Author: Jonny McCormick

Sheep Dung-Smoked Whisky Is Real And It’s Actually Pretty Good

In the Icelandic tradition, Eimverk Distillery uses sheep dung to make its smoked Floki single malt, one of the many whiskies it produces.

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Sheep dung is the one thing that most people associate with Icelandic whisky. “It’s pretty good shit,” jokes Eimverk Distillery founder Halli Thorkelsson with a boyish grin, brandishing a tall glass jar filled with dry brown bricks of ovine excreta. This is not a gimmick: Smoking with sheep dung is traditional. “Every Icelander eats lamb at Christmas that’s been smoked with sheep dung,” explains Thorkelsson. It’s only natural that it should be part of making a traditional Icelandic whisky too.

Due to Iceland’s cold temperatures, sheep are moved into barns for the winter. Compacted under cloven hooves, the layers of dung incorporate a lot of hay and solidify over time. The dung is shoveled out in the spring and left to harden over the summer. Dried, it smells a little like peat, though unlike peat, it only takes a year to form, rather than thousands of years. “You definitely get some … different tones,” says Thorkelsson, taking a deep sniff of the jar, “It’s surprisingly earthy and reminds you of the smell of the farm, rather than reminding you where it actually came from!”

This far north, the long cold nights drop below the dew point, requiring all barley to be dried straight from the fields when it’s cut in September. Historically, a local cheap fuel would be burned to generate heat to dry it, and consequently everything would taste of smoke. Of course, in modern Icelandic agriculture, the harvest can be dried without smoke, and Eimverk only needs sufficient smoked barley to make Flóki Sheep Dung Smoked Reserve twice a year.

As the distillery’s Flóki whiskies are single-barrel bottlings, the subtle bucolic smokiness can vary with each batch, just like floor-malted Islay single malts from 40 to 50 years ago. Forget the peat reek from the pagodas of Bowmore or Laphroaig—Eimverk has perfected pre-malting smoke, the burning dung smoke being drawn through a dryer for 24 to 48 hours. “The amount of smoke varies depending on the day the barley was taken from the fields, how dry or wet it was, whether it was raining, and how long it stayed in the dryer,” explains Thorkelsson. Unlike peat, there’s no parts per million grading for this process; just pick a barrel and see what the farm gave up that day.

Flóki Sheep Dung-Smoked Reserve Single Malt
91 points, 47%, $100

Made from smoked Icelandic barley, the nose has earthy mushroom-farm notes, with herbs, damp grass cuttings, tree sap, toasted nuts, and fresh barley top notes. This begs to be poured over ice cream; sweet malt and banoffee caramel spill over the taste buds with toasted almonds, ripe banana, and an edge of spice. The thick, heavy mouthfeel negotiates cinnamon, burnt sugar, subtle smoke, and blackened wood to finish.

The Future is Bright for Nordic Whiskies

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How to Taste Root Beer Flavors in Whisky

Both spicy and sweet, root beer notes can be found in a range of whisky styles, most notably bourbon and rye.

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Root beer is a familiar flavor, and is frequently cited as a tasting note for bourbons and ryes. It has positive associations for most people who enjoy its sweet, smooth, spicy flavors, and evokes memories of root beer floats from our childhoods, of wiping the creamy foam away from our lips and playfully testing the buoyancy of that shrinking scoop of ice cream in the glass with our jabbing straws.

The reason why root beer works as such a generous descriptor for whiskey is the spectrum of flavor across root beer types. Easily confused with sarsaparilla, which is traditionally made from the sarsaparilla vine, root beer was originally made from the roots of the sassafras plant. This contains a natural compound called safrole, or 4–allyl–1,2–methylenedioxy–benzene, which has a chemical structure found to be carcinogenic. Since the 1960s, the Food and Drug Administration has banned its use as an ingredient in food and beverage production, so these days root beer is no longer made with sassafras root.

Contemporary root beer can contain a mixture of natural and artificial flavors. The more familiar flavorings include vanilla, licorice, wintergreen, spices like anise and cinnamon, and sweeteners ranging from honey to molasses and others derived from cane sugar. Whether you favor popping open a local craft root beer or a can from one of the big brands, your palate will confirm your preference for root beers with different levels of spiciness and carbonation, while also gauging your tolerance for sweetness.

Root beer flavors found in bourbon and rye arise from the grains in the mashbill combined with the flavor impact of maturation. Rye and high-rye bourbons often bring plenty of spiciness to the table, delivering aromas and flavors of spearmint or peppermint. Depending on the toasting and charring levels of its new American oak barrels, bourbon takes on vanilla and other sweet notes from the toasted wood sugars, while the char can give a whiskey more robust earthy, licorice, and peppery notes. In scotch, root beer flavors arise periodically but it’s usually dependent on the length of maturation, the type of cask, and its previous contents. With neither one chemical compound nor one stage of distillery production responsible, root beer is a safe bet that covers both sweetness and spice if you’re rooting around for a handy taste descriptor. The only thing bourbon and rye can’t match in root beer is the bubbles—they just don’t have the same fizziology.

Root Awakening: Choose a whisky with root beer notes to float your boat

Sweet vanilla—Jefferson’s Reserve Single Barrel Bourbon
Vanilla latte, peppermint, chocolate chip, root beer spices

Wintergreen—Journeyman Distillery Last Feather Rye
Earthy, mint, chocolate, cola, black pepper

Spicy—Arbikie Highland Rye 1794
Cinnamon, allspice, caramel popcorn, cocoa

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12 Classic Whiskies That Are Worth Revisiting

Reevaluate your relationship with these affordable bottles that you may have encountered early on in your whisky journey.

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Rediscovering a forgotten whisky can be like finding a lost love. Remember how delighted and dazzled you were by all those great drams when you first started exploring whisky? Those early block builders are often forgotten—eclipsed by the perpetual seduction of new discoveries. Our advice: Don’t always be so quick to move on. Take a moment to rediscover your whisky-loving roots, and find some time for the whiskies you forgot you love.

Single malt scotch

Glenfiddich 12 year old
89 points, 40%, $55 

Launched in 1999, Glenfiddich sells around 10.5 million bottles of this 12 year old Speyside single malt every year. “The distillery process continues to be exactly the same as it was decades ago, with traditional mash tuns, wooden washbacks, and unusually small stills,” says Glenfiddich malt master Brian Kinsman. Matured in American and Spanish oak casks, this expression balances those distilling and maturation aspects beautifully. Aromas of fresh pear herald a palate of sweet vanilla, orchard fruits, spice, and subtle oak. “We marry every single drop in our oak marrying tuns prior to bottling, to ensure a consistent flavor with the characteristic fresh fruitiness that is created in the new distillate and nurtured during 12 years of maturation.”

