A one-of-a-kind collection of The Macallan Anniversary Malt whiskies, believed to be the only complete set ever offered for sale, has been released to the market through UK-based whisky broker Mark Littler Ltd, with an asking price of £110,000.
The collection comprises all 19 bottles ever issued under The Macallan Anniversary Malt name and is being sold on behalf of a private collector, Danielle “Dany” Smeyers, who spent more than two decades assembling the set.
Each bottle has an excellent fill level into the neck and is accompanied by its original presentation box, a level of consistency rarely seen for the series.
First released in 1983, The Macallan Anniversary Malt series occupies a singular place in whisky history. It was the world’s first distillery-released, vintage-dated 25-year-old single malt series, launched at a time when single malt Scotch had only recently begun to be marketed as a standalone category.
The series is widely regarded as having laid the foundations for the modern luxury single malt market and the wave of ultra-aged releases that followed.
Ms Smeyers began collecting the series in the late 1990s following a visit to Scotland, where she first encountered The Macallan. What started as the purchase of a single bottle gradually evolved into a highly selective effort to acquire every release in the series, with a consistent focus on condition, provenance, and completeness.
“I didn’t set out to build a complete set,” Ms Smeyers said. “I just fell in love with Macallan and that first Anniversary Malt epitomised their whisky for me. Then one bottle led to another, and it quietly became a very enjoyable mission.”
Over the years, collecting became intertwined with travel, with bottles sourced during road trips across Europe.
“For me, the hunt itself was exciting,” she said. “Finding the right bottle, in the right condition, to fill the right gap was a thrill each time. Now the collection is complete, there is a sense of satisfaction, and it feels like the right moment to let it move on to someone else who will appreciate it.”
According to Mark Littler, founder of Mark Littler Ltd and a Spears500-recommended whisky adviser, the significance of the collection lies not only in its completeness but also in its condition.
“In my entire career, and after handling hundreds of thousands of bottles, I have never seen a complete set of Macallan Anniversary Malts appear for sale,” Mr Littler said. “This is the only full set I am aware of anywhere in the world.”
He added: “What makes this collection exceptional is not just completeness, but condition. Every bottle has excellent fill levels into the neck and its original presentation. To replicate this set today would likely take at least three to five years, assuming availability, and even then it is debatable whether it could be recreated in comparable condition.”
The collection spans the full evolution of the Anniversary Malt series, bringing together all recognised vintage-dated releases distilled between the late 1950s and mid-1970s, alongside the non-vintage Anniversary Malt editions produced in multiple formats. Together, the bottles represent a complete record of a series that helped define the trajectory of premium Scotch whisky.
Having completed the set, Ms Smeyers has chosen to sell the collection as a whole, marking the conclusion of a long-term collecting journey and allowing the series to pass intact to a new custodian.
The Macallan has become an extremely sought-after whisky brand, with old and rare bottles fetching huge amounts when they come up for sale. Notably The Macallan 1926, featuring the Valerio Adami label, sold for over £2 million in 2023.
For more information on The Macallan Anniversary Malts collection, visit Mark Littler’s website.
