Fine Spirits: On November 15 in New York Sotheby’s will auction off a one-of-a-kind crystal Lalique decanter holding the oldest and rarest Macallan single malt ever bottled, expected to fetch at least $150,000 making it the world’s most expensive whisky. The famed Speyside distillery commissioned the legendary crystal artisan to create the decanter using the ancient “cire perdue” or “lost wax” method. The Macallan in Lalique Cire Perdue decanter is filled with 64 years and older Macallan single malt whisky, vatted together from three casks, all built from sherry seasoned Spanish oak.

The first cask was filled in 1942, the second in 1945 and the third in January 1946. The Cire Perdue decanter was designed and painstakingly hand crafted by Lalique exclusively for The Macallan, inspired by the beauty of The Macallan’s 150 hectare estate in north-eastern Scotland. The decanter is based upon a ship’s decanter of the 1820s, the decade in which The Macallan was founded. Proceeds from the historic sale will be donated to charity: water, a non-profit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations.