A new world record has been achieved in Scotland after a rare "forgotten" cask of whisky, bought for £5,000 (€5,931) more than 30 years ago, has sold for more than £1 million at an auction.
Whisky enthusiasts from around the world placed bids on the 374-litre cask, distilled at The Macallan in Scotland in 1988, in the online auction which closed last night.
It sold to a private individual based in the US for $1,295,500 US (€1,206,126) in the online auction on the Whisky Hammer site, breaking the record set in 2021 by Bonhams for the sale of a 30-year-old, re-racked, Sherry hogshead from Macallan, which sold for $574,000.
The cask, originally filled on 5 May 1988, had been held in bond at the Macallan Distillery in Moray for almost 34 years.
It was bought on a whim by an expat, who then forgot about it for more than three decades until they were reminded by Macallan that it was still maturing in the warehouse.
Daniel Milne, co-founder and managing director of the Whisky Hammer auction said: "When this cask was listed in our auction, we knew it had the potential to make history.
"To come across a cask of this age, quality and size is extraordinary in itself, enhanced by the fact the liquid was distilled at The Macallan, which is reflected in the global attention the cask has attracted.
"It has been incredibly exciting for everyone at Whisky Hammer to have represented what has become the most expensive cask ever to be sold at auction."
If bottled today, it would yield a total of 534 70cl bottles of single malt whisky.
