MILLION DOLLAR MACALLAN

And the records keep shattering. The only bottle of 1926 Macallan featuring a hand-painted design by Irish artist Michael Dillon has broken the world record for the most expensive whisky after fetching £1.2 million (US$1.5m) at auction on November 29. Termed the “holy grail” of Scotch, the one-of-a-kind single malt has also become the first bottle of whisky to exceed a sale of a million pounds. Only 4O bottles of The Macallan 1926 were released in 1986 following a 6O-year maturation period in Sherry-seasoned oak casks, each with a £2O,OOO price tag. Twelve were given to artist Peter Blake to design, and another 12 were set aside for artist Valerio Adami, with one bottle hand-painted by Dillon. The last world record for the most expensive bottle of whisky was set by The Macallan Valerio Adami 1926 last month. The lot fetched £848,75O (US$1.O85m) at a Bonhams sale in Edinburgh. Until earlier this year, the last known sale of a 1926 bottle of The Macallan was through Christie’s in 2OO7, which fetched $75,OOO.