Rare bottle of whisky sells for almost £12,000

A whisky distilled more than 80 years ago has become the most expensive spirit of its type to be sold at auction, it was confirmed today.

The Macallan Anniversary 50-year-old sold for £11,750, including a buyer's premium of 17.5%, at McTear's Auctioneers' rare and collectible whisky sale in Glasgow.

The whisky, which is a combination of three casks distilled between 1926 and 1928, was bottled in 1978 and is accompanied with a letter of authenticity dated July 4 1983.

It was bought by a private collector based in California.

The whisky sale sold a total of 574 lots yesterday, making it the "largest sale of its kind in the world", a spokesman for the auctioneers said.

The spokesman added: "We are not aware of a Macallan Anniversary 50-year-old being sold at this price before anywhere in the world."

He said it was also the most expensive whisky sold at a McTear's auction since the start of the year.

McTear's whisky specialist Andrew Bell said: "We knew that out of almost 600 different lots the Macallan Anniversary 50-year-old was the stand-out bottle in the sale and it's quite clear that others agreed.

"Whisky collectors from across the world joined the sale by phone and through the internet and the price paid is a reflection of its importance to collectors and investors in whisky."

Total sales were more than 50% higher than expected and reached almost £155,000, including the buyer's premium.

Lots included a 60-year-old Royal Brackla which sold for £3,800 and a limited edition 1965 bottle of Ardbeg, which sold for £3,000 complete with glass museum case, cleaning kit and white gloves to handle the bottle.