Whisky For Millions: The Macallan Red Collection Is For The First Time Assembled In Europe

478 %. That is how much 'Rare Whisky' has increased as an investment category over the last 10 years, concludes Frank Knight in the annual "The Wealth Report" for 2021 – in contrast, investment in colored diamonds is at 39 % over the same period. In other words, there is no denying that alternative passion-driven investment types are gaining ground like never before, but whisky in particular stands out.

Sensation: The Red Collection Assembled For The First Time In Europe

'Passion-driven' is also a key word when talking about the almost unobtainable The Red Collection from the iconic distillery The Macallan. The Red Collection, which consists of 6 bottles, has been matured over generations under the watchful eye of passionate whisky-makers and today, it stands out as one of the most difficult collections to acquire.

Each of the six bottles is released individually and with many years in between. Therefore, it is estimated that a maximum of 50 sets can be collected in the world. Each bottle in the collection is extremely rare and almost impossible to acquire on its own. This makes the entire collection an unparalleled rarity, and something that whisky connoisseurs everywhere will give their right arm to experience.

Two Complete Collections At RareWine

Despite the near-impossible mission, Miran Buric, head of spirits at RareWine Group, has nevertheless managed to assemble all six bottles in The Red Collection - to his knowledge, for the first time ever on European soil. And as if this is not sensational enough in itself, Miran Buric has just received the final bottle, completing set number two!

"It's hard to believe that the entire collection has been assembled for the first time ever in Europe, and even in two complete collections. That it should be on Danish soil is certainly a sensation, but also the result of long-term and strongminded work by our trading department. Even here at RareWine Invest, it is a bit of a dream come true," says Rune Spliid, Commercial Director of RareWine Invest.

What Is The Macallan Red Collection?

The core of The Red Collection is Macallan 40-Year-Old, Macallan 50-Year-Old and Macallan 60-Year-Old, which are the oldest ongoing expressions The Macallan has ever offered. They are joined in this collection by three special guest releases - namely Macallan 71-Year-Old, Macallan 74-Year-Old and Macallan 78-Year-Old, which are three incredibly rare single-malt whiskies, and among the world's oldest Scotch whiskies. Macallan 74-Year-Old and 78-Year-Old are the oldest bottlings ever released in The Macallan's almost 200-year history.

The six bottles go together under the name The Red Collection, and that is not entirely coincidental. The red thread starts with founder Alexander Reid whose surname in Scottish translates to "the red one".

In 1903, the distillery is owned by Roderick Kemp, and he chose to send The Macallan Choice Old Range on the market packed in boxes with red labels, so they differed from the other releases, which were packed with black labels.

Almost eight decades later, in 1980, with Allan Shiach at the lead, the oldest bottlings at that time are put on the market with a red band. The red band on Macallan 1938, 1940 and 1950 marked their longstanding age and value.

“Created from some of the world’s oldest and rarest casks it is an incredible privilege to have crafted The Red Collection, the pinnacle of The Macallan’s portfolio,”

Quote by Kirsteen Campbell, master whisky maker at The Macallan since 2019.

Each of the six bottles in The Red Collection is in a special presentation box, which is constructed from the same sustainable European oak used for The Macallans casks. In addition, the box is padded with sustainable red leather from Bridge of Weir Leather, which supplies luxury car upholstery to leading brands around the world.

Both The Red Collections Are Already Sold

The increasing interest in passion-driven investment in both wine and spirits has also led to a huge demand for the most attractive products here at RareWine Invest, including The Macallan Red Collection. Not only are the unique collections now complete, but buyers have already been found for both collections. In both cases, European investors have had to pay a price of just over € 530.000 each to add this unique masterpiece to their collection.

Although the deals are among the more spectacular, this is not the first time that we at RareWine have sold a whisky collection in this price range. Back in 2018, we had the pleasure of trading another of the most legendary whisky collections in the world, The Macallan Lalique 6 Pillars collection, which at the time traded for € 440.000 and today is valued at almost € 530.000.

Growing Demand And Twice As Many New investors

According to Rune Spliid, the growing interest is partly due to the uncertainty on the stock market, which Covid-19 has contributed to. "As a result, investors of all ages are looking towards more stable assets - including wine and spirits." says Rune Spliid, adding:

"In addition, the many restrictions have also had a positive impact on many people's personal finances. If you compare that with the fact that several banks have introduced negative deposit rates, it creates an incentive to put your money in alternative low-risk investments."

Here at RareWine Invest we have seen a doubling in the number of investors from all parts of the world over the past year.

The Macallan Is The World's Most Expensive Whisky

This is far from the first time that The Macallan has made headlines, as the distillery from the Scottish Lake District is also the originator of the world's most expensive whisky traded on the open market. In 2019, The Macallan 1926 was traded as the most expensive whisky in the world when the auction house Sotheby's sold a sample of the unique bottle for just under € 1,7 million.

For information, The Macallan 1926, which is referred to as the holy grail of whisky, cost a “paltry” € 18.900 in 2001 - an increase of over 9,000% in just under 20 years.

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