Later this month, Sotheby’s presents The Great American Whiskey Collection, its first-ever live, single-owner American whiskey auction and the most valuable of its kind ever to come to market. Taking place at the iconic Breuer Building on Madison Avenue, the sale brings together 360 bottles across 320 lots, estimated at $1.17–1.68 million. As part of Sotheby’s Visions of America series marking the nation’s 250th anniversary, the collection reflects a deep intersection of American craftsmanship, heritage, and collecting culture.
Assembled over decades by a single devoted collector, the collection spans production dates as early as 1900 and includes some of the rarest Bourbon and Rye ever bottled. Private labels, exclusive single barrels, and historic bottlings—many appearing at auction for the first time—anchor a sale defined by scarcity, provenance, and preservation. Through the insights of whiskey historian Clay Risen and Julian Van Winkle III, the conversation traces how these bottles came to represent not just rarity, but the communities and traditions that shaped American whiskey itself.
