Top 10 Most Expensive Scotchs in the World

Scotch whisky is divided into five distinct categories: Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Single Grain Scotch Whisky, Blended Malt Scotch Whisky (formerly called “vatted malt” or “pure malt”), Blended Grain Scotch Whisky, and Blended Scotch Whisky. All Scotch whisky must be aged in oak barrels for at least three years.Any age statement written on a bottle of Scotch whisky, in the form of a number, must reflect the age of the youngest whisky used to produce that product. A whisky with an age statement is known as guaranteed age whisky. Here are most expensive scotch that might catch your fancy:

 10) Chivas Regal Royal Salute, 50 years old.

Price: $10,000

Royal Salute is a Scotch whisky produced by Chivas Brothers, founded in 1801 in Aberdeen, Scotland. The Royal Salute brand’s home is Strathisla Distillery at Keith, Moray in Speyside, Scotland. Royal Salute is a leading prestige Scotch whisky, launched on the 2nd June in 1953 by Chivas Brothers in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II on the day of her coronation. Names after the traditional 21 Gun Salute, all Royal Salute whiskies are aged for a minimum of 21 years, which allows the whisky to develop a rich and complex flavour.  Each bottle features a hand-engraved 24-carat gold plaque.  There were only 255 bottles in the world.

Chivas Regal Royal Salute

 9) The Macallan 1939, 40 years old.

Price $10,125

First bottled in 1979, this peaty and powerful whisky that comes with dried fruit and sweet toffee flavors was re-bottled in 2002, and added to McCallan’s Fine and Rare line. This sherry cask Speyside scotch was first bottled in Italy in 1962 before being repackaged for Macallan’s Fine and Rare line of whiskies. The distillery’s use of peat instead of coal during WWII gives this whiskey an earthy flavor not found in modern day Macallan whiskies.

8) Glenfarclas 1955, 50 years old.

Price: $10,878

This whisky, bottled in 2005 exactly fifty years to the day after it was distilled, was hand-picked by George S. Grant to celebrate the birth of his ancestor, John Grant, who bought the Glenfarclas distillery back in 1865.  The entire 110 bottles sold out even before this whisky was released. Glenfarclas 1955 / 50 Year Old – Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky 70cl / 44.4% / Distillery Bottling – Bottled in 2005 exactly fifty years to the day after it was distilled, this stunning Glenfarclas was hand-picked by George S. Grant to celebrate the Bicentenary of the birth of his Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandfather John Grant, a farmer and breeder of champion Aberdeen Angus cattle, who bought the Glenfarclas distillery in 1865. We believe that this could be the best malt ever released by one of our favourite distilleries.

Glenfarclas 1955

7) Dalmore 50 Year Old Decanter

Price: $11,000

Bottled in 1978 into just sixty beautiful cut crystal decanters, the casks for Dalmore 50yo were laid down in the 1920s, and some of the spirit is reputed to have been distilled in the late 19th century. This is one of the best 50 year-old whiskies ever produced and is the personal favourite of many connoisseurs worldwide. An amazing intensity of flavour, with truly profound depths, Dalmore 50 year-old is an unforgettable experience.

Dalmore 50 Year Old Decanter

6) The Macallan 55 Year Old Lalique Crystal Decanter

Price: $12,500

A celebration of two great national traditions, The Macallan 55 Years Old in Lalique is one of the finest ever creative collaborations between Scotland and France. This limited edition release represents an historic alliance of artistry and craftsmanship, spirit and style. The Macallan 55 Years old Lalique is bottled in 1910 in a perfume bottle designed by Rene Lalique.

macalan 55

5) Glenfiddich 1937

Price: $20,000

64 year old Glenfiddich, widely regarded as the oldest bottle of whisky in the world.  This Glenfiddich’s 1937 Rare Collection whisky had only one bottle ever produced, with the single bottle sold at a 2006 auction.  The whisky is the only Highland or Speyside Scotch whisky to be distilled, matured and bottled at a single distillery.Like other distilleries, such as Glen Grant and Glenmorangie, Glenfiddich uses a single source of natural spring water.This source is the Robbie Dhu springs. Glenfiddich is matured in oak casks such as rum casks from Cuba (in the case of Gran Reserva), Bourbon whiskey barrels from America (Ancient Reserve), or sherry butts from Jerez in Spain.

4) The Dalmore 62 Single Hiland Malt Scotch

Price: $58,000

One of the only twelve bottles produced in 1943.  The whisky was purchased for $58,000 at the Pennyhill Park Hotel in Surrey, where the anonymous buyer reportedly share it with five of his lucky friends.  This single Highland malt Scotch whisky from the Dalmore Distillery in Inverness, Scotland, was one of only twelve bottles produced in 1943 from four single malts dating from 1868, 1876, 1926 and 1939. Each was labeled with its own unique name, this one being called Matheson after the Dalmore Estate’s owner, Alexander Matheson.

dalmore 62

3) The Macallan 1926 Fine and Rare

Price: $75,000

Macallan Fine and Rare 1926 is a vintage whisky that is part of the Fine and Rare collection of single malt whiskies produced at the Macallan Distillery in Speyside, Scotland. This particular whisky is 60 years old. The 1926 whisky is the oldest in the Macallan Fine and Rare collection. It was distilled in 1926 in oak barrels and bottled in 1986. Only 40 bottles were produced. The whisky is widely acknowledged as being one of the few single malt whiskies that can mature to a great age without losing its character1. It is a cask strength whisky, meaning that no water is added and no chill filtration takes place. No colours were added and the colour is an entirely natural one resulting from cask aging. The Macallan is the only malt whisky matured exclusively in sherry wood casks which are hand crafted im Jerez. After seasoning for three years with dry oloroso and fino sherries, they are shipped to Speyside for the long maturation process2.

2) Dalmore 64 Trinitas

Price: $160,100

Trinitas is named because there are only three bottles of this whisky been made.  This whisky is a blend of rare stocks, containing spirits dating from 1868, 1878, 1926 and 1939.  This is the first scotch to sell for six figures.  The story of Dalmore 64 begins with the original “ultra-premium” whisky – the Dalmore 62, a legendary whisky which appeared shortly after the turn of the millennium.  Only 12 bottles of Dalmore 62 were produced, each with a slightly different presentation – and of the twelve, nine were given away to VIPs, with only three ever making it onto the general market.

1) Macallan 64 Year Old in Lalique

Price: $460,000

And here it is, the most expensive scotch in the world: The Macallan 64 Year Old in Lalique!  The scotch was sold for $460,000 at an auction at Sotheby’s, New York on November 2010, breaking the record for the most expensive whisky ever sold, and claiming the title of world’s most expensive scotch.  The Macallan 64 Year Old is the oldest Macallan ever released by the distillery in its 186 year history. It has been vatted from three casks, all built from sherry seasoned Spanish oak. The first was filled in 1942, the second in 1945 and the third in 1946. The 1946 cask became 64 years old in January 2010. It was bottled at 42.5% ABV. The special decanter was designed and created by famed French designer Lalique, and contains 1.5 litres of the rare “The Macallan” whisky.  The special decanter, itself, is crafted with a unique “cire perdue”, or “lost wax” method.

macallan64