Man pays $64k for shot of Macallan whisky

A Los Angeles entrepreneur bought a $64,000 shot of Macallan 64 Year Old single-malt whisky in support of a Korean based charity.

The Macallan 64 in Lalique

Blaine Vess purchased the pricey dram on Saturday at The Macallan’s £10 cocktail lounge at the Montage hotel in Beverly Hills, as reported by West Side Today. 

The Macallan promised to donate proceeds from the sale to the charity of the buyer’s choice, in this case, to Liberty in North Korea (LiNK) – a charity that rescues North Korean refugees via a 3,000-mile underground railroad and supports resettled North Korean refugees.

Vess has supported the charity since 2012 and recently became chairman of the non-profit’s board of directors.

Instead of drinking the one-of-a-kind dram, Vess instead returned it to the hotel’s safe adding that he would only drink it when “the Korean people are free.”

Speaking to the paper he said: “I’m honored to support LiNK in promoting freedom and empowerment for the North Korean people, and grateful to The Macallan for their generosity in giving the proceeds from this valuable whisky to charity. I hope what we’re doing here today will raise awareness for what LiNK is doing in North Korea, and encourage others to support their efforts as well.”

The Macallan 64 Year Old is bottled at 42.5% abv and comprises three single malts filled in 1942, 1945 and 1946 and is the only mini-bottle of its kind.

A decanter of the blend was auctioned in Hong Kong in July selling for US$628,000 (£381,620), nearly £100,000 more than the previous £288,000 record, which was paid for a decanter of the Macallan 64 Year Old in New York in 2010, setting a new record for the most expensive whisky sold at auction.