Rare single malt Macallan whisky up for auction at £110,000

The 81-year-old whisky is thought to be the oldest in the world, according to Sotheby's

A rare bottle of single malt whisky by a Scottish distiller has gone up for auction for at least £110,000.

Named "The Macallan The Reach", the 81-year-old whisky is thought to be the oldest in the world, according to the broker Sotheby's.

The highest estimate for the 70cl bottle is £200,000, which if sold for this price would mean each 25ml measure was worth over £7,100.

The distiller said it would put money towards its apprenticeship fund.

• Forgotten whisky cask sets £1m auction record

• Rare cask of Scotch whisky sells for record £16m

The whisky was made from a single, sherry seasoned oak cask and comes in a mouth-blown glass decanter.

It rests on a bronze sculpture of three hands that represent characters in the history of the Macallan's - a distiller based near Aberlour in Moray.

Meanwhile the decanter's case was made using wood from a fallen elm tree though to have been on the Macallan Estate in 1940, the year the spirit was distilled.

The auction, operating from Sotheby's in London, will close on 5 October and has attracted bids of £110,000.

The rare bottle rests on a bronze sculpture inside an elm case

In June, a cask of The Macallan 1988 whisky sold at auction for £1m, after being bought 34 years ago for just £5,000.

Sotheby's said the auction record for the oldest whisky was the 80-year-old "Decanter #1" made by Gordon & Macphail.

It sold for USD $193,000 (£142,000) at Sotheby's in Hong Kong in October 2021.

The broker said not many barrels in bonded warehouses in Scotland reach the age of 50 due to the rate of alcohol evaporation.

The Macallan said proceeds from the sale of the 81-year-old bottle would benefit its Artisan Apprenticeship Fund.

It said the fund helps businesses recruit new apprentices and provides artisan apprentices with specialist training and development programmes.

Jonny Fowle, Sotheby's head of whisky, said: "Age, rarity and provenance combine to spectacular effect in this one of one version of the oldest single malt whisky ever to be released by The Macallan.

"This is Sotheby's third auction partnership with The Macallan in three years, and it is always a special event when we collaborate to launch a unique and exclusive bottle. It is particularly special when that bottle happens to contain the oldest whisky in the world."