S otheby's September Spirits auction in New York is led by many of the most coveted and collectible Scotch and American whiskies ever produced.
The sale includes a number of bottles from The Macallan in Lalique Six Pillars Collection, the pinnacle of whisky making at The Macallan, alongside two 50 Year Old whiskies - The Macallan Millenium Decanter and The Macallan 50 Year Old Anniversary Malt, distilled way back in 1928.
The American whiskey selection is equally as exceptional, with highlights from the Van Winkle stable ranging from an 11 Year Old Private bottling, distilled in 1967, through to the first release of the Pappy Van Winkle 23 Year Old. Rarely seen at auction and sold together for the very first time are two bottles selected for the Seelbach in Louisville, KY - The Speakeasy Select and Rathskeller Rye.
The sale also includes many other highly sought after bottles including LeNell's Red Hook Rye Barrel #1, one of the most valuable Rye whiskies ever sold at auction.
If you were to ask The Macallan how they became the brand they are today, they would refer you to their vital Six Pillars, which reflect the influences that Scotland, North America and Spain have had on whisky-making. These pillars emphasizes its distillation process, along with the people who make, live around and enjoy the natural elements of Scotland’s Speyside region, where their estate is located.
The Macallan worked with renowned French crystal maker Lalique to craft an exclusive series of limited-edition decanters, each inspired by one of their pillars. Every decanter in the collection is an immaculate piece of art encasing some of the rarest single malt in the world. Considered to be some of the best-tasting ultra-aged whisky ever produced, Sotheby’s are delighted to be offering the below decanters in our sale:
Read: How to Collect The Macallan Scotch Whisky
A host of the finest and rarest whisky is available to bid on, including legendary bottles from The Macallan, for example, the 1926 50 Year Old “Anniversary Malt”, the 50 Year Old “Millennium Decanter” and the illustrious 57, 60 and 62 Year Old In Lalique, from the Six Pillars Collection.
In addition, the auction contains many high age statement and rare bottles, from the Bowmore Black Final Edition, the 1938 Morlach Gordon & Macphail 60 Year Old and the 1937 Glenfiddich 50 Year Old.
The name Van Winkle is synonymous with great American whiskey, but not all Van Winkle bottles are the same. The company’s history divides in two: The earlier and much lauded era, when Julian Van Winkle III outputted some of his most creative releases, comprising of wide ranges of dates, designs and even sources, which resulted in these bottles becoming true unicorns and among the most sought-after in the world.
The second chapter in the history of Van Winkle comes in 2023, when he moved distillation, and bottling, to Buffalo Trace. Julian’s vision was to carry Van Winkle into the 20th Century and bring in a epoch of modernization and accessibility, which has allowed a new generation the chance to enjoy this precious liquid.
In this auction Sotheby’s are offering some of Van Winkle’s most ultra-rare whiskeys. These bottles allow collectors the ability to trace the illustrious history Americans most prestigious whisky lineage, while at the same time presenting the opportunity to sample some of the most outstanding whiskeys ever created.
American rye whiskey is a beloved category amongst whiskey enthusiasts and has begun gaining ground on its bourbon counterpart in terms of interest and value. This sale includes some of the most sought-after rye whiskeys ever released, including Black Maple Hill Single Barrel 23 Year Old, Vintage Rye 21 Year Old, and a Sazerac 18 Year Old distilled in 1985.
The auction also includes bottles hailing from what's known as the "Legendary Ryes," a famous run of 18 single barrels distilled at the Old Bernheim Distillery in Louisville, KY in the 1980s. This includes both LeNell's Red Hook 23 Year, the legendary pick done by Willett and LeNell Camacho Santa Ana and sold at her store in Red Hook, Brooklyn, plus The Seelbach Hotel's Rathskeller Rye distilled in 1983, which was accidentally distributed to retailers instead of being entirely sold to the hotel in downtown Louisville. This is possibly the most epic side-by-side auction appearance for American rye whiskey ever.
American Whiskey makes up the heart of this auction, including bourbon, Tennessee, rye, corn, and blended American whiskeys. This sale features bottles distilled as far back as pre-prohibition era, the first ever release of the legendary Blanton's brand from 1984, Wild Turkey from 1969, Pre-1996 Heaven Hill fire releases, and numerous whiskeys aged 20 years or more, which is rare for the American whiskey category.
Sotheby's is offering several coveted sets, including mixed Orphan Barrel lots, Buffalo Trace Antique Collection verticals, a set of the Bourbon Heritage Collection from the 1990s, and multiple bundlings of various Weller releases.
The European Bourbon & Rye Association is a Switzerland based spirits collector group. Founded in 2008, EBRA bottles its releases according to Swiss Law, which allows them to re-barrel spirits bottles after they're purchased for additional aging before releasing them again under their own label. Their bottles are extremely rare, especially in the USA and are mostly drank by group members in Europe. This sale includes single cask bourbon selections from Heaven Hill, Wild Turkey, Buffalo Trace, Four Roses, Barton, and Brown-Forman, in addition to other spirit picks including Glenfarclas Single Malt, Dominican Republic rum and Tennessee Whiskey.