The Glenlivet 12 year old
85 points, 40%, $48

Licensed in 1824, Glenlivet is an icon of Speyside’s fruity, floral whisky style, and Glenlivet 12 year old embodies that signature style completely. “Our classic single malt is matured using American and European oak casks, which impart notes of vanilla and give the whisky its distinctively smooth style,” says Glenlivet’s former master distiller Alan Winchester. “The delicate and complex character derives from the height and shape of the stills at Glenlivet Distillery.” With its recent Illicit Still and Licensed Dram releases from the Original Stories series, Glenlivet is exploring different versions of the 12 year old, which make a fascinating counterpoint to tasting the classic original.

Glenmorangie Original
87 points, 40%, $45

This delicate 10 year old Highland dram is distilled through copper pot stills that are notable as the tallest in Scotland, and help to create a bouquet of soft stone fruit, citrus, and floral scents. “Glenmorangie Original is the best representation of Glenmorangie’s house style,” notes Dr. Bill Lumsden, director of whisky creation for Glenmorangie and Ardbeg. “Matured in first and second-fill bourbon casks, it has smooth flavors of vanilla, orange, peaches, and floral notes.” Glenmorangie Original forms the basis of the label’s extra-matured range, which includes sherry, port, and sauternes cask-finished expressions. It is a key malt to compare with the extra-matured bottlings to understand the impact of finishing in those secondary casks.

Blended Scotch

Chivas 12 year old
88 points, 40%, $50

“Chivas 12 is a smooth, rich, generous blend, perfect for the connoisseur or someone looking to start their scotch whisky journey,” says Sandy Hyslop, director of blending and inventory at Chivas Brothers. With its mix of bourbon and sherry cask maturation, this creamy dram is made from Speyside single malts, with Strathisla at its heart. Hyslop adds, “Chivas 12 year old blends the finest malt and grain whiskies—each of which has been matured for at least 12 years—to deliver luxurious honey, vanilla, and ripe apple notes.” Chivas overhauled the look of its flagship brand in 2021, unveiling a sleeker, taller, and lighter bottle in a new burgundy box that is fully recyclable.

Cutty Sark
88 points, 40%, $20

When London merchant Berry Bros. & Rudd launched this clean, light, floral scotch in 1923, it had the export market in mind. Cutty Sark is named after a 19th century tea clipper ship, itself named for the fastest witch in Robert Burns’ “Tam o’Shanter.” Popular in the U.S. during Prohibition, Cutty Sark became the market’s no.-1 selling blended scotch in the 1960s. The key whiskies in the blend are Glenrothes, Tamdhu, and Bunnahabhain, with grain whiskies from North British and Invergordon, and smaller contributions from other distilleries—creating notes of creamy vanilla, melon, and spice. While all the whiskies on this list are excellent for home cocktails, Cutty Sark is perhaps the best of them all.

Johnnie Walker Black Label
91 points, 40%, $35

The smokiest whisky in this lineup, its balance of fresh fruit, creamy toffee, sweet vanilla, and smoke deliver a rich, smooth drinking experience. “Smokiness is a major signature of the Johnnie Walker blends, and Black Label is a great example,” says Johnnie Walker’s former master blender Jim Beveridge. Launched in 1906, this 12 year old was originally known as Extra Special Old Highland. Johnnie Walker uses at least 30 whiskies from all across Scotland, but the principal components include smoky Caol Ila, sweet fruit and spice from Cardhu and Clynelish, light fruitiness from Glenkinchie, and sweet grain from Cameronbridge. If you love this whisky, the Johnnie Walker Black Label Origins series offers further exploration.

Blended Irish

Black Bush
88 points, 40%, $35

Whiskey connoisseurs are usually drawn to Bushmills’ higher priced single malt range, but should not ignore the distillery’s versatile blends. Black Bush is the pick of the bunch for sherry lovers, with flavors of plum, cherry, raisin, black grape, cinnamon, spice, and chocolate cigarillos. This expression is derived from Old Bushmills Special Old Liqueur whiskey, a bottling made from the 1930s to the 1960s. “Black Bush is our special blend, and we think it’s our best-kept secret,” says Bushmills master distiller Colum Egan. “It combines a uniquely high proportion of malt whiskey matured in former oloroso sherry casks with a sweet, batch-distilled grain whiskey.” That recipe creates rich, fruity notes and a deeply intense but smooth profile.

Paddy’s
84 points, 40%, $20

Paddy O’Flaherty (1850–1928) traveled Ireland selling a label called Cork Distillery Company Old Irish whiskey. He became so well known that his customers simply began asking for Paddy O’Flaherty’s whiskey. His signature was added to the label in 1913. Today Paddy’s is a blend of sourced triple-distilled single pot still, single malt, and single grain Irish whiskeys and is predominantly matured in bourbon casks, with some sherry and port wood. “Paddy’s is one of the easiest drinking Irish whiskeys because of its understated softness and exquisite smoothness,” says Drew Mayville, master blender for Sazerac, Paddy’s owner. “The taste is light and fruity, with highlights of toffee, honey, malt, and vanilla, with a lingering pepperiness and oakiness.”

Tullamore D.E.W.
88 points, 40%, $23

Tullamore D.E.W. is a blend of three Irish whiskey styles, striking a balance between sweet grain, fruity malt, and spicy pot still. The initials were added in 1893 for then-owner Daniel Edmund Williams, who made the whiskey famous in the 19th and early 20th centuries. “Having the single malt component alongside pot still and grain whiskey creates a gentle green apple note that rounds out the blend,” says Tullamore D.E.W. master blender Brian Kinsman. “This is arguably one of the most complex Irish whiskeys to make, as we balance single malt and pot still—both matured in bourbon, refill, and sherry casks—and then overlay them on grain whiskey matured in bourbon and refill [casks].”

AMERICAN

Bulleit Bourbon
88 points, 45%, $25

“Raw, high-quality ingredients are at the heart of Bulleit,” says master blender Andrew MacKay. “The high rye content gives it a bold, spicy character with a distinctively smooth, clean finish. Kentucky limestone-filtered water provides a foundation for the bourbon’s character, while charred American oak barrels lend a smoky backbone.” It was launched 35 years ago and was once made at Four Roses, but current owner Diageo has given Bulleit two new distilleries, opening the Bulleit Distilling Co. in Shelbyville, Kentucky in 2017 and the Lebanon Distillery in 2021. MacKay adds, “It’s the only bourbon on the market to employ two mashbills, five yeast strains, and 10 distillates, all of which help to create consistency from bottle to bottle.”

