Sotheby's puts rare Macallan 1926 whisky on sale in London

Sotheby's in London is putting one of the world's most sought-after whiskies back on the block.

ARTnews reported on 24 September 2026 that the auction house is selling a bottle from The Macallan's 1926 vintage. It is the kind of lot that stops collectors scrolling.

The bottle is The Macallan Valerio Adami 60 Year Old 1926. It is one of only 12 bottles filled from the cask. It carries label art by Italian artist Valerio Adami and holds whisky at 42.8% abv, or alcohol by volume.

Sotheby's lists the bottle with a pre-sale estimate, the low to high range published before bidding starts, of £750,000 to £1,200,000. Estimates are not prices. They are the auction house's guide.

Collectors know this whisky well. The same type of bottle sold at Sotheby's in London in 2023 for £2.18m, according to The Macallan. The distillery says the 1926 vintage has set three world records as the most valuable bottle of wine or spirit sold at auction, according to The Macallan.

The current offering is listed as part of Live from The Macallan Estate. The estate stands in the Speyside region of Scotland, on the River Spey. Sotheby's lists a Macallan Distillery sale in London running 3 to 22 September 2026, closing at 2:00 PM BST.

Sotheby's and The Macallan have a long auction history together. They staged a sale titled Whisky & Whiskey Featuring An Exclusive Macallan from 5 to 21 March 2025. They also unveiled a one-of-a-kind Distil Your World Mexico Single Cask, meaning whisky drawn from a single barrel, available only at auction.

Other Macallan rarities have passed through the same saleroom. They include a rare set from The Red Collection with illustrated labels signed by artist Javi Aznarez and the distillery's whisky makers. The distillery also created a whisky in its Anecdotes of Ages Collection to mark a visit to the estate by British artist Sir Peter Blake.

The wider whisky market gives context. A Sotheby's Whisky & Whiskey sale Featuring The Wax Top Collection included a 75cl bottle of The Macallan Cask Strength at 57.4% abv. In 2019, Sotheby's scheduled a whisky collection for 27 September valued at US$4.9 million and described as the most valuable whisky collection ever offered.

What makes this stand out is scarcity. Twelve bottles. One artist label. A public price history. For anyone following on a phone, the interest is simple: how close this bottle gets to its last result.