Want a Bottle of This? $2.8M, Please

A rare bottle of Irish whiskey last week became the most expensive bottle of whiskey (or whisky) ever sold at auction. A bottle of the Emerald Isle, one of just seven that exist, sold for $2.8 million—breaking the record set just two months ago when a bottle of Macallan Adami 1926 whisky sold for $2.7 million. (Scotch whisky, like the Macallan, is made in Scotland; then there's Irish whiskey, like The Emerald Isle, bourbon, rye whisky, and more.) The Emerald Isle is distilled by the Craft Irish Whiskey Co.; Fox Business notes Ireland has been working toward its whiskey having the same level of prestige as Scotland's, and the company says it aims to "return premium Irish whiskey to the heights it once enjoyed."

American whiskey collector Mike Daley, who owns several thousand bottles from around the world, purchased the record-setting bottle, Whiskey Raiders reports. He says he believes "Irish is the future of whiskey," adding, "The rebirth of Irish whiskey is relatively new, so I feel like I'm getting in on the ground floor." The bottle of 30-year-old whiskey came in a custom-made walnut case, in a set that also included a Fabergé egg with a real emerald gem set into its surface, a custom watch, and cigars, according to a press release. (More whiskey stories.)