Macallan Time:Space 84 year old made an appearance at auction twice this month but neither had a buyer.
Bidding at December’s auctions continued in the successful fashion of November’s sales, with strong prices achieved for Macallan, Hibiki 40 year old, and bottlings of LeNell’s Red Hook Rye in particular. In addition to the highlights below, Whisky.Auction received a winning bid of $46,895 for a bottle of Macallan The Red Collection 78 year old, while Scotch Whisky Auctions sold a Macallan Anniversary Malt 50 year old for $31,862.
This month also saw the first auction appearances of Macallan Time: Space 84 year old, beginning with Whisky Auctioneer in Scotland and then at Sotheby’s, Hong Kong. Sadly, neither set found a buyer, taking away the opportunity this year for it to make history by becoming the oldest-ever whisky to sell at auction. The holder of that record, Macallan The Reach 81 year old, has also struggled to sell at auction in the last few months, though Macallan remains the leading brand in our monthly list of top 20 hammer prices.
Look out for our list of the 20-highest hammer prices for December in early January, and our annual reveal of the 20-highest hammer prices of 2024.
Unicorn Auctions November No Reserves II
Auction ended December 2nd
- Rye: LeNell’s Red Hook Rye 24 year old Barrel No. 4, $40,300. The first of many LeNell’s bottles to sell this month.
- Bourbon: Willett Family Estate 18 year old Private Barrel C49 for 1789b, $24,200. A Bernheim wheated bourbon bottled by Willett in 2011.
- American: Michter’s Celebration Sour Mash 2013 Release, $21,600. This bid sets a new world record for the 2013 release, beating the existing record set by Unicorn Auctions last April.
Whisky Auctioneer November 2024 Auction
Auction ended December 2nd 
- Scotch: Macallan The Red Collection 60 year old, $110,568. The highest hammer price of the month to date, but its value has dropped by more than $50,000 since February.
- Rye: Twisted Spoke 16 year old, $10,615. Distilled at Stitzel-Weller and bottled for the Twisted Spoke bar in Chicago by Julian Van Winkle III.
- Japanese: Hibiki 40 year old, $42,963. This result came close to matching the world record price set in November for the House of Suntory’s oldest-ever blend.
Sotheby’s, New York – Whisky & Whiskey | Seasonal Spirits
Auction ended December 7th
- Scotch: Macallan in Lalique 60 year old, $60,000. The fourth in the Six Pillars series was a release of 400 bottles that came out in 2011 at a retail price of $20,000.
- Rye: LeNell’s Red Hook Rye 24 year old Barrel No. 4, $45,000. The second bottle of LeNell’s to sell this December was two bids away from beating the world record of $48,500 for a bottle of LeNell's Red Hook Rye.
- Bourbon: Old Rip Van Winkle 25 year old, $26,000. A modest result in comparison to bids on this edition at other auction houses, which have often reached $30,000–$40,000.
Lot of the Week
Few meals will ever compare with The Ultimate Dinner, a charity event in 2014 that was a collaboration between Macallan and the renowned Roca brothers of El Celler de Can Roca in Spain. This partnership has since generated further joint projects and continues to this day. Under Macallan’s Masters of Taste program, six dinners were held at the world-famous restaurant in Girona consisting of a sumptuous menu of 10 snacks, 10 dishes, and 2 desserts, costing $10,000 a head. The food was paired with cocktails and 14 Macallan single malt whiskies, including Macallan M, one of the distillery’s newest releases at the time. One of the rare and exclusive whiskies bottled to celebrate The Ultimate Dinner was this single cask single malt whisky distilled in 1986, selected by Macallan’s then-whisky maker Bob Dalgarno.
Lot: Macallan 1986 The Ultimate Dinner Cask No. 191310
Sold at: Whisky Auctioneer
Hammer Price: $13,900
Upcoming Auctions
There are plenty of auctions running over the holidays and through into 2025.
Starting December 20th: Whisky Auctioneer
Starting December 20th: Whisky Hammer
Starting January 3rd: Scotch Whisky Auctions
January 25th: America’s Finest Whiskey, Sotheby’s, New York. Expect plenty of pre-Prohibition bottles and a fine selection of bourbon and rye whiskeys.
