A 1982 bourbon just became the most expensive American Whiskey ever sold

The most expensive bottle of American whiskey ever sold at auction is no longer a dusty pre-Prohibition relic or a museum-grade antique. It’s a 1982 bottle of Old Rip Van Winkle.

This weekend at Sotheby’s New York, a bottle of Old Rip Van Winkle 20-Year-Old Single Barrel “Sam’s” (1982) sold for $162,500, setting a new record for the most valuable bottle of American whiskey ever sold at auction. Only 60 hand-numbered bottles of the legendary “Sam’s” release were ever produced, bottled at a staggering 133.4 proof, the highest proof Van Winkle expression ever released. The bottle hadn’t appeared at auction in more than a decade.

And it wasn’t alone.

That record-setting bottle headlined the Great American Whiskey Collection Saturday, which brought in $2.5 million, making it the most valuable single-owner American whiskey collection ever sold and the most valuable single-owner spirits auction ever held in New York. The total more than doubled Sotheby’s low pre-sale estimate of $1.17 million, and every single lot sold.

For a category that, until recently, lagged far behind Scotch in the auction world, the sale marked a watershed moment. This wasn’t just a good night for Van Winkle. It was a signal that American whiskey has fully arrived as a serious, global collectible.

A first for Sotheby’s and for bourbon

The auction, held live at Sotheby’s new global headquarters in the Breuer Building on Madison Avenue, was the first live, single-owner American whiskey sale in history. Sotheby’s leaned into the moment, installing a pop-up bar inside the space so visitors could experience the 360-bottle collection up close before bidding began.

The bottles read like a greatest-hits list of Kentucky and rye history: Old Rip Van Winkle, Old Fitzgerald, private bottlings for historic retailers, and ultra-rare single barrels that were never meant to leave a small circle of friends and insiders.

And the buyers reflected how the market is shifting. Sotheby’s says 96% of the lots were purchased by North American collectors. Nearly a third of the buyers were new to Sotheby’s, and more than half were under 40.

That last number matters. American whiskey collecting is no longer being driven by the same older Scotch-focused crowd that traditionally dominates auction houses. A younger generation of bourbon and rye obsessives is entering the secondary market with serious money and a deep knowledge of the category’s lore.

Why private labels and store picks dominated the night

What propelled the sale beyond expectations wasn’t just age statements or old glass. It was something uniquely American: private label bottlings and single barrels made for liquor stores, families, and insiders decades ago.

These bottles were never widely distributed. Many were likely consumed long ago. Their survival is almost accidental.

A few standouts:

• Van Winkle 18-Year-Old “Binny’s” (1985, 121.6 proof) sold for $106,250. Distilled at Stitzel-Weller and bottled at full cask strength for Chicago retailer Binny’s, fewer than 100 bottles were made.
• Very Very Old Fitzgerald “Blackhawk” 18-Year-Old (1950, 121 proof) realized $112,500, more than double its low estimate. This was a private bottling for the Wirtz family, owners of the Chicago Blackhawks, and was never available to the public.
• A companion Blackhawk 12-Year-Old from the same series sold for $60,000.
• Van Winkle 18-Year-Old Family Reserve “Park Avenue Liquor Shop” fetched $62,500. Originally retailing for $75, it is one of only three known 18-Year-Old Van Winkle bottlings ever produced. All three were in this auction.
• A 1909 O.F.C. Bourbon 115 Proof drove competitive bidding to $47,500, far above estimate.

Time and again, bottles tied to specific retailers, families, or one-off selections outperformed expectations. These weren’t mass-market releases. They were whiskey folklore in liquid form.

A night of records for Van Winkle and beyond

Numerous lots set new records, especially for obscure Van Winkle private labels and long-forgotten rye bottlings:

• Old Rip Van Winkle “Blue Smoke” 18-Year-Old: $37,500
• Twisted Spoke 16-Year-Old: $32,500
• Old Rip Van Winkle “Delilah’s 10th Anniversary”: $30,000
• Van Winkle 19-Year-Old Corti Brothers bottlings: $35,000 each
• J.W. Gottlieb Private Stock Rye 13-Year-Old (1984): $56,250
• Old Rip Van Winkle Bottled in Bond 1917: $47,500
• Pappy Van Winkle 20-Year-Old “City Grocery 20th Anniversary”: $30,000

Many of these bottles had never appeared at auction before. Others hadn’t surfaced in decades.

What this says about the American whiskey market

Zev Glesta, Sotheby’s Whiskey Specialist, called the sale “a defining moment for American whiskey at auction,” pointing to the “continued maturation of the global market for the rarest American whiskeys.”

He’s right. These weren’t aristocratic estate bottles. They were store picks, family gifts, anniversary barrels, and retailer exclusives that accidentally became legends.

A bottle meant for a Chicago liquor store. A gift for the owners of a hockey team. A Manhattan shop pick that sold for $75.

Forty years later, they’re museum pieces.

And at least one of them just became the most expensive American whiskey ever sold.

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