The Macallan 1926 story has been intertwined with my life for over 15 years, starting in 2008 when I first visited The Macallan estate. The purpose was to collect water to make ice cubes that were part of the world’s most expensive cocktail (at the time) served in the Skyview bar of the Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai. The whisky used in the cocktail was Macallan Lalique 55YO. An amazing story about this cocktail is that it was supposed to be part of a co-ordinated PR campaign on its launch. Everything was set up the day before in anticipation. The evening before the launch two dot-com millionaires on an around the world tour walked in and ordered two on the spot for $7,500 each. With an accent on 7-star service the staff duly obliged and so the world record was set a day early.
That trip to the estate was the start of a journey for me and I quickly realised the whisky world needed to buckle up as The Macallan was about to rapidly change the drinks landscape. As the head of the business, I ordered as much Fine and Rare and premium references, in anticipation of what I could see coming. However, the jewel in the crown, the 1926 was not available through the distillery anymore as the majority of bottles had been sold directly to its most loyal customers, and so I would need to find a secondary market source.
So began a 10-year quest to find someone willing to sell to me at a price that made sense. In 2012 I came very close to buying a bottle for around $400,000 from a UK collector but there was still a nervousness around spending this much on a bottle that had not been sold publicly since 2007 for $75,000. No one really knew what a sensible price was and so the deal folded.
Fast forward another 6 years to when my Sri Lankan colleague was sitting on his sofa one evening and sent a message (translated by his Chinese wife) on Weibo to someone he had met, asking whether he was looking for any particular bottles. 1926 was the reply. The stars aligned and I found a Peter Blake and Valerio Adami lying with one revered European collector willing to sell. It was this transaction that opened the floodgates with bottles then passing through the famed auction houses hands, culminating in a Valerio Adami selling at Sotheby’s in November 2023 for $2.7M.
Holding a bottle in each hand was nerve wracking to say the least and I had to imagine that I was not holding the equivalent of a mansion but just two ordinary bottles. My fascination with the 1926 since then has never abated and I was recently fortunate to catch up with someone else who has also played their part in the story, Michael Dillon. Michael is an Irish born artist who has travelled the world specialising in murals and historical pieces for his international client base. Besides private clients, Michael has undertaken commercial projects for The National Trust, Harrods and Fortnum and Mason’s – The high-end department store based in London.
Michael was kind enough to explain how he helped create what is arguably the world’s most expensive bottle of whisky should it resurface at auction again. The Macallan 1926 – Michael Dillon Label.
Spirits Sourcery: Michael, great to be in touch with you again…can you tell me of how you came to be involved in painting the bottle of The Macallan 1926?
Michael: In the 1990’s I was doing a lot of work for Fortnum and Mason, focused on murals and interior designs. I am not sure how Fortnum’s came by the unlabelled bottle, but it was direct from The Macallan. With hindsight, I knew it was an important job, like every commission, but was not fully aware of the significance of what I was doing, but then again, the bottle hadn’t taken on the importance it now has.
Spirits Sourcery: So, Fortnum’s approached you and said what? Did they give you a brief or did you have free reign on what you put on the bottle?
Michael: The brief was that I should include Easter Eliches house, and a strong Scottish theme with wildlife and scenery. The artwork should reflect the character of the brand, and with the bottle being incredibly rare, to create something really unique. I decided I would go with a wild stag, bird life and The Highlands background as I though this best encapsulated rural Scotland.
Spirits Sourcery: How long did it take you to come up with the design idea?
Michael: So, I collected the bottle and took it back to my studio on the tube from Picadilly to Queen’s Park as I was living in London at the time. I cannot imagine completing the same trip now with something so valuable! I began some initial sketching work to refine the concept. It was probably a day or two to get something I was happy with, and that Fortnum’s were enthused by and approved.
Spirits Sourcery: Then you began the painting…it must have taken quite a long time as it is intricate, and I assume difficult with a cylindrical surface?
Michael: No, it was relatively straightforward and took me less than a day as the surface area was actually quite small.
Spirits Sourcery: Wow, that was much quicker than I would have anticipated considering how detailed it is. What happened next?
Michael: I let it dry and took it back to Fortnum’s and that was the last I saw of it until it resurfaced, selling at Christies in 2018.
Spirits Sourcery: Do you keep up with occasional sales of all the references of The Macallan 1926 then?
Michael: I notice when sales of The Macallan 1926 are featured in the media and just glad to have been involved in some way in the story as it has become a bit of a cultural monument. It was referenced in a BBC crime series recently which made me chuckle.
Spirits Sourcery: Thanks Michael…let us see what happens if it ever comes back to auction!
The Michael Dillon bottle has only come to auction once, through Christies in November 2018. It set a record at the time at $1.5M. Much has happened in the intervening years though being one-of-one must command a premium over the Peter Blake, Valerio Adami and Fine and Rare labelled versions. The only exception is the remaining unlabelled 1926, which seems to have all but disappeared or with no discernible markings it was accidently drunk. We may never know.
Christie’s Auctioneers commented “the sale in 2018 represented a landmark moment in the whisky market, with The Macallan 1926 60-Year-Old achieving £1,200,000 / $1,528,800 / €1,352,400 and establishing a world auction record for a bottle of whisky at that time. Christie’s were honoured to bring this rare bottle to market and thrilled with the historic result for this unique piece of whisky culture”.
Spirits Sourcery may have not tracked down the Michael Dillion or unlabelled bottle (yet!), but we do have a number of bottles of The Macallan 1926 on our broking roster including the Fine and Rare, Peter Blake and Valerio Adami versions.
When looking at the real unicorn bottles like the 1926’s it is clear to see that they are still massively undervalued. Taking the pantheon of collectables; art, coins, stamps, baseball cards, comic books, versus the most expensive whisky, The Macallan 1926, selling last year at Sotheby’s for $2.7M, underlines this point;
· The 1939 Spiderman No.1 comic book sold for $5.3M in 2022
· The 1856 British Guiana One-Cent Magenta Stamp raised $9.5M in 2014
· The 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle 311 Baseball card reached $12.6M
· You would have had to pay $18.9M for the 1933 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle coin
· $450M for Leonardo di Vinci’s Salvator Mundi
For more information on the bottles available then please do make contact as photos are available for serious requests. info@spiritssourcery.com
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