craft Irish Whiskey sold one bottle of the Emerald Isle to an American whiskey collector for $2.8 million.
Selling Whiskey at Good Bottle Auctions:
What is the moral of the story? Simply put, whiskey can be big business. Does any one characteristic make one bottle or another the rarest? No, but that’s part of the beauty of whiskey itself: whiskey is something that is meant to be enjoyed!
At Good Bottle Auctions, we are no strangers to incredible bottles of whiskey: we ourselves love fine whiskey. We collect interesting bottles ourselves and share our favorites with our friends! We have the expertise and desire to sell your whiskey for the best price.