Gentleman Jack Tennessee Whiskey
85 points, 40%, $33

Gentleman Jack arrived in 1988, and it’s all about smoothness. “The difference for Gentleman [compared to Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7] is the second pass through our charcoal,” explains master distiller Chris Fletcher. Jack Daniel runs its unaged spirit through charcoal mellowing vats, a process that takes three to five days. For Gentleman Jack, this exercise is repeated after the aged whiskey leaves the barrel. Fletcher finds aromas of pear, banana, soft caramel, and vanilla on the front of the palate, and a finish with a touch of toasted oak on the back. “I love Gentleman Jack poured neat during cooler weather,” says Fletcher. “I allow my hand to warm the glass, which drives more of the fruity esters out into the aromas.”

Knob Creek 9 year old Small Batch Bourbon
92 points, 50%, $35

Jim Beam master distiller Booker Noe (1929–2004) created Knob Creek in 1992, when terms like craft and small batch didn’t exist in the whiskey world. “Dad wanted to make a bourbon with the rich, full flavor and high quality standards of pre-Prohibition style whiskey,” recalls Booker’s son and 7th generation master distiller Fred Noe. “When he did that with Knob Creek—aging it for 9 years and bottling it at 100 proof—he opened people’s eyes to what bourbon could be.” Matured in heavily charred American white oak, this is the highest-proof whiskey on our list, and its thick palate is laced with vanilla, dark berries, leather, and roasted walnuts.

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Old Enough to Drink: The Best 21 Year Old Whiskies to Try

Whether you are celebrating a birthday or another special occasion, you can’t go wrong with any of these 21 year old whiskies, all of which scored 90 points or more in our Buying Guide. This

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Whether you are celebrating a birthday or another special occasion, you can’t go wrong with any of these 21 year old whiskies, all of which scored 90 points or more in our Buying Guide. This list offers a wide array of styles, including single malt scotch, blended scotch, blended malt, blended grain, Irish single malt, single pot still, and Japanese whisky. Aged with care and sometimes with multiple cask types, all of these whiskies make for a toast-worthy pour.

Our picks for the best 21 year old whiskies to drink now

Bushmills 21 year old Madeira Finish Irish Single Malt
96 points, 40%, $250
This whiskey underwent its final two years of maturation in madeira casks, which bring incredible depth of flavor to this exceptional triple distilled Irish single malt. Chocolate, sultana, dates, forest honey, nuts, and banana bread.

Dewar’s Double Double 21 year old Blended Scotch
94 points, 46%, $40/375 ml
Dewar’s blends parcels of aged malt and grain, blends and ages the parcels, then blends them, ages the blend, and finishes the blend in oloroso casks. Chocolate, vanilla, black cherry, coffee grounds, gingersnaps, smoke, and spice.

Knappogue Castle 21 year old Irish Single Malt
94 points, 46%, $200
Two vintages of triple distilled single malt Irish whiskey matured in bourbon casks were married together for this limited release. Honey, floral, vanilla pod, wood spices, orange, kumquat, and lime.

Glenfiddich 21 year old Reserva Rum Cask Finish Single Malt Scotch
93 points, 40%, $210
William Grant & Sons is a rum-finished whisky specialist, and this expression represents the pinnacle of their expertise. Lime zest, vanilla, meringue, pepper, and soft oak.

Jura 21 year old Tide Single Malt Scotch
93 points, 46.7%, $200
Jura matures this whisky in bourbon barrels, then finishes it in new American oak casks which accentuate the notes of ginger and spice. Baked apple, chocolate chip cookies, woodsmoke, ginger, honey, and clove.

GlenDronach 21 year old Parliament Single Malt Scotch
93 points, 48%, $252
Matured in oloroso and PX casks, this is named after the parliament of rooks that nest in the trees beside the distillery. Sweet sherry, leather, nuts, peach, clove, ginger, licorice, and chocolate.

Redbreast 21 year old Irish Single Pot Still
93 points, 46%, $290
A remarkable single pot still whiskey from Ireland’s Midleton Distillery, matured in a mixture of sherry and bourbon casks. Honey, vanilla, orange, apple, banana, creaminess, and pot still spices.

Hibiki 21 year old Japanese Blend
93 points, 43%, $350
Designed to show the art of blending, this fine whisky from the House of Suntory draws on rare stocks from across the company’s distilleries. Vanilla, dried fruits, incense, mizunara oak, citrus, honey, and ginger.

Benromach 21 year old Single Malt Scotch
92 points, 43%, $200
Gordon & MacPhail reopened Benromach Distillery in 1998, so this expression, matured in first-fill sherry and bourbon casks, contains some of the oldest whisky made under the family’s ownership. Cinnamon, orange, and black coffee.

Glenlivet 21 year old Archive Single Malt Scotch
92 points, 43%, $240
This one is composed of whiskies from bourbon and sherry casks drawn from the Glenlivet warehouses. Sherry, fruitcake, maple syrup, Brazil nuts, old leather, oily, toffee, raisin, and oak.

Glengoyne 21 year old Single Malt Scotch
92 points, 43%, $235
A bottling that has long been regarded as a classic among sherry cask matured expressions. Red apple, dates, dried fig, baking spices, toffee, red currant, sultana, and cinnamon.

MacNair’s Lum Reek 21 year old Blended Scotch
92 points, 48%, $220
A blend of Islay and Speyside whiskies. The name comes from the traditional Scottish toast to a long and prosperous life: “Lang may yer lum reek.” Bold smoke, zesty citrus, vanilla, marmalade, caramel, spice, and chocolate.

Glencadam 21 year old Scotch Single Malt
91 points, 46%, $215
This whisky from Glencadam Distillery, which will celebrate its bicentenary in 2025, is an unsung marvel. Marshmallow, coconut, apple, apricot, almond, lemon curd, ginger, and tobacco.

Royal Salute 21 year old Snow Polo Edition Blended Grain Scotch
91 points, 46.5%, $155
This is Royal Salute’s first blended grain. Its ABV matches the latitude of St. Moritz, where snow polo was first played. Caramel, vanilla, pepper, stewed fruits, orange, chocolate, honeycomb, and marzipan.

Balvenie Port Wood 21 year old Single Malt Scotch
91 points, 40%, $225
While Balvenie has flirted with other versions of 21 year olds, this expression is the definitive bottling and an exemplar of port pipe maturation. Red grape, vanilla, milk chocolate, nuts, plum, and subtle smoke.

