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The Ultimate Guide To Macallan Private Eye

Everything you need to know about Macallan Private Eye

A complete guide to the Macallan Private Eye (updated January 2023).

Macallan Private Eye History

1996 represented a special year for Private Eye magazine as it was their 35th anniversary. To commemorate the occasion they commissioned a special bottling by Macallan to be made widely available to its readers. The bottles contain whisky that was distilled in the year of Private Eye’s founding, 1961, that was vatted together with a number of other Macallan casks.

The Private Eye was put on general release at £36 per bottle. There was even a nationwide advertising campaign in the Daily Telegraph. It was released in an edition of 5,000 bottles.  Each bottle was individually numbered.

Today, bottles of Macallan Private Eye are selling at auction for £5,000-£6,000.

What is your bottle of Macallan Private Eye old worth?

Are you looking for a valuation of your bottle of Macallan Private Eye?  If so then you are in the right place.  Use the guide below to get all the information you need.

Please use the contact form to send us the details of your bottle. We are an expert whisky broker with other 300 five-star reviews of our service. You can also read our guide to selling your whisky online.

We can help you sell your bottle either through a brokered private sale, through a specialist online auction, or through our new shop.

Free Macallan Whisky Valuation

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What affects the value of Macallan Private Eye?

Macallan Whisky Sell Online

The label

The label of the Macallan Private Eye is brightly coloured and distinctive, having been designed specially by Ralph Steadman, who drew for Private Eye and was known for his political caricatures and cartoons. 

The label is made of plastic and, therefore, there is zero tolerance on scuffs, marks, and scratches. Any damage to the label will reduce what investors and collectors are willing to pay for any specific bottle. 

 

Sell Macallan Private Eye (2)

The bottle

Macallan Private Eye bottles are a standard shape and size, clear glass bottle and are a standard 70cl volume.

Most Private Eye bottles feature a screw cap that is protected by a black capsule. The condition of the capsule should be considered; scratches and nicks in the foil (from getting them in and out of the box) will lower the value to a collector.

The back of the bottle features a clear plastic label that describes the dark whisky inside in a black font. This bottle is quite unlike any other bottle of Macallan. 

History of Macallan Private Eye

The level

The level in your bottle of Macallan Private Eye is important because it can drastically affect what collectors and buyers are willing to pay. 

Ideally, the whisky should sit in the wide part of the neck of the bottle. Any lower and the value begins to drop. This is because lower levels suggest that the capsule is damaged and that evaporation has occurred. 

You can reduce evaporation by keeping you bottle in a cool but humid place, standing upright, and out of direct sunlight. 

Sell Macallan Private Eye

Gold capsule cover?

As stated above, most of the Private Eye bottlings feature a black capsule cover. However, a very small number of bottles feature a gold capsule cover. These bottles were sold exclusively by Fortnum & Mason in London. The gold capsules are very rare, and so they command a small premium. 

Macallan Whisky VAlue

The bottle number

The bottle number is printed on the bottom of the bottle in gold lettering, XXX/5000. There may be a small premium for good bottle numbers.

Those with a bottle number less than ten, or with numbers such as 1111, 2222, 3333, and 4444 are something of a novelty to collectors. Otherwise, the bottle number will make no difference to the value of your bottle. 

Macallan Private Eye Valuations

About Ralph Steadman

Ralph Steadman was born in Cheshire in 1936. He attended the London College of Printing during the 1960s, and was approached by Private Eye during this time. He freelanced for many high-profile publications such as The New York Times, and Rolling Stone before going on to win awards for his illustrations. Steadman was commissioned by Macallan to design the Private Eye label in 1996.

How we can help you sell your bottle

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Private Sale

Selling your bottle through our audience of private buyers can get a high price for you bottle and the convenience of a quick turn around on your sale. All we need is a good picture of your bottle stood up, ideally with the box if you have it and we can collect no obligation offers from our buyers for your consideration.

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Auction

Auction can be the most suitable route for some bottles offering a wide audience of buyers. There is more element of risk in selling at auction as you have less control over the original price and usually takes longer to complete than a private sale. It is also important to choose the right specialist auction for you bottle, and we can advise you on this. 

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Shop

Our online store launched in 2020 with an aim to bridge the gap between selling at auction and the prices you see at retail, helping you get more for your bottle. Selling via our online shop can achieve more than at auction or private sale but can take longer to complete, so requires the time to get your ideal price realised.

What is my bottle of Macallan Private Eye worth?

In order to provide you with an accurate valuation please provide as much of the below information as you can.
There is more information about each section below the form.

