An auctioneer’s guide to The Macallan Fine & Rare
An Auctioneer’s Guide to The Macallan Fine & Rare – the complete list of vintage releases from 1926 – 2000
When The Macallan released the Fine & Rare Collection in 2002, the goal was ‘to create the world’s largest assembly of vintage-dated single malt whiskies from one brand.’ In achieving this goal the company broke the record for the largest collection of vintages launched under one Scotch whisky range and it still holds that crown over 20 years on.
At time of writing, the stunning Macallan Fine & Rare series comprises 60 releases spanning nine decades of whisky distillation, from 1926 to the most recent release from 2000, launched in 2024 to mark the 200th anniversay of The Macallan. Many of these bottles are also available in miniature form, with a set of 44 miniature vintage releases available in ourOctober 2024 Miniatures & Memorabilia auction.
The Fine & Rare branding was originally created for the legendary Macallan 1926, bottled in 1986. The lone release was incorporated into the series when it was announced in 2002, with 37 bottles comprising the first release and more added at various times over the last 22 years. So far the series has been left open-ended with a teasing note on the Macallan website stating “with new releases planned”.
That the spirit dates back so far becomes a more impressive feat when looking into the history of bottling single malt whisky at Macallan. In the early days of the distillery the whisky was produced to become a component for blends, such as The Famous Grouse. In fact, the first ever single malt released by The Macallan itself was in 1984 – almost 60 years after the first Fine & Rare whisky was distilled. When sourcing the casks for the series, independent bottlers who had bottled vintages before the brands did, especially Gordon & MacPhail, were of paramount importance. Fifteen of the releases from the Fine & Rare collection were actually rebottled from their original independent releases to be incorporated into the series.
See our full list of bottles below for more details on each of the Fine & Rare releases.
Macallan Fine & Rare – 1920s
1926 60 Year Old bottled 1986 – 42.6% ABV – Cask Number 263
Macallan Fine & Rare – 1930s
1937 32 Year Old first bottled in 1969, rebottled in 2002 – 43% ABV – 174 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml, 50ml)
1937 37 Year Old first bottled in 1974, rebottled in 2002 – 43% ABV – 288 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml, 50ml)
1938 31 Year Old first bottled in 1969, rebottled in 2002 – 43% ABV – 198 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml, 50ml)
1938 35 Year Old first bottled in 1973, rebottled in 2002 – 43% ABV – 48 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml, 50ml)
1939 40 Year Old first bottled in 1979, rebottled in 2002 – 43% ABV – 54 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml, 50ml)
Macallan Fine & Rare – 1940s
1940 35 Year Old first bottled in 1975, rebottled in 2002 – 43% ABV – 420 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml, 50ml)
1940 37 Year Old first bottled in 1977, rebottled in 2002 – 43% ABV – 132 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml, 50ml)
1945 56 Year Old bottled in 2002 – 51.5% ABV – Cask Number 262 – 152 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml, 50ml)
1946 56 Year Old bottled in 2002 – 44.3% ABV – Cask Number 46/3M – 350 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml, 50ml)
1947 15 Year Old first bottled in 1962, rebottled in 2008 – 45.4% ABV – 270 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml, 50ml)
1948 53 Year Old bottled in 2002 – 45.3% ABV – Cask number 609 – 125 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml, 50ml)
1949 52 Year Old bottled in 2002 – 41.1% ABV – Cask Number 935 – 228 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml, 50ml)
1949 53 Year Old bottled in 2002 – 49.8% ABV – Cask Number 136 – 160 bottle equivalents (750ml. 700ml, 50ml)
Macallan Fine & Rare – 1950s
1950 52 Year Old bottled in 2002 – 46.7% ABV – Cask Number 598 – 433 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml, 50ml)
1950 52 Year Old bottled in 2002 – 51.7% ABV – Cask Number 600 – 467 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml, 50ml)
1951 51 Year Old bottled in 2002 – 52.3% ABV – Cask Number 644 – 348 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml, 50ml)
1952 49 Year Old bottled in 2002 – 48% ABV – Cask Number 1250 – 414 bottle equivalents (750ml 700ml, 50ml)
1952 50 Year Old bottled in 2002 – 50.8% ABV – Cask Number 627 – 465 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml, 50ml)
1953 49 Year Old bottled in 2002 – 51% ABV – Cask Number 516 – 100n bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml, 50ml)
1954 47 Year Old bottled in 2002 – 50.2% ABV – Cask Number 1902 – 366 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml, 50ml)
