To celebrate the 150th anniversary of Rene Lalique’s birth, The Macallan and Lalique came together to create a one-of-a-kind objet d'art to benefit charity: water. The Macallan 64 Years Old in Lalique: Cire Perdue is the oldest and rarest single malt whisky ever released by the distillery. It is housed in a decanter exquisitely crafted using the ancient “cire perdue,” or lost wax, process that Lalique has not implemented since 1930.

Water is fundamental to both The Macallan and Lalique in the creation of their products. Indeed the word “whisky” is derived from the Latin, “aqua vitae”, the “water of life.” Borehole water from The Macallan estate is one of the three natural ingredients of The Macallan (the others being barley and yeast) and Lalique uses water extensively in the cold workshop as the final handcrafting and detailing is completed on a crystal piece.

During the decanter’s “Tour du Monde,” a 10cl bottle of The Macallan 64 Year Old, together with two beautiful Lalique glasses, was auctioned at stops in the following cities with 100% of the proceeds going to charity: water: Paris, London, Moscow, Hong Kong, Seoul, Taipei, Shanghai, Singapore, Osaka and Beverly Hills.

The tour culminated at Sotheby's in New York on November 15, 2010, where the whisky in the Lalique decanter sold for $460,000, breaking records for the highest-selling whisky at an auction. In less than 10 minutes, The Macallan and Lalique partnership raised enough to serve more than 23,000 people with clean, safe drinking water. See photos of the event here >

© 2010 The Macallan Distillers Ltd. The Macallan® Scotch Whisky, 43% Alc./Vol., Imported by Rémy Cointreau USA, Inc., New York, NY. Please Savour Responsibly.