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How To Sell Your Bottle Of Macallan Private Eye

Sell your bottle of whisky in 5 simple steps

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Thomas Nilsson
Thomas Nilsson
1701003500
Great service from beginning to end when we wanted to sell our Ben Nevis cask.Buyer was found very quick and the transaction went smooth.We also got to keep six sample bottles which we finally got delivered, after some issues with swedish Customs (again great support from Hannah at ML).Thanks for everything!
Rena Zimmerman
Rena Zimmerman
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I had several casks of Scotch for many years and wanted to sell them. I'm in the US and was completely unaware as to how to do so. I cannot recommend Mark Littler LTD highly enough. Mark walked me through the steps of the process of selling from start to finish and it was flawless. Communication was excellent. My casks were sold quickly and for a very fair price.
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Mark Daniel
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I must say the whole experience from start to finish was quite exceptional . Pricing , communication , simplicity , the whole process was faultless , well worth the 5 star review would not hesitate to recommend and or use again .
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Gary Bowness
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I’ve waited a while to write a review but after 9 months of buying a cask of whiskey through mark littler ltd must say very happy how everything was explained and discussed mainly with HannahOnce we decided to go with mark littlerEverything was done extremely professional and quite quick always informed what was going onNow, very excited to let our cask mature over many years and hopefully both parties can earn a little bit of profit in the future thanks
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David Verebelyi
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Great group to work with, highest integrity. We had an issue with an item that was likely nicked by someone at the receiving department. This issue was covered immediately with no headache on the buyer's end. I have been collecting for over 15 years. Trust and integrity can be difficult to find online but this organization shows both. Both Mark and Katy are great to work with, I could not recommend them more.
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Linda Wright
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bill packer
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In 1991 I purchased a number edition bottle of Midleton Very Rare whiskey in a box with the certification endorsed by the Master Distiller Barry Crockett whilst visiting Whiskey Corner in Dublin.It was stored in a cupboard until March 2013 when my wife suggested that we had it valued.Having searched on line for a whisky broker two options were presented by the internet one in Dublin and one in Congleton Cheshire. Mark Littler Independent Whisky Broker. From the first contact by phone with their staff members relating to my initial enquiry and the subsequent process of selling the bottle of whiskey they all dealt with the matter with very professionally and kept us fully informed at every stage of the process to achieve finding a buyer in their Online Shop.We personally delivered the Midleton Whiskey to their premises in Congleton in late March 2023 where Beth welcomed us to the very secure and tempreature controlled suite of offices where we met all the members of staff who would be dealing with our sale.My wife and I were handed a very detailed and simple contract of sale which Beth gave us time to read through and explained all the process of how the sale would be conducted by Mark Littler Ltd, and an initial offer price was agreed to commence the sale.In July Beth contacted us to suggest that we include our bottle in a video that was being produced to promote their whisky shop and items available for sale. The video was very professionally made and explained in detail each of the bottles on offer to prospective buyers.The sale of our bottle of Midleton Whiskey was completed in September at the price we had hoped to achieve when it was independently valued.During the whole [process of our dealings with Beth and Katy we kept up to date on the sale process, and the agreed sum of money achieved arrived in our bank account as promised.As valued customers we would fully endorse and recommend Mark Littler Ltd as a trustworthy company to sell your valuable times through either in their shop or at auction.Mr Lawrence and Mrs Par Burrell.Shepperton. Middlesex,
Adam Dziacky
Adam Dziacky
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I really enjoy all the content, however when I contacted the company in order to sell my bottles, no one responded despite my 3 attempts over several weeks (email, website, Whatsapp link wasn't working).After submitting 2 star review Mark reached out within an hour and provided the valuation for the bottles along with advice. He explained that my email ended in spam which was valid reason for the delay so I edited my review to 5 stars which they deserve.
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Nick Hayes
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After 20 years I'm a bit maudlin at seeing my madeira butt go but the process was made easier by recruiting Mark Littler to assist.Communications with Mark and his team are quick and simple. What Mark says, he does, with openess and integrity which in these times of charlatanism is a relief to come across. His counsel and advice held water and helped me realise one of my ambitions.I contacted Mark after hearing him speak on the BBC's 'The Food Programme'. My thoughts were that if the BBC's production team had vetted him and found all wholesome then he would be good enough for me. As a result, I can reccomend Mark wholeheartedly. I will be going back to Mark in 5 years time when those casks I bought for our children will need to be sold to help them onto their respective property ladders.Many thanks Mark and team.
runstar2212
runstar2212
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From start to finish the team have been professional and easy to deal with. Don't hesitate to use them. Already recommended to friends and will be using again when the opportunity arises.
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bill cabin
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Stephen L.
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Marks and Beth were superb during the sale of my whisky bottle. The communication was brilliant and their knowledge is also invaluable. Would 100%... recommend using mark little Ltd. Will be in touch again in the future. Thank you both again for your time.read more
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Mark’s website is very easy to use. We found him informative, helpful and friendly. Selling was easy because of Mark and his staff. Would definitely... recommendread more
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With the daunting task of selling a 17-year old barrel of Bruichladdich Whisky, I turned to Mark Littler in Oct '21. He and his team professionally... led me through the process to successfully achieving a good sale and subsequent payment of proceeds - from another part of the world. I highly recommend Mark Littler and their whisky services! David Brandjesread more
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Absolutely fantastic service , dropped 4 bottles down to the shop , within 4 weeks two had been sold and the money in our account , no mither... whatsoever , we will certainly be selling through Mark with our remaining collectionread more
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They were very professional at every stage of the process and I would recommend them to anyone. I don't often give a five star marking but with Mark... I would, and I would certainly use them again.read more
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I used Mark when I had a picture for sale, Mark was very efficient and professional. i would recommend him very highly and would not hesitate to use... him again.read more
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When we were unsure about how to go about selling part of our whisky collection, we looked online and found that Mark had some very good... reviews.