1955 46 Year Old bottled in 2002 – 45.9% ABV – Cask Number 1851
1956 15 Year Old first bottled in 1971, rebottled in 2009 – 57 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml)
1957 15 Year Old first bottled in 1972, rebottled in 2009 – 15 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml)
1958 43 Year Old bottled in 2002 – 52.9% ABV – Cask Number 2682 – 100 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml, 50ml)
1959 43 Year Old bottled in 2002 – 46.7% ABV – Cask Number 360 – 199 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml, 50ml)
Macallan Fine & Rare – 1960s
1960 15 Year Old first bottled in 1975, rebottled in 2009 – 47% ABV – 54 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml)
1961 15 Year Old first bottled in 1976, rebottled in 2009 – 47.3% ABV – 22 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml)
1962 15 Year Old first bottled in 1977, rebottled in 2009 – 44.1% – 141 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml)
1963 15 Year Old first bottled in 1978, rebottled in 2009 – 42.5% – 83 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml)
1964 37 Year Old bottled in 2002 – 58.2% ABV – Cask Number 3312 – 135 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml, 50ml)
1965 36 Year Old bottled in 2002 – 56.3% ABV – Cask Number 4402 – 447 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml, 50ml)
1966 35 Year Old bottled in 2002 – 55.5% ABV – Cask Number 7878 – 135 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml, 50ml)
1967 35 Year Old bottled in 2002 – 55.9% ABV – Cask Number 1195 – 432 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml, 50ml)
1968 33 Year Old bottled in 2002 – 46.6% ABV – Cask Number 5913 – 135 bottle equivalents (750ml 700ml, 50ml)
1968 34 Year Old bottled in 2002 – 51% ABV – Cask Number 2875 – 109 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml, 50ml)
1969 32 Year Old bottled in 2002 – 50.6% ABV – Cask Number 9369 – 548 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml, 50ml)
1969 32 Year Old bottled in 2002 – 59% ABV – Cask Number 10412 – 173 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml, 50ml)
Macallan Fine & Rare – 1970s
1970 31 Year Old bottled in 2002 – 52.4% ABV – Cask Number 9033 – 186 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml, 50ml)
1970 32 Year Old bottled in 2002 – 54.9% ABV – Cask Number 241 – 544 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml 50ml)
1971 30 Year Old bottled in 2002 – 55.9% ABV – Cask Number 7556 – 515 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml, 50ml)
1971 30 Year Old bottled in 2002 – 56.4% ABV – Cask Number 4280 – 535 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml, 50ml)
1972 29 Year Old bottled in 2002 – 58.4% ABV – Cask Number 4043 – (750ml, 700ml, 50ml)
1972 29 Year Old bottled in 2002 – 49.2 ABV – Cask Number 4041 – (750ml, 700ml, 50ml)
1973 30 Year Old bottled in 2003 – 60.6% ABV – Cask Number 6098 – 534 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml, 50ml)
1974 30 Year Old bottled in 2004 – at 56.5% ABV – Cask Number 929038 – 527 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml, 50ml)
1975 30 Year Old bottled in 2005 – 51% ABV – Cask Number 8845 – 89 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml, 50ml)
1976 29 Year Old bottled in 2006 – 45.5% ABV – Cask Number 11354 – 620 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml, 50ml)
1977 40 Year Old bottled in 2017 – 48.5% ABV – Cask Number 8661 – 151 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml, 50ml)
1978 39 Year Old bottled in 2018 – 59.2% ABV – Cask Number 13810 – 243 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml, 50ml)
1979 40 Year Old bottled in 2019 – 57.2% ABV – Cask Number 2803 – 338 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml, 50ml)
Macallan Fine & Rare – 1980s
1985 29 Year Old bottled in 2014 – 46.8% ABV – Cask Number 190413 – 237 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml, 50ml)
1988 23 Year Old bottled in 2011 – 46.7% ABV – Cask Number 12202 – 251 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml, 50ml)
1989 21 Year Old bottled in 2010 – 55.2% ABV – Cask Number 3247
Macallan Fine & Rare – 1990s
1990 22 Year Old bottled in 2013 – 58.2% ABV – Cask Number 24706 – 481 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml, 50ml)
1990 30 Year Old bottled in 2021 – 54.9% ABV – Cask Number 11233
1991 25 Year Old bottled in 2016 – 49.4% ABV – Cask Number 7021 – 500 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml, 50ml)
1993 27 Year Old bottled in 2020 – 50.2% ABV – Cask Number 3939 – 256 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml, 50ml)
1995 26 Year Old bottled in 2022 – 52.7% ABV – Cask Number 13979 – 245 bottle equivalents (750ml, 700ml, 50ml)
Macallan Fine & Rare – 2000s
2000 24 Year Old bottled in 2024 – 55% ABV – Cask Number 27