US whiskey collection could break auction record
Sotheby’s will host the world’s most valuable American whiskey auction this month, with the 360-bottle collection estimated to sell for up to US$1.68 million.
On 24 January at 5pm EST, Sotheby’s will present The Great American Whiskey Collection auction at its flagship home in the Breuer Building, Madison Avenue, New York City. The sale will be Sotheby’s first live, single-owner American whiskey auction.
Described as the most valuable collection of its kind to go on sale, the auction will be spread across 320 lots. Its sale forecast has been estimated to fall between USS1.17m and US$1.68m.
The collection offers some of the rarest and most sought-after bottles of Bourbon and rye whiskey ever bottled, according to Sotheby’s. Several bottles will appear at auction for the first time.
“The Great American Whiskey Collection stands as a testament to the collectability of truly rare Bourbon and rye whiskey,” said Jonny Fowle, Sotheby’s global head of whisky and spirits.
“Never before have we witnessed a collection of such sought-after bottles come to market from a single owner.
“This is not just the most valuable American whiskey collection ever to be offered at auction, it is the most meticulously curated, featuring the hardest to find bottles in the industry. This collection is truly a first in the world of American whiskey.”
Spanning production dates as early as 1900, the collection will be led by bottles from Old Rip Van Winkle, which account for most of the collection’s value, alongside whiskeys from brands such as Old Fitzgerald, Red Hook Rye, Buffalo Trace, Michter’s, and Wild Turkey.
Sotheby’s holds the auction record for a bottle of post-Prohibition American whiskey from when it sold a one-off Old Rip Van Winkle for US$125,000 in March 2025 – but this sale could beat the current record holder.
Many of the Van Winkle single barrel selections were produced in extremely limited quantities and created exclusively for retailers.
Highlights of the auction include an Old Rip Van Winkle 20 Years Old Single Barrel (1982) bottled for retailer Sam’s Wines & Spirits as the brand’s highest ABV to ever be released at 66.7% ABV. It has an estimated sale price of US$70,000 to US$100,000.
Other offerings will include the exclusive single barrel 18-year-old Van Winkle for liquor chain Binny’s (1985, 60.5% ABV), which is expected to fetch between US$60,000 and US$80,000.
There is also the Very Very Old Fitzgerald ‘Blackhawk’ 18 Years Old from 1950, bottled at 60.5% ABV. Created as a private bottling for the Wirtz family (owner of the Chicago Blackhawks ice hockey team), the bottle could sell for up to US$80,000.
Sotheby’s has also highlighted four bottles of LeNell’s Red Hook Rye Barrels, priced at US$24,000 to US$35,000 each. Only 852 bottles exist across all four expressions.
The bottles in this auction came directly from the cellar of an unnamed owner who assembled the collection over many years, and stored them in his own custom-built home bar.
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