A rare bottle of New York-inspired The Macallan whiskey just sold for $250,000

This special edition Single Cask is one of only two bottles created by the distillery.

It was obvious early on that The Macallan's Distil Your World New York Edition was going to cost collectors quite a bit of money. Limited to just 1,000 bottles, the whiskey was originally priced at $4,300, but ended up selling for four times that amount online. However, this whiskey reached astonishing new heights over the weekend.

The Special Edition Single Cask sold for $250,000 at Sotheby's auction house on Friday. The bottle, one of two created by the famed distillery, attracted 68 bids before being sold to a private collector in Asia for three times its pre-sale estimate. The second bottle will be kept safely in the Macallan archives.

To recap, this is the second release in the Macallan Distil Your World series, the first highlighting the flavours of London, while this expression captures the aromas and scents of New York. Macallan whiskey maker Polly Logan travelled to the Big Apple and collaborated with culinary heavyweights Roca Brothers to develop the drink. She said she was inspired by street food like "candies, waffles, peanut brittle, chocolate and pecans."

The original whiskey is made from a combination of six casks matured in European and American oak casks seasoned with sherry. Meanwhile, the Single Cask Edition from Friday's auction was created using 2002 sherry-seasoned European oak casks.

Both whiskeys bring notes of apple and citrus on the nose, aromas of dark chocolate, burnt orange syrup and cherry on the palate and a hint of spice on the finish. The Single Cask release also promises a new sweet candy flavour and a hint of cherry blossom.

All bottles are housed in a presentation box with an engraved aerial map of New York and a book detailing the inspirations behind the whisky. This particular bottle also came with a luxury restaurant experience at El Celler de Can Roca - that three Michelin star restaurant owned by the aforementioned brothers - for the lucky collector and three guests.

Although $250,000 is quite a sum, the auction was for charity: proceeds from the sale will benefit ChaShaMa, a New York-based non-profit that nurtures artists by turning unused real estate into affordable work and presentation spaces. It's definitely worth raising a glass of whiskey to.