Sotheby's specialists, Jonny and Zev, taste three rare American whiskeys ahead of Nightcap, the house's first New York Wine and Spirits festival. Among the bottles is a Willett Red Hook Rye, drawn from a run of rye whiskey produced in the early 1980s and offered as a numbered, limited release.
The tasting is a preview of what is coming to Sotheby's Nightcap. Willett has been distilling in Kentucky since 1936, and the bottles here include two from the same tranches, known as Iron Fist and Velvet Glove. The specialists open the rye about six months after it was first uncorked, tasting how time and air have shaped it since.
Nightcap runs 16 to 19 September at The Breuer, Sotheby's New York headquarters, bringing together tastings, collector dinners, and auctions across wine and spirits. The whiskey sale takes place 17 to 19 September, with the Nightcap even happening on 18 September.
