30-Year-Old Whiskey Just Sold For Over $1 Million At Auction

Sharing This Article

Svetlana Gumerova / UnSplash

Forbes just announced that the online auction, Whisky Hammer, just sold the most expensive cask of whisky ever purchased on record at an auction.

The “forgotten” cask of whisky sold for £1,017,000 ($1,295,500), which broke the previous record set in 2021 by Bonhams for the sale of a 30-year-old, re-racked, Sherry hogshead from Macallan, which at the time, sold for a whopping £439,000 (574,000 US dollars).

The 374-liter cask of whisky was originally filled on May 5, 1988, at the Macallan Distillery in Moray and purchased by an expat that same year for just £5,000 ($6,292).

The expat forgot they even had the cask and was notified 34 years later by the distillery that it was still in the warehouse maturing.

Daniel Milne, co-founder and managing director of Whisky Hammer, told BBC, “When this cask was listed in our auction, we knew it had the potential to make history. To come across a cask of this age, quality and size is extraordinary in itself, enhanced by the fact the liquid was distilled at The Macallan which is reflected in the global attention the cask has attracted. It’s been incredibly exciting for everyone at Whisky Hammer to have represented what has become the most expensive cask ever to be sold at auction.”

The online auction ended on Sunday evening with the cask being purchased by a private individual based in the US.

Whisky Hammer, which is a family-run auction service founded by brothers Daniel and Craig Milne, said that the cask would yield 534 x 70cl bottles of single malt whisky.

Sharing This Article

Save this article!
Get this sent to your inbox, plus get new articles & videos from us every week!
Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

About the Author

Manly Bryant

Manly Bryant is a professional writer, social media community manager, and certified home-grown country boy who was raised in the great state of Kentucky. He grew up fishing, camping, working on a farm, and listening to good ol' country music. When he wasn't getting into fun with his buddies, he was baling hay and chopping…

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.