wsky1

Macallan 18 Year Old 1988

£650
45.8%vs 12 months ago

latest hammer price

Rare at auction· 4 lots a year

Auction lots

54

Houses

1

Last sold

15 days ago

Macallan 18 Year Old 1988 is a collectable Scotch whisky from Macallan aged 18 years. Based on 54 recorded auction lots across 38 months of trading data, the current median hammer price is £733, with the most recent sale at £650. Over the trading window, prices have ranged from £195 (low) to £1,700 (high). Accounting for lot-to-lot variation, a realistic valuation range for Macallan 18 Year Old 1988 is £418–£882 36% around the latest sale).

Year-on-year, Macallan 18 Year Old 1988 is down 45.8%, with a 6-month trend of -18.7% (down). wsky1 aggregates hammer prices from major public Scotch whisky auctions including Scotch Whisky Auctions, Whisky Auctioneer, and Bonhams. All prices are in GBP and exclude buyer's premium (typically 24–28% additional at major houses). Past auction performance is not a guarantee of future value.

All Macallan expressions →

About Macallan

Macallan is a whisky distillery. Macallan 18 Year Old 1988 is an age-stated bottling at 18 years old, distilled in 1988.

What drives this bottle's value

  • Single vintage

    Distilled in a single year (1988), so the available batch is inherently finite.

  • Age statement

    A 18-year age statement signals extended maturation, which limits how much was ever bottled.

  • Named / limited release

    Released as Macallan 18 Year Old 1988, a named edition rather than part of the standard core range.

These are scarcity and demand signals drawn from the bottle's own attributes — they describe the bottle, not a prediction of future price. Not investment advice.

Release & bottling facts

Distillery
Macallan
Expression
18 Year Old 1988
Age
18 years
Vintage
1988
Edition
Macallan 18 Year Old 1988
Bottle size
700ml

Latest sale

£650

24-month median

£733

24-month high

£1,700

24-month low

£195

Estimated value · likely range

£418–£882 ±36%

Auction hammers swing lot to lot with condition, fill level and timing. Treat this band — not a single figure — as the bottle's value.

Market presence

last 12 months

Rare at auctiononly a handful of lots a year

Seen at auction

4 lots

Cadence

≈ every 91 days

Trend

33% vs prior year

Houses

1

Activity rank

top 22% of tracked bottles

Last seen

15 days ago

Across the auction houses wsky1 tracks.

18.7%vs 6 months ago
45.8%vs 12 months ago

Price history (monthly median)

£189£970£1,751Jun 14May 16Apr 17Jun 20Jan 24Sept 25Aug 26

Recent auction results

MonthMedianLots
August 2026£6502
September 2025£7252
June 2025£8501
March 2025£1,3001
November 2024£1,0001
July 2024£1,1001
April 2024£8001
January 2024£1,2001
November 2023£1,0502
February 2023£1,7001
June 2022£1,7001
April 2021£1,6001

Comparable bottles

Frequently asked questions

How rare is Macallan 18 Year Old 1988 at auction?

Macallan 18 Year Old 1988 appeared in 4 auction lots over the last 12 months across the auction houses wsky1 tracks — rare at auction (only a handful of lots a year). That is up 33% on the previous year. That puts it in the top 22% by auction activity among the 29,926 bottles wsky1 tracks — most collectable bottles hammer only a handful of times a year.

What is the current auction price of Macallan 18 Year Old 1988?

The latest hammer price for Macallan 18 Year Old 1988 at auction is £650. Across the most recent 24 months of auction data, the median hammer price is £733, with a high of £1,700 and a low of £195. All prices are in GBP and exclude buyer's premium. Data is aggregated from major auction houses including Scotch Whisky Auctions, Whisky Auctioneer, and Bonhams.

How much has Macallan 18 Year Old 1988 changed in value over the past year?

Macallan 18 Year Old 1988 is down 45.8% year-on-year based on monthly median hammer prices. Over the past 6 months it has moved down 18.7%. Past auction performance is not a guarantee of future value.

Where can I sell Macallan 18 Year Old 1988?

Macallan 18 Year Old 1988 regularly appears at major Scotch whisky auction houses including Scotch Whisky Auctions (Scotland), Whisky Auctioneer (Scotland), Just Whisky, Whisky Hammer, and Bonhams. The current median hammer price is £733 (excluding buyer's premium). At most major houses, buyer's premium adds 24–28% on top of hammer for the buyer; sellers typically receive the hammer price minus a sales commission of 5–15%.

Is Macallan 18 Year Old 1988 a good investment?

Over the past 12 months Macallan 18 Year Old 1988 has moved down 45.8%, with a current median hammer price of £733. The bottle has been observed at auction across 54 recorded lots in our database. wsky1 provides hammer-price data for informational purposes only — not investment advice. Whisky is an illiquid alternative asset; secondary-market value depends heavily on bottle condition, fill level, label integrity, and timing.

How does wsky1 calculate the price of Macallan 18 Year Old 1988?

wsky1 ingests public auction results from major auction houses (via direct scraping of Scotch Whisky Auctions, Whisky Auctioneer, Bonhams, and Whisky Hammer, plus aggregated data from WhiskyHunter). For each bottle, we group hammer prices by year-month and compute the median price per month. The figures shown — latest £650, 24-month median £733 — are derived from this monthly-median methodology. All prices are hammer prices in GBP, excluding buyer's premium.

Does the price include buyer's premium?

No. All prices on wsky1 are hammer prices only. Buyer's premium at major Scotch whisky auction houses currently runs at 24–28% on top of the hammer price. A bottle of Macallan 18 Year Old 1988 that hammers at £650 would cost the buyer approximately £819 all-in including buyer's premium.

Own a bottle of Macallan 18 Year Old 1988?

Track it against live auction data and see your portfolio's real market value — free for up to 3 bottles.

Start tracking free →

Own a different bottle? Get a free whisky valuation for any bottle — no signup, no card.