What are the most expensive whiskies in the world?

You wanted a list of the most expensive whiskies in the world, so here they are.

What makes these whiskies expensive? Age is usually a factor. Rarity too. As well as the inferred quality these factors bring (although that’s not always the case!). They’re also usually presented in luxurious decanters that cost money.

Expensive whisky comes from all over. But Scotch and Japanese whisky typically fetch the big auction prices, with Irish, American, and whiskies from further afield increasingly making a mark. You can always bet a list like this has a lot of Macallan.

Remember, just because a whisky is expensive, that doesn’t mean it is the best whisky. This is a list of whiskies in order of how much they cost. That’s it. Not the best whiskies. Also, the values are in dollars, not our usual style, but it’s how most distilleries announce their prices. It’s the simplest way to accurately represent their cost at the time of sale.

The Emerald Isle Collection – $2.8m

The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. broke the record for the “most expensive bottle of whiskey ever sold” with The Emerald Isle Collection. American collector Mike Daley bought one of only seven sets in existence for $2.8 million at the beginning of 2024. The Irish whiskey is from Bushmills, aged 30 years in a variety of casks and presented in a walnut case. Here’s what else you get. A bespoke Fabergé egg (containing an actual emerald gem). A custom 22k gold timepiece. And a pair of Siglo VI Grand Reserva cigars with gold-plated cutter. No, really. The first set sold for $2 million at an auction in the US in 2021, so the range has made some serious dollar so far. The proceeds from the first Emerald Isle box went to the Correa Family Foundation, a charity supporting children affected by cancer. 

The Macallan Fine & Rare Collection 1926 60-Year-Old – $2.7m 

Back in 1926, sherry-seasoned cask #263 was filled with Macallan’s new make. Nobody that day would have been able to predict what it would become. It wasn’t until sixty years later, in 1986, that the contents of the cask were filled into just 40 bottles. These were then divided up to be adorned with different labels and designs. Twelve of them had labels designed by Italian painter Valerio Adami. A further 12 by pop artist Sir Peter Blake (we’ll get to him). Then two were sold individually and given private labels, one of which was designed by Irish artist Michael Dillon (and him).

The remaining 14 bottles were adorned with a Fine & Rare label. In 2019, one of those sold for a record-breaking £1.5 million at Sotheby’s in London. 

Then, in November 2023, came the new record. A bottle of The Macallan Adami 1926 sold at Sotheby’s in London. An exciting bidding war between would-be buyers on the phone and in the room concluded in a $2.7m sale. It’s the second time a bottle of The Macallan Valerio Adami 1926 60-year-old Scotch whisky has set a new world record. In October 2018, one also sold for $1.1m at a Bonhams auction in Edinburgh.

The Macallan Michael Dillon 1926 60-Year-Old – $1.53m 

That Michael Dillon edition we were referring to earlier was once the most expensive whisky in the world. After it was last seen at Fortnum & Mason back in 2000, the bottle painted by Dillon resurfaced in the public eye at the “Finest and Rarest Wines & Spirits” Christie’s Auction in London on 29 November 2018. The 1926 set a new world record of $1.53 million (at the time, £1.2 million) for a single bottle of whisky sold at auction. It was the first individual whisky to ever surpass £1 million. 

The Macallan (Duncan Taylor) The Intrepid – $1.38m

In 2022, The Macallan found its way into yet another record book. This time, it was for creating the largest bottle of whisky ever released: The Intrepid. It stands at 5’11 and holds approximately 311 litres of whisky. That’s 444 regular 70cl bottles. It contains whisky from two American oak hogshead casks maturing for 32 years each. Bottled by Duncan Taylor, the label pays tribute to 11 of the world’s most famous explorers. It sold for $1.38m during a live auction overseen by Edinburgh-based auction house Lyon & Turnbull in May 2022. 

The Macallan Peter Blake 1926 60-Year-Old – $970,900

All in all, the auction record was broken three times between 2018 and 2019 by The Macallan Fine & Rare Collection 1926 before its final bow in 2023 (for now…). Of the three variants, Sir Peter Blake, Michael Dillon, and Fine & Rare, the first to do so was a bottle that Sir Blake designed. He’s most famous for co-creating the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s album cover and a bottle with his artwork were purchased for $970,900 at a Bonhams auction in Hong Kong in May 2018.

The Macallan M – $628,205

There was a time when record whiskies didn’t come close to reaching $1m (*Dr Evil finger*). Let us take you back to 2014, when The Macallan whisky set a world record for the most expensive single malt whisky sold at an auction, with a six-litre crystal decanter (one of only four ever made) of the Macallan ‘M’ for $628,205 at Sotheby’s auction in Hong Kong. It was expected to fetch somewhere between $258,000 – $516,000, so it was quite a boon for the various Hong Kong charities that were receiving the proceeds of the sale. 

Macallan 64 Years Old In Lalique – $460,000

Our final inclusion from The Macallan, who, frankly, have been a little greedy. There are some other big sales we could have included, but you need to save some records for the rest of us! As far as we can tell, the first time the Speyside distillery snatched the “world’s most expensive whisky” crown was in 2010, when a bottle of 64-year-old Macallan whisky was sold for $460,000 at a Sotheby’s auction in New York. The rare bottle in an intricate Cire Perdue crystal decanter made by Lalique sold for a whopping $460,000, with 100% of the proceeds going to charity:water, a foundation that brings drinking water to parts of the world that are without. 

Yamazaki 55 Year Old – $795,000

The most expensive Japanese whisky ever sold us is the Yamazaki 55 Year Old Single Malt Whisky, which fetched approximately $795,000 at an auction by Sotheby’s Hong Kong in January 2021. Just 100 bottles were released.

Karuizawa 52 Year Old Cask #5627 Zodiac Rat 1960 – $435,300

In March 2020, whisky from the iconic lost Karuizawa distillery briefly became the most expensive Japanese whisky sold after an Asian private collector paid $435,300 (nearly twice its pre-sale estimate) for a bottle of Karuizawa 52 Year Old Cask #5627 Zodiac Rat 1960. There are just 41 bottles of this 52-year-old whisky, identified by an individual netsuke carved from an oak cask. 

Yamazaki 50 Year Old Single Malt – US$343,318

In August 2018, a bottle of Yamazaki sold for $343,318, making it the most expensive Japanese whisky ever. The Bonhams Whisky Sale in Hong Kong were the auctioneers. Yamazaki 50 Year Old continues to be one of the most legendary names in Japanese whisky. 

Johnnie Walker Diamond Jubilee Whisky – $227,700

Blended Scotch whisky makes the list with the Johnnie Walker Diamond Jubilee Whisky, created to celebrate the 60th year of the late Queen Elizabeth II. The whisky was distilled in 1952 and bottled 60 years later in a diamond-shaped Baccarat crystal decanter, with a half-carat diamond in a Britannia silver collar. It sold for $227,700, raising funds for the world-class training of craftspeople in traditional skills.

The curious case of Isabella’s Islay… – $6.2m

This is an odd one. Some people list Isabella’s Islay as the most expensive whisky in the world. But records are… inconclusive to say the least. The old cask-strength Islay single malt came in an English Crystal decanter coated in white gold and encrusted with 8,500 diamonds and 300 rubies. Something called the ‘Luxury Beverage Company’ is responsible for this. It launched Isabella’s Islay in May 2011 with a price of $6.2 million. According to Companies House, the group was dissolved on 8 January 2013. I can’t find any actual record of anybody actually buying the whisky. It would be the most expensive whisky ever if somebody did purchase it. Anyone with any info is welcome to message in.