In an auction that saw mind-bending prices across the board – including a USD$425,000 Yamazaki 55-Year-Old – the record has been set for a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon after a USD$52,500 (approx. AUD$77,100) price was realised.
It’s a price so high that it surprised auctioneers, with Jonny Fowle, Sotheby’s head of whisky and spirits, North America and EMEA, commenting that it went “far beyond anyone’s expectations,” as a bidding war between two buyers sent the price to 16 times the pre-auction estimated value.
Related: Looking to save a few pennies? These are our favourite bourbons under $100.
The total value of Pappy Van Winkle’s (14 bottles) in the auction combined for a total sale value of around USD$400,000, proving that Pappy is still one of the most sought-after, rare, and investment-driven whiskey brands on the planet.
Why? Sotheby’s explained the enthusiasm for the brand briefly in a media statement: “Synonymous with enthusiasts, whiskeys bottled under the Van Winkle brand have gone on to become amongst the most highly rated and sought-after, gathering an almost cult-like following.”
“Many of those were distilled at the old Stitzel-Weller Distillery, opened on Derby Day in 1935, which went on to create some of the finest and most sought-after bourbons ever produced before its closure in the early 1990s, with production moving to the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort.”
In total, the Whisky & Whiskey | Seasonal Spirits and The Yamazaki 55 lots combined for USD$1,786,625 in auction value. You can check out all the lots from the auction via the link below.
Pappy Van Winkle’s 23 Year Old Family Reserve 95.6 proof NV (1 BT75) | Image: Sotheby’s
Pappy Van Winkle’s 23 Year Old Family Reserve 95.6 proof NV (1 BT75) | Image: Sotheby’s
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