1 bottle Macallan 1928 - 1983 50 Year Old. Anniversary Malt. In wooden, leather-strapped presentation box with matching letter of authenticity. One of only 500 bottles. 75cl. Natural cask strength of 38.6%. Level in neck.
This is easily the finest example of this bottling we have ever seen, from every aspect, especially the filling level which remains unmoved since bottling, it is immaculate.
The Macallan 50 Year Old Anniversary Malt is widely regarded as one the most significant bottlings in the history of Scottish malt whisky, from the perspectives of production, bottling and marketing. At the time of it's release in 1983 it was not only one of first malt whiskies to be bottled at such a great age but the first official Macallan bottling at such an age and the first official release to be targeted at such a premium level with appropriate description and packaging.
The whisky itself is composed of three casks distilled between 1926 and 1928, making the whisky in fact 55 years old at least. Note also the naturally low cask strength of 38.6%, one of very few bottlings ever to be released beneath standard filling strength of 40%. Over the years this whisky has acquired a reputaiton as one of the greatest ever bottled, however there are so few people who have tasted it that it remains one of the most sought after bottlings in the world today.
This appearance at Whisky Online Auctions marks the first time this bottling has come up for sale in an online auction such as ours and the first time it has appeared on the secondary market in over a year. This is a rare opportunity to acquire a pristine example of such a legendary bottling outside the prohibitevely expensive confines of retail. This particualr bottle came from a private vendor in England, who's father purchased the bottle direct from retail shortly after it's initial release in the mid-1980s.
Please note: this bottle does have a number but it has been obscured, it will be revealed to the winning bidder.
The grandest of Speyside’s blue chip distilleries, Macallan was founded in 1824 and carved a reputation for luxury single malt whisky in the 1980s with string of 18-year-old and 25-year-old sherry-matured vintage single malts distilled in the 1960s and 1970s, building on the renown of earlier highly-regarded licensed bottlings by Gordon & MacPhail and Campbell, Hope and King.
In the early 2000s, as the supply and quality of even the best sherry casks declined dramatically, Macallan introduced their Fine Oak series, an initially controversial range of bottlings that included bourbon-matured spirit in the cask recipe. While the Fine Oak series took some time to find its audience, Macallan’s status as the top Speyside distillery - particularly at auction - was already well-established and today a legion of eager Macallan fans ensure that each new luxury bottling from the distillery sells out immediately on release.
Distillery bottlings are, as the name suggests, bottled by or for the distillery from which the whisky has originated and are thus often referred to as Official Bottlings or OBs. Distillery bottlings are generally more desirable for collectors and usually fetch higher prices at auction than independent bottlings. They are officially-endorsed versions of the whisky from a particular distillery and are therefore considered the truest expression of the distillery’s character.
This ideal of the distillery character is regarded so seriously by the distilleries and brand owners that casks of whisky that are considered to vary too far from the archetype are frequently sold on to whisky brokers and independent bottlers. When this happens, it is often with the proviso that the distillery’s name is not allowed to be used when the cask is bottled for fear of diminishing or damaging the distillery’s character and status.