Well having now completed the process, I can say that Mark and his whole team are absolutely excellent. We were guided through different ways to sell different bottles. Help with packaging and transport is provided, and advice on bottle values was good.

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Dave E.
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It’s great when you’re in unfamiliar territory, hoping to sell a cask of whisky, and there’s someone out there who leads you through the process in a... thoroughly professional way. Mark kept me informed throughout and successfully completed the deal. I’d recommend him to anyone wishing to sell.read more
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We were looking to sell a cask of Bruichladdich which we had owned for 10 years, having read excellent 5 star reviews & watched a couple of YouTube... videos, we decided to contact Mark. From the outset Mark was friendly & professional, offering great advice which allowed us to make an informed decision, at all times Mark communicated clearly & answered any questions promptly. Mark achieved a great price for our cask, I would not hesitate to use his company again so I’m very happy to recommend him with a 5/5 review.read more
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I bought my husband a hogshead of Bowmore for his 30th birthday. We’ve been happily paying warehouse rental for 25 years and decided we needed to... look into next steps. The warehouse wasn’t very helpful so we started to look on the internet for a whisky broker. There appeared to be a lot of choice but Marks credentials and website information stood out from the crowd. He immediately set us at ease and so we looked no further. We have enjoyed our interactions and have felt from the start that Mark had our best interests at heart with his professional approach, transparency and personal touch. He has kept us informed along the journey which has been an exciting one. As part of the service Mark facilitated the gauging, sampling and selling of the barrel and also coordinated for us to receive a few bottles of this amber nectar for our own consumption. To top it off he achieved a fabulous price. We would recommend Mark to anyone who is lucky enough to have whisky to sell. Many thanks for your service Mark!read more
Lorna H.
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I highly recommend Mark Littler if you are looking for a trusted & reputable antiques consultant.
He completed a sale for me with his... professionalism & personal service & I will happily use him again. Thank you Mark & staff., for a five star service. Lorna Hickmanread more
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I approached Mark Littler about selling my bottle of whisky. I delivered the bottle to their office and was very impressed with their setup. A price... was agreed and the contract was signed. It took about 4 months but a buyer was found and I was kept informed of how the sale was progressing, then on Christmas Eve I received an email saying the sale had been completed and the money was in my account.
I highly recommend Mark Littler if you have any unusual bottles to sell, they are the people to sell it for you.
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Lee C.
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I recently approached Mark Littler Ltd to value and sell a number of bottles of Whisky left to me by my late father.
Account Manager Hannah... Thompson completed the transaction faultlessly throughout. She was quick to establish which were the highly collectable bottles and which I would just have to enjoy drinking. I had a very good idea which bottles would fetch the best price and Hannah confirmed that for me. After putting the bottles to their database of clients, I soon had a best offer which stacked up against other vendors. On accepting the offer a courier delivered all the packing boxes the following day and we dropped everything packed to the post office. Hannah confirmed receipt and a couple of days later Mark called to confirm that he had just sent the proceeds to me - All very painless!
Many companies make a lot of promises these days but never quite deliver - Mark Littler is very much the exception!
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Working with Mark Littler was awesome. I‘m in the US and he walked me through every step of selling my cask of scotch whiskey in Scotland, and even... went out of his way to deliver a letter in person to the distillery since I couldn’t get ahold of them due to Covid. He made the whole process so simple for me. I would recommend him In a heartbeat.read more
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Knowledgeable guy and easy to talk to! Will guide you through every step.

Highly recommend
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