Arran 21 year old Single Malt Scotch
91 points, 46%, $250
Currently the oldest expression in Arran’s core range, this whisky was fully matured in sherry butts. Toffee, baked apple, tropical fruit, sweet spice, peaches in syrup, and milk chocolate.

Aberfeldy 21 year old Single Malt Scotch
91 points, 40%, $190
A luxurious dram matured in bourbon and sherry casks from Dewar’s flagship distillery. Heather honey, granola, vanilla, ground almond, waxy, pepper, citrus, and dried fruit.

Glenfarclas 21 year old Single Malt Scotch
91 points, 43%, $130
Few whiskies offer better value for money than age statement Glenfarclas, and this lively, expressive whisky also delivers on the palate. Just don’t expect a sherry bomb. Honey, pear, cinnamon, toffee, apricot, and spice.

Benriach The Twenty One Single Malt Scotch
91 points, 46%, $200
Peated and unpeated whisky matured in four different cask types—bourbon, sherry, virgin oak, and Bordeaux red wine. Sweet smokiness, mint, vanilla, red berries, dark chocolate, and licorice.

Glen Moray 21 year old Elgin Heritage Portwood Finish Single Malt Scotch
90 points, 46.3%, $180
The two-year port finish adds layers of dark chocolate and fruit to the aged stocks initially matured in American oak. Raspberry, ginger, vanilla custard, sultana, honey, coconut, chocolate, and oak.

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How to Taste Bookish Notes in Whisky

From leather bound tomes to antique pages, learn how to pick up on notes otherwise found in your local library or book store.

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Many whisky lovers enjoy having their nose in a good book almost as much as a glass of whisky, and there are deeply evocative aromas common to both pleasures. The bouquet of some whiskies call to mind the antique scent of rows of books inside a library, in the cabinets of antiquarian book dealers, or along the miles of shelving stretching around enormous bookstores from Powell’s in Portland to the Strand in New York. Sales of print books rose during the pandemic as more people picked up a good read. (According to publishing industry tracker NPD Group, U.S. print book sales were up 8.2% in 2020 to 750 million books, while more than 200 million print books were sold in the UK last year—passing that mark for the first time since 2012, according to Nielsen BookScan.)

From a whisky nosing perspective, bookish aromas typically conjure up images of a gilt-edged tome bound in calfskin leather, perhaps with raised bands on the spine and archaic gold lettering, or a cloth-bound volume inside a slightly chipped dust jacket, its pages falling open to reveal gorgeous marbled endpapers, releasing the scents locked between the slightly tanned pages. Then again, other people like nothing better than cracking the spine on a freshly printed book or magazine and sniffing the modern chemicals in the paper, inks, and binding adhesives. So how can a whisky remind us of the smell of a good book?

The answer is right before you: paper in old books is made from wood pulp, which gradually decays over decades, releasing many of the same aromatic compounds found in oak casks. Scientists have even developed an odor wheel for describing and categorizing these old book smells, similar to whisky flavor wheels, deducing that the more prominent chemicals, such as vanillin, benzaldehyde, ethyl benzene, and the biscuit-like aroma of furfural come from the degradation of the wood compounds in the paper. Combined with the bindings and covering materials, they produce that curiously sweet mixture of vanilla, almond, dry leaves, and grassy notes, along with reassuring scents of polished antique bookcases, mustiness, and worn leather. To many, this attractive constellation is a signifier of a well-matured whisky.

Start your hunt with some of the less rambunctious single malt scotches and grain whiskies matured in second and third-fill bourbon barrels, move on to older single malt whiskies that rely on a contribution of refill sherry casks, and nose some bourbons and ryes to find those more mature leather, nut, and woody characteristics.

Whether your bookshelves are full of precious whiskies or pristine first editions, both have the power to transport you to other worlds.

Shelf Aware: These whiskies want to get into your good books

New Riff Backsetter Peated Backset Bottled in Bond Rye
Antiquarian Book: Old books, polished oak, sweet nuttiness

Kanosuke New Born
New Book: Peapod, bookbinding glue, Belgian chocolate

Deanston 12 year old
Leather Bound: Figs, polished calfskin covers, tobacco

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Sotheby’s Hollywood Ending Nets $2 Million in Sales

A treasure trove of scotches from 91 distilleries including Macallan, Balvenie, Bowmore, and Springbank draws big numbers.

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A time capsule of scotch whisky destined for Hollywood A-listers helped Sotheby’s to stage its largest ever scotch whisky auction on May 10. During the financial crash of 2008, an entrepreneur from southern California bought a shipping container of valuable bottles from a struggling U.S. whisky broker who had hoped to sell them to people in the movie industry. Instead, they went under the hammer in New York 14 years later as Sotheby’s auctioned the Hollywood Collection and Part 4 of the Three Continents Collection for a total hammer price of $2,034,100 (Sotheby’s pre-sale estimate was $1,481,750 – $2,063,050).

This one was a true celebration of scotch, with over 1,100 lots on offer from 91 single malt and grain distilleries representing all regions of Scotland (discover the top 10 distilleries at this sale ranked by hammer price below). It was one of the most comprehensive sales of scotch from closed distilleries in the U.S. for many years, with bottlings from the Inverness distilleries Millburn, Glen Albyn, and Glen Mhor, plenty of Port Ellen from Islay, Convalmore, Dallas Dhu, Imperial, and Caperdonich from Speyside, Glenury Royal and Hillside distilleries in the eastern Highlands, and Littlemill and St. Magdalene from the Lowlands. Only Rosebank was conspicuous in its absence.

Unlike Sotheby’s American Muscle Collection, which sold largely to U.S. buyers, this sale attracted an international audience spread evenly between North America, Asia, and Europe, with 42% of bidders new to Sotheby’s. Around 40% of bidders were younger than 40 years old. Macallan was the focus for the day’s highest prices, though the headline bottles did not break any records. An increasingly rare find at auction this decade, the Macallan Millennium 50 year old 1949 decanter sold for a hammer price of $32,000, the highest bid of the sale, but that was only the fifth-highest price of the seven of these bottles auctioned internationally since January 2021. Whisky Auctioneer achieved a bid 46% higher than Sotheby’s in January, selling a bottle for $46,811. The Macallan Fine & Rare 50 year old 1952 Cask No. 627 attracted a hammer price of $26,000 at Sotheby’s, slightly up on Sotheby’s performance of $24,000 or so in recent years, but again, an online auction solicited a bid 25% higher at $32,552 for the same bottle eight days earlier. The other end of the scale proved far more interesting, where there were some amazing vintage bottlings sold at bargain prices. A bid of $150 could secure a bottle of Singleton of Dufftown 28 year old or a bottle of Campbeltown Loch 25 year old blended scotch, while $200 was sufficient to pick up a Glenrothes 1984, a bottle of Gordon & MacPhail Speyburn 18 year old 1971, or for single grain fans, a bottle of Cadenhead’s Dumbarton 32 year old 1962. For lovers of 20th-century scotch, Sotheby’s was definitely the place to be.

