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Dan Murphy’s sells most expensive whisky in its history

Dan Murphy’s in Double Bay enjoyed a record trading day last week when a local whisky enthusiast purchased the retailer’s most expensive bottle.

The Macallan 72 Years Old in Lalique was sold for $150,000 from the Dan Murphy’s Double Bay store.

“The buyer is a local whisky enthusiast who has been collecting special bottles for some time. He was beyond excited to get his hands on this very rare bottle,” said James Duvnjak, Dan Murphy’s dark spirits category manager.

The whisky is the oldest single malt to be released by the Scottish distillery and was the only bottle available for retail in Australia, one of only 600 ever made.

Due to high demand for the product, Dan Murphy’s held a ballot to pick the purchaser from over 50 interested parties.

“We had the bottle on display in the Dan Murphy’s Double Bay store in November and then in Dan Murphy’s Prahran Cellar in Melbourne. Whisky lovers from all over the country travelled to the stores to admire and take photos of the rare bottle in its custom-made display case.”


Dan Murphy’s has observed double digit growth in the Super Premium whisky category (over $10,000 per bottle) in the last three years.

The Dan Murphy’s Double Bay store is also home to a Glenfiddich 50 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky which is on sale for $48,000 and Royal Salute The Age Collection Blended Scotch Whisky, a limited collection to celebrate Queen Elisabeth II, which costs $56,000.

Duvnjak told Inside FMCG that they are struggling to keep up with demand for Japanese and Australian whisky.

“Scotch is ever present and popular continuing to fetch premium prices but Japanese, Irish and Australian Whisk(e)y have all been on trend for the past few years with supply struggling to keep up for Japanese and Australian. An Irish Whiskey (Teeling) actually won the Best Single Malt in the world last year at the World Whiskies Awards 2019,” he said.

Duvnjak confirmed that the retailer is also noticing an increasing customer interest in options for low and no alcohol drinks across all categories in drinks.

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