The Macallan to Auction six litre “Imperiale”decanter of Macallan ‘M’ in Hong Kong

The Macallan is to auction an impressive 6 litre “Imperiale” version of the highly sought after Macallan M - the world’s most sophisticated single malt whisky, contained within a beautifully designed and meticulously crafted crystal decanter.

M represents a masterpiece created from the collaboration between three masters of their crafts; Fabien Baron, Founder and Creative Director of Baron & Baron, Silvio Denz, President and CEO of Lalique and Bob Dalgarno, Whisky Maker at The Macallan.

To celebrate the conception of M and its global launch in Hong Kong, four 6-litre Imperiale  decanters were specially crafted by Lalique for The Macallan. These are the largest decanters ever made by Lalique.  Each decanter required the work of 17 craftsmen, including two with the prestigious title, “Meilleur Ouvrier de France”, with each taking over 50 hours to complete.

Of the four, two have been archived by The Macallan and one has been committed to a private collector in Asia.  The fourth, Constantine (named, as are the other three, after Roman emperors), is the only one to feature the engraved autographs of the three principal creators - Lalique, Fabien Baron and Bob Dalgarno.  This highly collectable creation will be offered at auction of Finest and Rarest Wines and The Macallan by Sotheby’s in Hong Kong on Saturday, 18 January 2014.

David Cox of The Macallan commented : “The six litre Imperiale “M” is the largest decanter ever produced by Lalique, and the largest decanter ever filled with the Macallan since the distillery was founded in 1824.  This auction offers the successful bidder an opportunity to acquire something very special, drawing on the combined talents of one of the world’s great designers, the finest of crystal makers and makers of one the world’s great spirits, The Macallan. Hopefully the auction will realise an outstanding bid, worthy of this great piece, with the net proceeds going to a number of worthy charities in Hong Kong”.

The Macallan is one of the world’s most sought after and collectable whiskies, sitting at the top of the auction index for whiskies and holding the current Guinness World Record™ for the most expensive whisky ever sold at auction (US$460,000).

All net sale proceeds will be donated to a host of local charities in Hong Kong. 

Notes to editors:

Guide for Prospective Buyers

The weight of the decanter is 11.3kg with a height of 700mm. With six litres of Macallan at 5.5kg, the total weight of the decanter with whisky would be 16.8kg.

Buyer’s Premium:  The standard 22.5% buyer’s premium will be applied to the hammer price, a portion of which Sotheby’s will donate to the Hong Kong charities benefitting from the sale of this lot.

This Property will be offered for sale without reserve. Pre-sale estimates: HK$2,000,000 – HK$4,000,000.

About Sotheby’s

Sotheby’s has been uniting collectors with world-class works of art since 1744.  Sotheby’s became the first international auction house when it expanded from London to New York (1955), the first to conduct sales in Hong Kong (1973) and France (2001), and the first international fine art auction house in China (2012). Today, Sotheby’s presents auctions in 9 different salesrooms, including New York, London, Hong Kong and Paris, and Sotheby’s BIDnow program allows visitors to view all auctions live online and place bids from anywhere in the world. Sotheby’s offers collectors the resources of Sotheby's Financial Services, the world’s only full-service art financing company, as well as private sale opportunities in more than 70 categories, including S|2, the gallery arm of Sotheby's Contemporary Art department, and two retail businesses, Sotheby's Diamonds and Sotheby's Wine. Sotheby’s has a global network of 90 offices in 40 countries and is the oldest company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (BID).