Top 10 distilleries ranked by hammer price for individual bottles

Bottling Hammer Price
Macallan Millennium Decanter 50 year old 1949, 43% $32,000
Balvenie 50 year old 1937, 42% $24,000
Bowmore 40 year old 1955, 42% $20,000
Springbank Millennium Collection 50 year old, 40.5% $8,500
Whyte & Whyte Clynelish (Brora) 28 year old 1965, 50.7% $7,000
Highland Park 40 year old 1958, 44% $6,500
Glenfarclas 1953 The Coronation, 51.1% $5,000
Glendronach Single Cask 43 year old 1971, 48.6% $4,000
Ardbeg Provenance 1974, 54.7% $3,200
Auchentoshan 44 year old 1966, 40.9% $2,800
Macallan's for auction

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What’s It Worth? Midleton Very Rare: The Pinnacle of Irish Whiskey

Check the value of Midleton Very Rare vintages from 2014 to 2020, when Brian Nation was master distiller, against 2021 auction prices.

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In our “What’s It Worth?” series, Whisky Advocate auction correspondent Jonny McCormick examines the current collectability of a distillery or brand. Midleton master distiller Kevin O’Gorman recently unveiled the release of Midleton Very Rare 2022. This long-running series has become the most traded Irish whiskey at auction, so with the new release marking the 39th bottling in the series, we examine the highest auction values for Midleton Very Rare vintages released by Brian Nation, O’Gorman’s predecessor as Midleton master distiller, whose signature adorned the bottles released during 2014 to 2020.

When Barry Crockett launched the first release of Midleton Very Rare in 1984, the international market for Irish whiskey was markedly smaller than it is today. But Crockett had instituted a policy of laying down 100 casks of top-quality stock every year for future use in Midleton Very Rare as it found its place in the hearts of Irish whiskey lovers. That decision bears fruit to this day, as the current Midleton team assesses hundreds of American oak bourbon casks of single pot still and grain whiskeys across many years of production in pursuit of the finest stock.

Brian Nation’s appointment in 2013 followed Crockett’s retirement, and as the new master distiller began to select the barrels for his first Midleton Very Rare, the Irish whiskey industry was on the cusp of a decade of exceptional growth. During Nation’s tenure, the popularity of Midleton Very Rare reached new heights, with the packaging benefiting from an upgrade in 2017. In parallel, the auction market for collectible Irish whiskeys was also gathering momentum, with substantial sums changing hands for the hardest-to-find back vintages: A record hammer price of $36,386 was set in March 2021 at Irish Whiskey Auctions for a single bottle of Midleton Very Rare 1988.

While new distilleries are now flourishing across the island supported by a burgeoning number of Irish whiskeys to choose from, Midleton Very Rare has endured, thanks to its prestige and an unwavering reputation for quality, paving the way for further luxury Irish whiskeys.

Here, we roll back the years to the 31st to 37th releases of Midleton Very Rare—the Brian Nation years. Unexpectedly, in late 2020 Nation quit Ireland’s top distilling job to join O’Shaughnessy Distillers Co. in Minnesota where he has created Keeper’s Heart whiskey as he begins to apply his Irish whiskey expertise to the production of his first American whiskeys.

Some Advice Before Bidding

Midleton Very Rare vintages subtly vary in aroma and flavor every year, so each bottling has its own personality within the boundaries of the brand’s profile: part of the excitement is the producer’s intention never to reproduce an identically consistent and indistinguishable flavor profile year after year. That said, it is always a blend of single pot still and grain whiskeys produced at Midleton Distillery and matured in bourbon barrels. The ages of the whiskeys in the blend change each year too, so it doesn’t carry an age statement, but the use of progressively older whiskeys, especially grain whiskeys, has been a trend for many years.

Vintage 2017 remains the only release where the same liquid was presented in both the old and new style packaging, which has generated significant differences in the secondary market values. If buying at auction, be sure to check if you are bidding on a 750 ml U.S. import version or the more abundant 700 ml bottle.

None of the vintages signed by Brian Nation have been bottled for more than a decade so evaporation issues should be negligible, but it can be more noticeable in poorly stored vintages from the 1980s and 1990s. Check the labels on older bottles for creasing, peeling, and loss of adhesiveness, though again, this would be more likely to be restricted to early Barry Crockett releases. The bottling has been presented in a wooden box since Midleton Very Rare Vintage 1990, so ensure the integrity of the box and confirm the hinges and clasps are in good working order before you bid.

The vintages created by Brian Nation demonstrate how quickly previous releases of Midleton Very Rare can rise three to five times in value, and sometimes even higher. Release volumes for each vintage are not disclosed but fluctuate every year: Prices can rise steeply for scarce vintages such as 1988, 1989, 2003, 2009, 2014, and 2020. Collecting Brian Nation’s releases and starting a collection of O’Gorman’s bottlings ahead of the 40th vintage in 2023 are achievable goals for many collectors, but at today’s auction prices, you would need a budget of $70,000–$90,000 to build a full set of mint-condition Midleton Very Rare from scratch.

Midleton Very Rare At Auction: The Brian Nation Years
Hammer Prices Over The Past Year
(March 17, 2021 to March 17, 2022)

Midleton Very Rare 2020, 40%
Original Release Date: 2020
Retail Price at Release: $220
Sold at Auction: March 21, 2021, at Irish Whiskey Auctions
Hammer Price: $1,074

Brian Nation’s final Very Rare release scored 93 points, favoring a more prominent spicy character. It was also the final bottling to be released toward the end of the year. Smaller quantities were released to make way for the spring release of the 2021 edition, so it sold out quickly and auction prices spiked.

Midleton Very Rare 2019, 40%
Original Release Date: 2019
Retail Price at Release: $220
Sold at Auction: May 11, 2021, at The Grand Whisky Auction
Hammer Price: $453

This classic scored 94 points, and has notes of green apple, toffee, vanilla, and mint. It makes regular appearances at auction in good quantities and is the most affordable Brian Nation-made Very Rare to buy at auction: Bids in the region of $300–$400 should be sufficient.

