A forthcoming auction is set to showcase the most valuable single-owner collection of American whiskey ever seen on the secondary market.
Sotheby’s will host their first-ever live, single-owner American whiskey auction later this month. Dubbed the Great American Whiskey Collection, the “meticulously curated” selection is said to be value between US$1.17–$1.68 million.
The auction consists of 360 bottles spread over 320 lots and includes some of the rarest and most sought after bottles of American whiskey. This auction will also mark several bottles’ debut on the secondary market.
Incredibly rare bottles from Old Rip Van Winkle make up the heart of this collection’s value. Many of these bottles were released in very small quantities and “now virtually impossible to source” according to Sotheby’s.
For example, the 20 Year Old Single Barrel, 1982 vintage nicknamed “Sam’s” - the highest proof Old Rip Van Winkle ever released that was bottled for Sam’s Wines & Spirits in Chicago - is included in this collection, and is one of just 60 bottles produced. This particular bottle is valued between US$70,000–$100,000.
Other highlights include: the exclusive single barrel 18-year-old Van Winkle for liquor chain Binny’s (1985, 60.5% ABV, US$60,000 and US$80,000 estimate); the Very Very Old Fitzgerald ‘Blackhawk’ 18 Years Old from 1950, also estimated sale of around US$80,000; four bottles of LeNell’s Red Hook Rye Barrels #1-4, valued at US$24,000 to US$35,000 each.
Among the most eye catching vintages is a bottle of O.F.C distilled in 1909.
Sotheby’s global head of whisky & spirits Jonny Fowle called the collection “a testament to the collectability of truly rare Bourbon and Rye Whiskey” and “not just the most valuable American whiskey collection ever to be offered at auction,” but “the most meticulously curated.”
He added: “Never before have we witnessed a collection of such sought-after bottles come to market from a single owner…This collection is truly a first in the world of American whiskey.”
Zev Glesta, Sotheby’s whiskey specialist, also noted the “unparalleled” the value, quality, and rarity of these bottles, saying: “This is not just a great American whiskey collection—it is the collection, bringing together the very finest examples ever produced. Each bottle tells a story, captures a moment in history, and preserves the lineage of a craft that continues to grow and evolve today,”
This auction goes live at 5pm EST on 24 January at the Breuer Building on Madison Avenue in New York.
Sotheby’s has seemingly become the top name in the market when it comes to ultra-rare American whiskey auctions. Last year the auction house made headlines for the sale of a ‘Van Winkle Selection’ Kentucky Bourbon Festival Master Distiller’s Auction 2007 for US$125,000, which set a new record for record for a bottle of post-Prohibition American whiskey.
We’ll wait and see if one of the bottles from this latest auction smashes that record!
