Sotheby’s unveils most valuable American whiskey collection “ever offered at auction”

Sotheby’s New York is to sell the most valuable single-owner American whiskey collection ever offered at auction – a “meticulously curated” hoard valued between US$1.17–$1.68 million.

Marking Sotheby’s first-ever live, single-owner American whiskey auction, the Great American Whiskey Collection will take place on 24 January at the Breuer Building on Madison Avenue in New York.

The collection comprises 320 lots, with exceptional bottles of Old Rip Van Winkle making up the core of the collection’s value.  The Van Winkle single-barrel selections in particular —bottled for Sam’s, Binny’s, Blue Smoke, Delilah’s, and Old Advocate — were produced in extremely limited quantities. These sit alongside “landmark bottles” from Old Fitzgerald, Red Hook Rye, Buffalo Trace, Michter’s, and Wild Turkey.

Other whiskey’s in the collection include private labels, exclusive single barrels, and historic bottlings, some of which have never appeared at auction before and others which are “now virtually impossible to source”, Sotheby’s said. Overall, the collection comprises 360 bottles of whiskey, with some dating back as early as the 1900s (notably an O.F.C. whiskey distilled in 1909).

Sotheby’s global head of whisky & spirits Jonny Fowle said the collection stood “as a testament to the collectability of truly rare Bourbon and Rye Whiskey”, not just “the most valuable American whiskey collection ever to be offered at auction”, but also the “most meticulously curated, featuring the hardest to find bottles in the industry.”

“Never before have we witnessed a collection of such sought-after bottles come to market from a single owner,” he said. “This collection is truly a first in the world of American whiskey.”

Zev Glesta, Sotheby’s whiskey specialist, AVP added that the value, quality, and rarity of these bottles was “unparalleled” .

“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,” he said.

Highlights

The highlights include a bottle of Old Rip Van Winkle 20 Year Old Single Barrel, “Sam’s” (1982, 133.4 proof), one of 60 bottled exclusively for Sam’s Wines & Spirits in Chicago, which was the highest-proof Van Winkle ever released. Its pre-sale estimate is US$70,000–$100,000;  an exclusive single-barrel bottling of Van Winkle 18 Year Old “Binny’s” (1985, 121.6 proof), estimated at US$60,000–80,000; a private bottling for the Wirtz family, owner of the Blackhawks hockey team, of a Very Very Old Fitzgerald “Blackhawk” 18 Year Old (1950, 121.0 proof), estimated at US$50,000–80,000; and LeNell’s Red Hook Rye Barrels #1–4 (estimate: US$24,000–35,000 each), one of the  most celebrated rye whiskeys in the world, of which only 852 bottles exist.

The top lots are expected to outstrip Sotheby’s current auction record for a bottle of post-Prohibition American whiskey, which was set in August last year when a bottle of  ‘Van Winkle Selection’ Kentucky Bourbon Festival Master Distiller’s Auction 2007 achieved US$125,000 at auction. The rare bottling not only smashed its pre-sale estimate of $30,000 to $50,000, but also all of Sotheby’s previous records, making it the most valuable single bottle of post-prohibition American whiskey ever sold at auction.

 

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