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Whiskey

This bottle of rare whisky sold for nearly $1.9 million, shattering auction record

A rare bottle of Macallan Scotch whisky sold for almost $1.9 million at auction, setting a new auction record for any bottle of wine or spirit, Sotheby’s said.

A rare bottle of Scotch whisky shattered pre-sale estimates when it sold for almost $1.9 million at auction, setting a new auction record for any bottle of wine or spirit, Sotheby's said.

The auction house announced that the bottle of Macallan 60-Year-Old 1926 sold for $1,873,951, when it was expected to go for somewhere between $448,000 and $577,000.

The whisky, distilled in 1926 and bottled in 1986, is the "holy grail" of whisky, Sotheby’s said, and was part of a 178 bottle collection of Macallan's Fine and Rare series spanning from 1926 to 1991.

According to magazine The Spirits Business, the previous auction record was held by another bottle of Macallan distilled in 1926 – the only bottle that year that had a hand-painted design by Irish artist Michael Dillon and sold for $1.5 million in November 2018.

The Macallan collection sold for $6.6 million, which Sotheby's said is its most extensive collection of Macallan Fine and Rare ever.

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According to the whisky maker's website, only 40 bottle equivalents of the whisky distilled in 1926 were produced.

The whisky has a nose of "rich dark dried fruits – raisins, dates and prunes with wonderfully woody spices (cloves) and treacle toffee," a palate of "robust resinous wood, sweetened with medium treacle toffee and rich dried fruits," and a finish of "drying wood with dark dried fruits and treacle toffee," Macallan says.

"There were cheers when the hammer fell on the Macallan Fine and Rare 1926," said Jonny Fowle, Sotheby’s spirits specialist, calling it "one of the most exciting moments in the history of whisky sales."

Overall, 460 bottles of Scotch whisky were sold from distilleries including Springbank, Brora and Bowmore, totaling $9,854,530 in sale. Sotheby’s said the whiskies all came from one American connoisseur and buyers from around the world.

Follow USA TODAY's Ryan Miller on Twitter @RyanW_Miller

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