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otheby’s New York presents Festive Spirits | Whisky & Whiskey, an exceptional sale celebrating some of the world’s most distinguished and sought after spirits. At the forefront of this offering stands the extraordinarily rare Blackhawk 15 Year Old 121 Proof, one of the highest-proof whiskies ever released by the storied Stitzel-Weller Distillery, and the third installment from the esteemed "Blackhawk" series offered by Sotheby’s this year. Its appearance marks a significant moment for collectors and connoisseurs alike.
This auction further showcases an unparalleled array of ultra-aged Scotch whisky, highlighted by selections from The Macallan, including bottles from The Six Pillars Collection, The Red Collection, and the highly celebrated Macallan Millennium Decanter, among others.
The American whiskey offerings form a veritable dreamscape for bourbon and rye enthusiasts. Featured are Van Winkle Single Barrels, remarkable Willett bottlings from an era regarded as one of the most "Epic" in the distillery’s history, and superb releases from Stitzel-Weller and Old Fitzgerald. Lastly, the sale has a formative offering from Very Olde St. Nick, a remarkable assemblage of bottles that has never before appeared at auction and, in all likelihood, will never be seen again.
Lastly, and of particular note, is a case so immaculate its survival is remarkable -- One case of 22 pints (originally 24) of Old W.L. Weller 5 Year Old 93 Proof, bottled in 1953. This extraordinary example from Stitzel-Weller, almost entirely intact and preserved in near-original condition, has never before been seen at auction. Its emergence offers collectors a rare opportunity to acquire a piece of American whiskey history that has remained hidden more than seven decades.
Ever the stalwart of Scotch whisky collecting, this sale features multiple bottlings from The Macallan boasting age statements of 50 Years and above.
The result of a unique collaboration between The Macallan distillery and renowned French crystal maker Lalique, The Macallan in Lalique Six Pillars Collection was released over a decade, between 2005 - 2016. An exclusive series of limited-edition decanters, each release represents the marriage and mastery of spirit distilling and artistic crystal craftsmanship.
The Macallan in Lalique Six Pillars Collection celebrates the foundation stones upon which the distinctive character of The Macallan and the distillery’s creation of its rich spirit are built, including Exceptional Oak Casks and Curiously Small Stills. Every decanter in the collection is a flawless piece of crystal art encasing some of the rarest and oldest Macallan single malt whiskies in the world, ranging between fifty and sixty-five years old.
The sale also includes The Macallan 78 Red Collection, the oldest bottling from this series and the oldest whisky released by The Macallan upon its release in 2020.
The Old Fitzgerald brand has its roots in a distillery called Stitzel-Weller, located in the Shively neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky. This distillery was operated by a businessman named Julian Van Winkle, known affectionately and famously as Pappy. Opening for business on Derby Day in 1935, it produced exclusively wheated bourbon – meaning bourbon in which the corn and malted barley grains are complemented by wheat rather than the usual rye grain. While Stitzel-Weller always remained modest-sized distillery, its whiskeys earned a national reputation, in particular its flagship brand, Old Fitzgerald.
Throughout the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, the famed Stitzel‑Weller Distillery released its signature wheated bourbon under a select number of private‑label programs. Among the earliest and most elusive of these expressions are the "Blackhawk" bottlings, created exclusively for the Wirtz family, owners of the Chicago Blackhawks NHL team as well as the alcohol distributor, Wirtz Corporation. There are three bottlings in the series, made up of an 18 Year Old (distilled in 1950), a 15 Year Old (also distilled in 1950) and a 12 Year Old (distilled in 1951), all three of thich are among the rarest and most sought-after bottles of bourbon ever released. No "Blackhawk" bottlings were ever made available for public sale, rather, it is presumed these bottles were gifted to close family, friends and associates of the Wirtz family.
Sotheby's is delighted to bring a bottle of the Very Very Old Fitzgerald Blackhawk 15 Year Old to its auction for the very first time. Bottled at a whopping cask strength of 121 Proof, this is the last remaining bottle of the Blackhawk series to be sold at Sotheby's in 2025, having already sold the 12 Year Old for $60,000, and the 18 Year Old $106,250 earlier this year.
Weller is one of the most famous names in the American whiskey vernacular. A now famous bourbon line that gained notoriety under the tutelage of Julian Van Winkle, Weller's roots go back nearly two centuries. William Larue “W.L.” Weller was born in July 1825, the grandson of German immigrants who moved to Central Kentucky on a flatboat in 1794. At the age of 23 in 1848, William and his younger brother Charles opened a trading company in Louisville, selling their own whiskey label called William Larue Weller & Brother. It is thought Weller may have been the first distiller to widely use wheat over rye as a secondary grain, with anecdotes portraying Weller's whiskey as richer and more full than its contemporary counterparts. Weller marketed his product with the slogan, “Honest Whiskey at an Honest Price.”
