$72,000 Bottle of The Macallan Whisky

A rare bottle of The Macallan 60-year-old single Highland malt whisky has gone on sale at London’s Heathrow Airport for the record price of £22,000 (NZ$72,000).

One of only 12 remaining bottles in the world, it is so valuable it has been locked away in an airport safe while replica bottles are being displayed at specialist retailer ‘World of Whiskies’ outlets in Heathrow’s four terminals.

The most expensive bottle of alcohol on sale at the outlets, the 60-year-old Macallan is more than twice as expensive as the most acclaimed wines up for grabs next door at Berry Bros – a 1947 Chateau Cheval Blanc and a 1945 Chateau Petrus Bordeaux, priced at £10,000 apiece.

The Speyside distillers believe it will appeal to well heeled, high-flying travellers.

The whisky was originally filled to cask in 1926 at The Macallan distillery at Craigellachie and bottled at a natural cask strength of 42.6% volume in 1986. It is only the 27th 60-year-old ever to be released.

Earlier this year an anonymous collector paid £20,150 for a similar bottle - the highest price ever paid for a single bottle of Scotch.

William Ovens, travel retail business manager for The Macallan’s owners, the Edrington Group, is confident that record is set to be broken.

‘The Macallan is the most prestigious and sought after of Scotland’s many fine malts. It seems that every bottle released from the very limited stocks of this 60-year-old product achieves a higher and higher price.

‘Along with an incredible flavour complexity, a bottle of The Macallan 60-year-old is a very good investment indeed – a bottle from the same cask sold for £13,200 in 1996 compared to £20,150 in 2002. That is an increase in value of more than 50 per cent in the past six years - well above what was achieved on the Stock Market in that timescale.

‘Fine wines have long been recognised as one of the leading alternative investments; perhaps the time is right for Scotch whisky and The Macallan in particular, to be considered in the same way.’

Kiwi whisky imbibers don’t have to spend £22,000 to get the taste of a Macallan single Malt. For $80 (£33) you can buy a pretty good Macallan 12 year old at any good bottle store here in New Zealand.

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Issued on behalf of Maxxium by Pead PR

Contacts:
Bruce Priddy, Brand Manager, Maxxium New Zealand,
0-9-915 8444 or 021-869 145.
Theresa Platon or Jane Torrance, Pead PR, 0-9-918 5552/49

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