The Macallan Romantica Collection draws on four decades of maturation, a reunion of three celebrated artists, and the story of the most valuable whisky ever auctioned
There are tastings and then there are occasions. On 25 February—the 100th anniversary of the filling of the cask that would become The Macallan 1926, the world’s most valuable bottle of wine or spirit ever sold at auction—Robb Report Singapore joined a small group of journalists gathered in Warehouse 7 on The Macallan Estate in Speyside for a dram that had been waiting quietly for almost 40 years. Lead whisky maker Euan Kennedy hosted the session. The whisky was drawn from cask number 9925, a single sherry-seasoned European oak barrel filled in 1986, the same year the last bottles of the 1926 were released.
Laid down a century ago under the stewardship of Janet ‘Nettie’ Harbinson and bottled 60 years later at the apex of its maturation, just 40 bottles of The Macallan 1926 were produced. A single example, The Macallan Valerio Adami 1926, sold at Sotheby’s in 2019 for US$2.7 million.
The Romantica Collection, released in May, picks up where the story left off in 1986. The whisky is an unusual creature for The Macallan. Cask 925 carries just a touch of peat smoke, a rarity in the house style. “It is remarkable that you can get that sense of being transported back to a different generation through this particular cask,” Kennedy told Robb Report Singapore. On the nose, fruity hints of apricot and peaches are layered with gentle cinnamon and a touch of woodsmoke. The palate opens sweetly before deepening again into a subtle peaty note. Bottled at 48.6 per cent ABV in its natural colour, The Romantica is a manifestation of legacy, craft, and patience.
Art of The Matter
The second dimension of The Romantica is artistic. Sir Peter Blake, Valerio Adami, and Michael Dillon—the three artists whose label designs gave the original 1926 bottles their cultural gravitas—have returned with a new work created exclusively for this release. Their reunion forms what The power of artistic expression and the role it plays in shaping the heritage of the brand. Their artworks bring fresh meaning to a whisky shaped quietly over four decades, reinterpreting The Macallan 1926 for a new moment in time,” he said in a statement.
Production is capped at 258 bottles in total, with 86 from each artist’s edition. Every bottle is housed in a bespoke presentation box crafted from European oak, accompanied by a numbered certificate signed by The Macallan’s master whisky maker Kirsteen Campbell, a removable collection booklet, and a limited-edition giclee art print. At US$105,000, the set—available as a complete trio of artist editions directly from The Macallan from 30 July—is not a casual acquisition. Purchase is by invitation only.
“From the moment this cask was laid down in 1986, it became part of a legacy—a story that began with The Macallan 1926 and continues today. Over 40 years of slumber, the whisky has evolved with extraordinary grace, developing a luminous character of fruits, spice and rich oak,” says Campbell. “To see this expression now paired with new artworks from Sir Peter Blake, Valerio Adami and Michael Dillon is deeply moving. Their interpretations mirror the whisky’s own journey: layered, imaginative and shaped by time.”