In 1893 Julian Van Winkle was hired by Weller as a salesman, a match that would change the whiskey world forever, and by 1909 Van Winkle merged his own company with Weller's, creating Stitzel-Weller. While Van Winkle did not create the brand, he certainly helped its proliferation during the 20th century. "Pappy" Van Winkle died in 1965, and soon after the distillery’s fortunes began to decline, along with the industry as a whole. Brands everywhere were sold off en masse. The Weller brand is owned by Sazerac and released by Buffalo Trace since 1999.
Among the sale highlights is this original cardboard case of Old W.L. Weller 5 Year Old, containing 22 of the 24 original pints. The case is stamped "Filled April 7th 1953" and is in remarkable condition for its age.
The Van Winkle line of whiskeys needs no introduction: praised by celebrities, the subject of a bestselling book, it is by far the best recognized and most widely coveted whiskey in America. But while all the whiskeys bottled under its name are spectacular, not all Van Winkles were created equal.
The company’s history divides in two: There is the whiskey produced after Julian Van Winkle III began distilling and bottling at Buffalo Trace, in 2003, with its uniform age statements and bottle designs (except a few Singel Barrels and Decanters). Then there is the wide range of ages, designs and even sources he used before that. The last 20 years has been a great boon for Van Winkle and his whiskey, as the name, and his family, have become global whiskey superstars.
This single barrel 15 year old is featured at Sotheby's for the very first time; Pappy Van Winkle 15 Year Old Single Barrel "Husk" 107 Proof. Hand-selected especially for Husk Restaurant in South Carolina and bottled in 2010, this was one of last private barrel picks under the stewardship of Julian Van Winkle III, until he revived the program for the two charitable barrels bottled in 2025.
The auction also sees a bottle of the Society of Bourbon Connoisseurs Cask Proof return to Sotheby's for the first time in over a year. This is the first of three releases that Julian Van Winkle III sold under the Society of Bourbon Connoisseurs label, all at cask strength, and all for export to Japan. There is no actual society; it is just a fanciful name Van Winkle created – a fact that only adds to the allure of this rare bottle.
Willett Distillery has grown into a dominant force in the American whiskey scene, outclassing many long-established bourbon peers regarding enthusiast acclaim, reputation, and valuation. This festive auction includes some of the most prized Willett releases ever bottled, including no less than six bottles of the 'Epic Rye', distilled in 1984.
The Epic Rye Willet's have become legendary amongst enthusiasts and collectors, and include two 22 Year Old bottlings distilled on the same day and bottled at the same proof. "Doug's Green Ink" and "Doug's Black Ink" are collectively some of the most coveted rye whiskeys ever released. Selected personally by Doug Phillips and friends, Doug's Green Ink was the first Willett single barrel rye to be released, and many say the best. The whiskey inside is rumored to have been distilled at Bernheim.
This pair of 23 Year Old rye whiskies were picked by Bill Thomas of Bourbon DC & Jack Rose Dining Saloon, the largest whiskey bar in the Western Hemisphere. Known as "The Velvet Glove" and "The Iron Fist", these were bottle distilled on 10th April 1984 and this marks their first appearance at Sotheby's since their debut in the record-breaking Thoroughbred Collection in 2021.
Distilled on 4th October 1984 and selected for Glen Fahrn GmbH by Doug Phillips, this release came in two different wax colors. Bottles 1-60 were dipped in black wax and the whiskey inside was left unfiltered; bottles 61-218 were dripped in white wax and the whiskey was filtered through cloth. Both are exceptionally rare Swiss imports and finding them in the USA presents an incredible opportunity for avid collectors.They both hail from the same batch of 'Legendary Rye' that include releases such as the Rathskeller Rye and Doug's Green Ink.
Marci Palatella, a wine importer/exporter based in California, created the Very Olde St. Nick brand in 1984 to supply well-aged bourbon to the Japanese market. Among her original sources of whiskey was Stitzel-Weller, making 'older' Very Olde St. Nick extremely valuable and sought after. The Very Olde St. Nick in this sale offers releases selected from methodically collected vintage stocks and sourced from different distillieries from a golden-era in American Whiskey distillation. Palatella created a variety of bottlings and labels that rarley ever make it to market. In 2015, Very Olde St Nick found a permanent home with the creation of Preservation Distillery, allowing the brand to continue producing its extremely small batches into the future.
Each Bourbon or whiskey from Preservation Distillery is produced in extremely small batches, typically one to three barrels, and feature an eclectic array of hand-designed labels with wax capsules.
