Lalique Cire Perdue: Oldest Macallan Ever Bottled to be Auctioned for Charity

Famed Speyside distillery The Macallan and legendary crystal artisan Lalique have produced a one-of-a-kind decanter, created by the ancient "cire perdue" or "lost wax" method, holding the oldest and rarest Macallan ever bottled. The Macallan in Lalique Cire Perdue decanter, created to celebrate the 150th René Lalique's birth and containing a 64 years old Macallan single malt whisky, will be auctioned off by Sotheby's on November 15, 2010 in New York. All proceeds from the sale, which is expected to top $75,000, will be donated to charity: water, a non-profit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations. For the next eight months, The Macallan in Lalique: Cire Perdue decanter will travel around the world from Paris to New York via Madrid, London, Moscow, Seoul, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Taipei, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo. 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, and features a beautifully engraved panorama of The Macallan estate by the river Spey. The 64 years old Macallan has been vatted together from three casks, all built from sherry seasoned Spanish oak. The first was filled in 1942, the second in 1945 and the third in January 1946, from which the age of this great Macallan has been taken. Prior to the release of this 64 years old Macallan in the Cire Perdue decanter, the previous oldest Macallan released by the distillery was the 60 years old, distilled in 1926 and bottled in 1986, of which only forty bottles were ever produced. The lost wax process is an ancient practice originally developed to cast large pieces in bronze. After first modeling a piece in wax, it is covered with plaster and then sent to the oven to bake the clay while the wax melts. Finally, molten crystal is poured in the emptied shape.