Midleton Very Rare 2018, 40%
Original Release Date: 2018
Retail Price at Release: $200
Sold at Auction: January 2, 2022, at Whisky Hammer
Hammer Price: $703

The first full release in the new bottle scored 94 points and contains whiskeys aged between 12 and 28 years: a sweet, fruity affair with honey, toffee, citrus, melon, and ripe stone fruit. Hammer prices run only fractionally higher than the 2019 release and a dozen or more bottles are sold at auction every month.

Midleton Very Rare 2017 [old style packaging], 40%
Original Release Date: 2017
Retail Price at Release: $214
Sold at Auction: January 2, 2022, at Whisky Hammer
Hammer Price: $731

Often a packaging revamp results in higher prices for the discontinued line over the new version, but not in this case. In its tall bottle with cream labels inside a narrow box, the 2017 in this guise was mainly sold in Europe, making it more common at online auctions in the UK and Ireland, helping to keep a lid on its auction value.

Midleton Very Rare 2017 [new style packaging], 40%
Original Release Date: 2017
Retail Price at Release: $214
Sold at Auction: March 21, 2021, at Irish Whisky Auctions
Hammer Price: $1,146

The stylish contemporary Midleton Very Rare ushered in a new era of luxury for Irish whiskeys, and was the line’s first major redesign in more than 25 years. Aiming to better represent the quality and rarity of the contents, the bespoke bottle shape was inspired by Ireland’s literary greats to incorporate design elements like a writer’s inkwell and pen nib. The 2017 release includes 32 year old grain whiskey and 26 year old single pot still whiskey, among others, and scored a respectable 93 points.

Midleton Very Rare 2016, 40%
Original Release Date: 2016
Retail Price at Release: $159
Sold at Auction: October 24, 2021, at Irish Whiskey Auctions
Hammer Price: $722

A delicate and soothing creation, the 2016 bottling scored 92 points and was a lighter style of Midleton Very Rare with beeswax, grassy notes, barley sugar, and citrus.

Midleton Very Rare 2015, 40%
Original Release Date: 2015
Retail Price at Release: $145
Sold at Auction: June 14, 2021, at Grand Whisky Auctions
Hammer Price: $988

Released in the same year as Dair Ghaelach was launched—Midleton’s line of virgin Irish oak-finished single pot still whiskeys—this vintage was a celebration of American oak: Creamed coconut, vanilla desserts, honey, almond biscuits, and butter frosting.

Midleton Very Rare 2014, 40%
Original Release Date: 2014
Retail Price at Release: $125
Sold at Auction: March 6, 2022, at Irish Whiskey Merchant
Hammer Price: $1,918

As the new custodian of the series, Brian Nation had the privilege of becoming only the second person to see his signature on the Midleton Very Rare label. Release volumes were slightly lower than most years but it is a fabulous whiskey scoring 94 points: Dense and oily with intense flavors of vanilla and cinnamon. Auction prices have risen steadily, making 2014 the most expensive Midleton Very Rare at auction from the 2010s. There’s still a good argument for picking one up now, however, because it wouldn’t even appear in the top 10 most expensive Midleton Very Rare vintages on the secondary market looking back to the inception of the series in 1984.

Please note: Hammer prices set during the specified 12 month period were determined from the following selection of leading whisky auction houses: Irish Whiskey Auctions, Celtic Whisky Auctions, Irish Whiskey Merchant, Scotch Whisky Auctions, Whisky Auctioneer, Whisky Hammer, Whisky.Auction, Just Whisky, Whisky Online Auctions, The Grand Whisky Auction, Bonhams, Sotheby’s, Christie’s, Whiskyauction.com, Skinner Inc, Hart Davis Hart, Acker, Unicorn Auctions. Prices were converted to U.S. dollars using xe.com exchange rates from the date of each auction. Highest hammer prices for standard bottle sizes converted to U.S. dollars from the past 12 months are shown from the specified date, and future auction results may produce higher or lower hammer prices.

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Big Expectations for Hart Davis Hart’s Upcoming Whiskies Auction

Get the details including which bottles to target or HDH’s upcoming whisky auction beginning March 31st.

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Hart Davis Hart (HDH) is expecting its fifth annual spirits auction to reach the highest value yet for an American whiskey sale. The Chicago-based auctioneer has valued some 2,189 lots of American whiskey, to be auctioned on March 31st – April 1st, at $1.9 million–$3 million. Hart Davis Hart entered the wine auction business in 2005, and expanded into spirits sales in March 2019. Macallan 50 year old Anniversary Malt was HDH’s biggest-ticket item of 2021, hitting 13th place on our list of Auction Houses’ Most Expensive Whiskies of last year.

Contenders for the most expensive bottle in this auction include a Colonel E.H. Taylor Old Fashioned Sour Mash Bourbon signed by Buffalo Trace Distillery master distiller Harlen Wheatley (est. $12,000–$18,000), an Old Rip Van Winkle 25 year old decanter (est. $12,000–$18,000), and a Twisted Spoke 16 year old distilled at Stitzel-Weller Distillery (est. $7,000–$10,000). A bottle of Twisted Spoke attracted bids of over $18,000 in 2021, so it could still be a frontrunner despite the lower pre-sale estimates. Outside the American whiskey space, The Macallan Fine & Rare 22 year old 1990 (est. $9,000-$14,000) is priced in keeping with the $13,175 bid at Whisky Hammer in 2021, but is presented at a slightly lower estimate after Hart Davis Hart failed to attract a bidder for the same bottle in 2020.

If you’re in the market for 50 year old scotch, check out the Benromach 50 year old 1969 (est. $5,500–$8,500), one of only 125 bottles and priced below its original $10,000 retail price, or the The Last Drop 50 year old (95 points), or take a look at the Gordon & MacPhail Private Collection Caol Ila 50 year old 1968 release (est. $4,200–$6,500). Aside from over 100 bottles of largely contemporary Macallan, the other choice scotch whiskies include Port Ellen 32 year old 1979 12th release (est. $2,400–$3,500), Glenfarclas 1962 Family Casks Release III bottled in 2008 (est. $2,200–$3,200), and a couple of bottles from closed distillery Convalmore. There are 10 Diageo Special Releases from Brora to buy, which you can track to see if they beat the prices in our What’s It Worth? series. Also on offer are several hidden gems from Compass Box, with some great value mixed lots, as well as stellar collectibles like the  Compass Box The General (est. $850–$1,300) (96 points) and the rarely seen Compass Box Lady Luck (est. $500–$750) (91 points).

