Nine whiskies and the biggest sale of each: four editions of the Macallan 1926, three Japanese whiskies and two rare Scotches
Four of the nine whiskies on this list came from the same cask: The Macallan's cask 263, filled in 1926 and bottled in 1986, after 60 years in oak that had held sherry. According to Sotheby's, it yielded only 40 bottles: 12 with a label by pop artist Peter Blake, 12 with a label by Italian painter Valerio Adami, at most 14 Fine & Rare and two unlabeled, one of them hand-painted by Irish artist Michael Dillon. The other five come from Japan and Scotland.
One entry per whisky or edition, with the largest documented sale of a single bottle of standard size; collections, casks and giant bottles were left out. Date, auction house and amount come from the auction house or the specialist press; unless noted, the amount includes the buyer's premium. The conversion uses the Central Bank's PTAX exchange rate of September 24, 2026 (US$ 1 = R$ 5.1795; £ 1 = R$ 6.8457) and is at today's rate, not what anyone paid in reais; sales in Hong Kong dollars were converted using the published US dollar amount.
Sold on November 18, 2023 for £ 2,187,500 (US$ 2.7 million), about R$ 15.0 million. The winning bid was £ 1.75 million; the rest is the premium. The estimate went up to £ 1.2 million, and Sotheby's highlighted that it was the first bottle reconditioned by the distillery before the auction, with a new cork and capsule and a sample tested against another 1926. According to Decanter, it is the highest amount ever paid at auction for a bottle of wine or spirits.
The same vintage has come back to auction several times. Other Adamis: HK$ 8,636,250 (US$ 1,100,197, about R$ 5.7 million) at Bonhams Hong Kong in May 2018; £ 848,750 (about R$ 5.8 million) at Bonhams Edinburgh in October 2018; and US$ 1,180,703 with premium (about R$ 6.1 million) at Whisky Auctioneer, online, in February 2020. A Fine & Rare went for £ 1 million at the same Whisky Auctioneer in February 2021 (US$ 1,548,020 with premium, according to Whisky Advocate).
Sold on October 24, 2019 for £ 1.5 million (US$ 1.9 million), about R$ 10.3 million; Whisky Advocate records £ 1,452,000. The estimate was £ 350,000 to £ 450,000, and it was the first Fine & Rare from cask 263 at auction in more than ten years.
The only hand-painted bottle, showing Easter Elchies house, Macallan's home, sold on November 29, 2018 for £ 1.2 million (US$ 1.5 million), about R$ 8.2 million. It was the first whisky to pass £ 1 million at auction, according to The Spirits Business.
A unique bottle made for the 50th anniversary of Club Natsume, in Nagoya, with a washi paper label signed by Suntory's chief blender, Shinji Fukuyo. Sold on May 30, 2026 for HK$ 8,250,000 (US$ 1.05 million), about R$ 5.4 million, almost double the estimate. According to Bonhams, it is the world record for Japanese whisky at auction.
On May 18, 2018, HK$ 7,962,500 (US$ 1,014,422), about R$ 5.3 million. Blake's label brings together sketches and black-and-white photos of events from 1926, according to Sotheby's.
From the now-closed Japanese distillery Karuizawa: cask 5627, distilled in 1960 and released in 2013 in 41 bottles, each with an antique hand-carved netsuke. At the same May 30, 2026 auction, HK$ 6,250,000 (US$ 797,000), about R$ 4.1 million, according to Bonhams and The Value magazine.
HK$ 6.2 million (US$ 795,000), about R$ 4.1 million, on August 24, 2020. Suntory released only 100 bottles that year, by lottery in Japan; distilled in the 1960s, it spent time in Japanese mizunara oak. It was the Japanese record until 2026; the sources do not say whether the amount includes the premium.
Bottled in 1970, it closed the October 24, 2019 auction at £ 220,000 (US$ 281,865), about R$ 1.5 million, an amount Whisky Advocate records as the hammer price.
At the same auction, £ 80,000 (US$ 102,496), about R$ 548,000, a record for the distillery according to Whisky Advocate, also as the hammer price.
None of these bottles is in a store. At the five large chains surveyed, the most expensive whiskies in the catalog cost from R$ 899 to R$ 2,799.90; the full list is in the 10 most expensive whiskies at the big stores.
A limited edition of Blue Label created by Emma Walker with chef Kei Kobayashi; according to the producer, only one in every 25,000 casks went into the blend.
No age statement, in a numbered bottle; the producer says only one in every ten thousand casks goes into the blend.
From the distillery of cask 263: a Speyside single malt at least 12 years old, from American and European casks seasoned with sherry.
A blend launched in 1953, on the day of Elizabeth II's coronation; all the whiskies in the recipe are at least 21 years old.
From Suntory, owner of Yamazaki: a blend with malts from Yamazaki and Hakushu and grain from Chita, with mizunara casks among the five types used.
The Brazilian prices are shelf prices, surveyed on September 24, 2026 at Divvino, Zona Sul, Bistek, Savegnago and Giassi; they change over time and from store to store. Rare whisky is drunk slowly, in a small pour. Drink responsibly.
Sources: Sotheby's (Macallan 1926 lots, Oct 2019 and Nov 2023); Bonhams (press release of May 30, 2026); Decanter (November 20, 2023); Whisky Advocate (Ultimate Whisky Collection auction, Oct 2019, and table from Nov 2023); The Value (May 2026); The Spirits Business (reports from 2018 to 2021); Central Bank PTAX exchange rate of September 24, 2026; Bebidário price survey at five stores, September 24, 2026.
