The Great American Whiskey Collection has become the most valuable single-owner American whiskey collection ever sold at auction, achieving a total of $2.5 million at Sotheby’s New York on 25 January. The sale also saw a bottle of Old Rip Van Winkle 20 Year Old Single Barrel ‘Sam’s’ sell for $162,500, setting a new record for the most valuable single bottle of American whiskey ever sold at auction.
The final price for the 360-bottle collection more than doubled its low pre-sale estimate of $1.17m.
The sale was a ‘white-glove’ auction, with 100% of lots sold and 89% exceeding their high estimates. It shattered the previous record for a single-owner American whiskey collection, which was $965,813 for The Thoroughbred Collection in 2021.
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READ THE STORYJonny Fowle, Sotheby’s global head of spirits, said: “This was a landmark moment for American whiskey.”
“Breaking the record for the most valuable American whiskey collection ever sold is a testament to the extraordinary rarity and quality of this collection, as well as the passion and expertise of collectors worldwide,” Fowle added.
The top lot, an Old Rip Van Winkle 20 Year Old Single Barrel “Sam’s” from 1982, sold for $162,500. This result surpassed the previous single-bottle record of $125,000.
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The “Sam’s” bottling is one of only 60 hand-numbered bottles ever made and was bottled at 133.4 proof.
“This sale represents a defining moment for American whiskey at auction, underscoring the legendary status of the Van Winkle name and the extraordinary significance of the ‘Sam’s’ Old Rip Van Winkle,” commented Zev Glesta, Sotheby’s whiskey specialist. “A bottle of this calibre is not just a collector’s item but a piece of American whiskey history.”
Other significant sales included a bottle of Very Very Old Fitzgerald “Blackhawk” 18 Year Old, which sold for $112,500, and a Van Winkle 18 Year Old “Binny’s” that achieved $106,250.
Further records were set by lots, including a J.W. Gottlieb Private Stock Straight Rye 13 Year Old, which sold for $56,250, and an Old Rip Van Winkle Bottled In Bond from 1917 that realized $47,500.
The auction drew intense competition, with 96% of the lots acquired by collectors based in North America. Notably, nearly a third of buyers were new to Sotheby’s, and more than half were aged 40 or younger.
Fowle concluded: “The enthusiasm from bidders was phenomenal, reflecting a global appreciation for American whiskey that continues to grow year after year. This exceptional auction has propelled Bourbon and Rye into a new stratosphere of desirability.”