To help achieve its multimillion-dollar sale ambitions, HDH has attracted bankable lots in large quantities, including 47 bottles of Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve 23 year old. Make sure to check which vintage you’re targeting as prices vary, but as a guide, $5,500 was the highest bid at the recent Sotheby’s auction. For vintage bourbon imbibers who enjoyed the history behind the Century of American Whiskey sale, HDH has an attractive selection of Very Old Fitzgerald, Old Forester, Old Taylor, and Old Grand-Dad bottlings from the 1950s and 1960s, and 11 bottles of A.H. Hirsch from 1974 for sale. Our recent What’s It Worth? series looked at the WhistlePig Boss Hog series, and this sale includes multiple opportunities to buy editions II–VIII to help complete your collection.

Bidding on this auction can be done through Hart Davis Hart’s online bidding system and app, which are both well designed and easy to use. The website includes condition reports and high quality photography that allows you to magnify the images to examine every detail on the labels. Live bidding opens at 9 a.m. ET on March 31st. Note that buyer’s premiums are 19.5% on top of the hammer price plus applicable taxes, and there are no delivery options—all purchases must be collected from Hart Davis Hart’s Illinois warehouse. That said, for the bourbon and rye drinker and collector, this annual extravaganza in Chicago has plenty to offer.

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What’s It Worth?: WhistlePig The Boss Hog

Check the value of your WhistlePig The Boss Hog releases against 2021 auction prices.

The post What’s It Worth?: WhistlePig The Boss Hog appeared first on Whisky Advocate.

Whisky Advocate’s Spring issue hits the newsstands on March 22nd and takes a deep look at rye whiskey’s rebirth. Here, our auction correspondent checks out the recent hammer prices on WhistlePig’s collectible series of rye whiskeys in his column What’s It Worth?

WhistlePig The Boss Hog series has emerged as one of the market’s most collectible annual rye whiskey releases. Fans eagerly await each year’s edition, along with the latest pewter pig that adorns the stopper—a collectible that has become the porcine equivalent of Blanton’s racehorse stoppers.

When The Boss Hog was first released in 2013, the goal was to deliver a yearly treat to collectors and connoisseurs that represented the finest rye in WhistlePig’s stock. WhistlePig commits to five promises for each release: It will be a single barrel, bottled at proof, powerfully complex, distinctly unique from anything they’ve done before, and it will be stupendous. The liquid is sourced from Canada and shipped to Vermont for further maturation, finishing, and bottling. The Boss Hog releases are single barrel bottlings, but there are multiple barrels chosen for each edition so availability runs into thousands of bottles. Amassing all eight editions is a coveted achievement among fans. As the series has progressed, the age of the whiskeys has increased, the finishing processes have become more experimental, and the packaging has become more premium. While these extraordinary rye whiskeys cost $500 a bottle, the retail price has stayed the same since 2017 despite its growing international audience.

For the forthcoming edition, The Boss Hog IX, WhistlePig has reserved barrels for what it calls a unique finishing experiment. We will know more about it later this year.

Some Advice Before Bidding

None of the WhistlePig releases are over 10 years old, so evaporation shouldn’t be an issue unless the bottle has not been stored properly. Make sure all the original packaging is in place: neck tags were included with earlier releases, and each release since The Boss Hog V onward has been boxed. From a security perspective, WhistlePig has invited owners of The Boss Hog VII and VIII to register their bottles via a code on the neck label. Simple, unbranded plastic shrink-wraps have been used since the start, which offer lower protection against refills than other methods but are frequently the main option for distillers choosing bespoke stoppers for limited-edition releases. Some auction houses have brought the bidders’ attention to peeling labels, which could hint at issues with adhesive durability rather than labels being peeled off and reattached to other bottles, as the Boss Hog uses exactly the same glassware as the rest of the WhistlePig range. Auction houses will reject fake bottles if they believe a vendor is attempting to pass off a refill.

WhistlePig The Boss Hog At Auction
Hammer Prices Over the Past Year
(February 1, 2021 to February 1, 2022)

WhistlePig The Boss Hog VIII: Lapulapu’s Pacific, 52.4–53.3%
Original Release Date: 2021 (86 barrels)
Retail Price at Release: $500
Sold at Auction: January 30, 2022, at Unicorn Auctions
Hammer Price: $625

This edition is double finished in high-toast small batch rum casks from the Philippines, and delivers a tropical fruity version of a well-aged 18 year old rye with flavors of citrus, molasses, nutmeg, and allspice. This release completes the circumnavigation story started with The Boss Hog VII (see below), with Captain Magellan killed in the Battle of Mactan in the Philippines in 1521, as Filipino chief Lapulapu defended the land against the Spanish colonizers. Only one of the five galleons in Magellan’s expedition made it back to Europe. The Boss Hog VIII received a 91 point rating from Whisky Advocate, reviewed in our Spring 2022 issue.

WhistlePig 17 year old The Boss Hog VII: Magellan’s Atlantic, 52.6–53.9%
Original Release Date: 2020 (90 barrels)
Retail Price at Release: $500
Sold at Auction: March 26, 2021, at Hart Davis Hart Auctions
Hammer Price: $800

Finished in virgin Spanish oak and virgin South American teakwood, this 17 year old rye was the first Boss Hog to receive 93 points. It celebrates Ferdinand Magellan’s ill-fated voyage in 1519 to find a Western route to the Spice Islands, considered by some to be the first circumnavigation of the globe. Additional to the standard bottling, WhistlePig created 40 large format 3-liter bottles sold exclusively in the UK for £2,200, with bottle #32 achieving the highest recent hammer price, fetching $6,784 at Whisky Auctioneer.

WhistlePig The Boss Hog VI: The Samurai Scientist, 60–61%
Original Release Date: 2019 (90 barrels)
Retail Price at Release: $500
Sold at Auction: August 23, 2021, at Whisky Auctioneer
Hammer Price: $3,498

Samurai Scientist was the debut Boss Hog release from master blender Pete Lynch, and scored 92 points. Exhibiting the highest level of experimentation of the series to date, 16 year old rye whiskey was finished in barrels seasoned with umeshu, a plum liqueur from Kitaya Brewery in Yame, Kyushu, Japan. Although the number of barrels used nearly tripled, this release remains highly collectible, especially because two versions were released that now command different prices at auction. The majority of bottles have the pewter Samurai stopper in honor of Jōkichi Takamine, who used koji fermentation in the 1890s, but there are 1,000 bottles of the Katakana edition with Japanese labels where the stopper is entirely cast in obsidian black. WhistlePig also created a third version: 20 large format 3-liter Samurai Scientist bottles that were never released.

