A bottle of the world’s most valuable whisky, The Macallan 1926 60 Year Old, has been reborn as a unique work of fine art.
“The Macallan 1926 60 Year Old Masterpiece Edition by Nguyen Dinh Tuan Viet” was unveiled recently by its owner, renowned collector Nguyễn Đình Tuấn Việt.
This singular bottle has been re-liveried by acclaimed Italian artist Roberto Ferri, who has handpainted directly onto the glass.
Ferri is celebrated for his neo-classical style and has painted an allegorical tableau featuring two nymphs representing barley and oak—the core elements of single malt whisky. They are united by a flow of water and crowned with red hair, evoking ‘Scotland and the flame of distillation.’
The commission differs from those of the Peter Blake and Valerio Adami editions where labels were designed for the bottle. Instead the work echoes that of Micheal Dillion, whose hand painted design on a Macallan 1926 was also a one-of-one.
Mr. Việt holds 20 Guinness World Records for his rare spirits collection and owns five bottles of Macallan 1926—of which there were originally just forty.
In 2018 another one-of-one hand painted 1926 became the first whisky to sell for over £1 million at auction. The auction record for the 1926 currently sits at £2.18 million ($2.7 million) for a Valerio Adami labeled version.
The record for the Fine and Rare labelled 1926, which this bottle was before being painted, sits at £1.5million. The collector has already declined an offer of $10 million (about £7,385,000) for this newly created artwork.
Nguyễn Đình Tuấn Việt, said of his unique bottle: “The Macallan 1926 is already a symbol of rarity, but I wanted to give it a new chapter where art and heritage are intertwined.
“I see myself not merely as an owner, but as a guardian of this piece of history. My duty is to preserve it so that future generations may experience its timeless beauty.”
Roberto Ferri, added that this was an “immense responsibility”, saying: “To paint directly onto a bottle valued in the millions was an immense responsibility; there was no room for error. I chose to depict barley, oak, water and flame as allegorical figures—the elemental forces that give birth to whisky. My aim was to elevate this bottle into a work of art in the classical tradition.”
Mark Littler, a rare whisky specialist and advisor said that, given the artwork and rarity of the whisky, it was “moved beyond the known market”.
He said: “On paper, a Macallan 1926 might guide around £2–£3 million, but this bottle has moved beyond the known market. Mr. Việt turning down a $10 million offer tells you everything. What he has created isn’t just another record-breaking whisky, it’s a cultural object.
“This commission perfectly fulfills the original vision Macallan had in the 1980s. They deliberately left several bottles unlabelled, intending for them to become unique artistic collaborations. Nearly 40 years later, that vision has been realised in spectacular fashion.”
First distilled in 1926 and bottled in 1986 after 60 years of maturation in sherry oak, The Macallan 1926 is one of the scarcest spirits ever produced. Only 40 bottles were released, with their value growing to mythical proportions at auction.
In 20218 The Michael Dillon hand-painted edition became the first whisky to sell for over £1 million; in 2019 The Fine & Rare label edition sold for £1.5 million and in 2023: The Valerio Adami labelled edition set the current world record, fetching £2.18 million ($2.7 million) at Sotheby’s London.