WhistlePig 13 year old The Boss Hog V: The Spirit of Mauve, 56–59%
Original Release Date: 2018 (32 barrels)
Retail Price at Release: $500
Sold at Auction: March 28, 2021, at Whisky Hammer
Hammer Price: $772

Mauve was one of WhistlePig’s founding sows, who passed away in 2018. Danforth Pewter immortalized her as an angelic piggy on the stopper. In a rather eccentric touch, this 13 year old Boss Hog was packaged in a macabre black box in the shape of a tiny coffin. In recognition of Mauve’s passion for apples, this single barrel rye was finished in calvados casks and scored 92 points.

WhistlePig 14 year old The Boss Hog IV: The Black Prince, 57–62.5%
Original Release Date: 2017 (31 barrels)
Retail Price at Release: $500
Sold at Auction: August 23, 2021, at Whisky Auctioneer
Hammer Price: $2,538

This was finished in armagnac casks, and delivers powerful spices and notes of orchard fruit, cinnamon, burnt sugar, and toasted marshmallow. The pewter Black Prince hog on the stopper is dressed in chainmail armor, though as with all the stoppers, his curly tail still protrudes on the back.

WhistlePig The Boss Hog III: The Independent, 56.5–62.5%
Original Release Date: 2016 (30 barrels)
Retail Price at Release: $300
Sold at Auction: February 8, 2021, at Whisky Auctioneer
Hammer Price: $3,572

The first finished Boss Hog in the series, this rye whiskey was sourced from Alberta Distillers, Canada, and given a period of extra maturation in peated scotch whisky hogsheads. Scoring 92 points, it was praised for its notes of wood, black fruits, and farmy earthiness, though the peat and smoke notes are rather subdued.

WhistlePig 13 year old The Boss Hog II: The Spirit of Mortimer, 58.5–62%
Original Release Date: 2014 (62 barrels)
Retail Price at Release: $190
Sold at Auction: March 8, 2021, at Whisky Auctioneer
Hammer Price: $4,695

Named after Mortimer WhistlePig, their deceased Kunekune pig mascot and namesake, this whiskey carries his spirit with the introduction of the flying pig stopper. This rye whisky was sourced by WhistlePig’s then master distiller Dave Pickerell (1956–2018) and scored 90 points.

WhistlePig 12 year old The Boss Hog, 65–70%
Original Release Date: 2013 (24 barrels)
Retail Price at Release: $190
Sold at Auction: April 5, 2021, at Whisky Auctioneer
Hammer Price: $10,290

The first casks for this release were hand bottled in Vermont at barrel strength at the unusual age of 12¾ years. It scored 90 points, receiving praise for its drinkability without the need for water and its flavors of rye bread, currants, caramel, hot chocolate, and sweet spice. These bottles always fetch thousands of dollars but winning bids vary between auction houses, so you may be able to complete your collection for a lower price.

Please note: Hammer prices set during the specified 12 month period were determined from the following selection of leading whisky auction houses: Scotch Whisky Auctions, Whisky Auctioneer, Whisky Hammer, Whisky.Auction, Just Whisky, Whisky Online Auctions, Grand Whisky Auction, Bonhams, and Sotheby’s, Christie’s, Whiskyauction.com, Skinner Inc, Hart Davis Hart, Acker, Unicorn Auctions. Prices were converted to U.S. dollars using xe.com exchange rates from the date of each auction. Highest hammer prices for standard bottle sizes converted to U.S. dollars from the past 12 months are shown from the specified date, and future auction results may produce higher or lower hammer prices.

The post What’s It Worth?: WhistlePig The Boss Hog appeared first on Whisky Advocate.

Auction Preview: Sotheby’s The American Muscle Collection & The Three Continents Collection Part III

On March 19th, Sotheby’s New York will auction over 1,000 bottles of bourbon and rye with an estimated value of $1–$1.4 million.

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On March 19th, Sotheby’s New York will auction over 1,000 bottles of bourbon and rye with an estimated value of $1–$1.4 million in its American Muscle and Three Continents Part III sale. Stocked with popular collectible American whiskeys from the last 20 to 30 years, it appears set to beat the results of Sotheby’s Thoroughbred sale of bourbon and rye in 2021. Three bottles of LeNell Red Hook Rye are likely to steal the show: Hammer prices reached $35,000 a bottle in 2021. The American Muscle Collection (Lot 1–534) includes a significant selection of Willett, Four Roses, and Van Winkle and was amassed by entrepreneur and bourbon aficionado Richard “RJ” Gottlieb who is one of California’s most renowned muscle car drivers for driving the Big Red Camaro.

The Three Continents Collection (Lots 586–750) is a substantial collection of 5,000 bottles put together by an anonymous collector: This third installment contains 400 bottles of American whiskey, following Sotheby’s earlier sales of the collection’s scotch and whiskies from Asia. Sotheby’s isn’t only courting high net worth individuals either; with over 170 lots across the entire auction including past bottlings of Michter’s 10 year old and Four Roses single barrel private selection with a low estimate of $250 or less, there are plenty of options for collectors who have more modest budgets.

There are more than 160 bottles of Willett to consider, including a vast selection of single barrel bourbons aged 5 to 26 years, single barrel rye including the 25 year old, and the XCF (exploratory cask finish). A haul of nearly 60 bottles of Buffalo Trace Antique Collection is going under the hammer, with a great selection of George T. Stagg and W.L. Weller. Among the 40 strong Parker’s Heritage Collection releases up for sale, there are gaps in the early years but there is a first edition and a Promise of Hope bottling. For aspiring Pappy Van Winkle owners, there are 9 bottles of Pappy Van Winkle 23 year old and 18 bottles of Pappy Van Winkle 20 year old to bid on, though don’t expect any bargains as recent Pappy auction values have been climbing again. Other labels noteworthy for their significant age statements include Michter’s single barrel bourbon at 20 and 25 years, more than 25 bottles of Eagle Rare aged 18 to 23 years old from the late 1980s and 1990s, and 4 bottles of Black Maple Hill single barrel rye 23 year old. There’s also a bottle of Michter’s 25 year old single barrel rye (est. $5,000–$6,000). A bottle of this fetched $21,000 in December 2021, making our list of Auction Houses’ Most Expensive Whiskies of 2021.

This dedicated American whiskey sale has much to admire, though if you specialize in early to mid-20th century bottles, it’s not for you. These are two collections driven by the singular pursuits of their owners, which naturally results in a forgivable number of conspicuously absent labels: no Buffalo Trace Single Oak Project, no Woodford Reserve Master’s Collection, no Blanton’s, little from the emerging craft brands, and hardly a drop of whiskey from Tennessee, but you’ll not struggle to find something good to drink. There’s plenty more to come, however, as Sotheby’s has scheduled a sale of fine spirits in Hong Kong in April, and the London saleroom will present sales of Asian spirits in May and scotch in June.

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