There’s a unique subset of whisky collectors who spend their spare time scouring obscure liquor stores for vintage bottles. In some cases, the distillers no… Read More
There’s a unique subset of whisky collectors who spend their spare time scouring obscure liquor stores for vintage bottles. In some cases, the distillers no longer exist or the brands have been sold to their current owners, but in some cases, it’s possible to find vintage editions of today’s classic whiskies. Aaron Goldfarb has been chronicling so-called “dusty hunters,” and his new book “Dusty Booze” will be published on March 5th. He’ll join us on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, U.S. spirits sales were flat in 2023, with concerning drops for Irish whiskies and Single Malt Scotches in particular. We’ll have the details, along with a new report showing Kentucky Bourbon generates $9 billion a year in economic impact for the Commonwealth.
Last Saturday’s super bougie premium American Whiskey Auction via Sotheby’s did not disappoint apparently as 2 coveted rare bottles went for over $90g’s. Records were set. Big cash dished out. The two big blockbusters, LeNell’s Red Hook Rye 23 Year and Rathskeller Rye, each fetched far beyond their highest initial estimate ranges. The LRHR 23 […]
Last Saturday’s super bougie premium American Whiskey Auction via Sotheby’s did not disappoint apparently as 2 coveted rare bottles went for over $90g’s. Records were set. Big cash dished out.
The two big blockbusters, LeNell’s Red Hook Rye 23 Year and Rathskeller Rye, each fetched far beyond their highest initial estimate ranges. The LRHR 23 year scoring $56,250 (est range $20,000 – $30,000) and RR grabbing $37,500 ($18,000 – $24,000).
LeNell’s Red Hook Rye 23 Year Old Barrel #1 67.6 ABV, sold for $56,250 (est. $20,000 – $30,000)
In the 2000s, LeNell Santa Ana Camacho owned a specialty liquor store in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn. Ahead of her time, she reveled in American whiskey: She not only carried brands like Pappy Van Winkle in her shop, but she traveled to Kentucky to see how she could source more. On one of those trips, she met Drew Kulsveen of the Willett distillery; they got to talking, and soon the two were selecting four barrels of rye whiskey, aged between 23 and 24 years and bottled at cask strength. It was a great choice: the barrels came from a legendary run of whiskey distilled at the Bernheim Distillery, in Louisville, in the early 1980s. Other legendary whiskeys came from the same batch, like Rathskeller Rye and the Bitter Truth, but LeNell’s Red Hook Rye has emerged as the most distinctive and sought after American whiskey, perhaps of all time. To top it all off, this bottle is signed by LeNell herself.
Rathskeller Rye 136 Proof 1983 (1 BT 75cl), sold for $37,500 (est. $18,000 – $24,000)
Built by two German immigrants in an opulent European style, the Seelbach is Louisville’s grandest hotel. In its basement sits the Rathskeller, a ceramic-encrusted pub that today is used as a ballroom. In 2007 the hotel’s owners commissioned the Willett Distillery to bottle two whiskeys, a bourbon and a rye, to commemorate its rich history. The 24-year-old rye, known as Rathskeller, came from the same run of whiskey that went into bottles like Doug’s Green Ink and LeNell’s Red Hook Rye – legendary company befitting one of the country’s most desired whiskeys.
Built by two German immigrants in an opulent European style, the Seelbach is Louisville’s grandest hotel. In its basement sits the Rathskeller, a ceramic-encrusted pub that today is used as a ballroom. In 2007 the hotel’s owners commissioned the Willett Distillery to bottle two whiskeys, a bourbon and a rye, to commemorate its rich history. The 24-year-old rye, known as Rathskeller, came from the same run of whiskey that went into bottles like Doug’s Green Ink and LeNell’s Red Hook Rye – legendary company befitting one of the country’s most desired whiskeys.
Key Takeaways
Highest number of total bids ever placed in a Sotheby’s spirits auction
$2.3m in total sales
99% auction items sold
Nearly half of items sold ABOVE pre sale estimates
Bidders across 21 countries
Speaking after the sale, Jonny Fowle, Global Head of Spirits, said: “This weekend represented a great success for the market, with Sotheby’s final whiskey auction for the year in New York setting a number of new records, not least for Red Hook Rye. This sale garnered the highest number of bids ever placed on a Sotheby’s spirits auction, and contributed to a total of $9M in sales globally over the last 4 weeks alone. We look forward to building upon this result for our first ever Sotheby’s Whiskey Evening Sale on 20 January 2024.”
Whisky has become more attractive as an investment asset in recent years, but a new report indicates the value of luxury whiskies has declined over… Read More
Whisky has become more attractive as an investment asset in recent years, but a new report indicates the value of luxury whiskies has declined over the past year. We’ll talk with the report’s author, Duncan McFadzean of Scotland’s Noble & Company, on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, lots of hardware was handed out at this week’s awards ceremonies in Scotland and Ireland, and we’ll have the details. Chivas Brothers faces strikes by its union workers next week, and there’s less than a month left before American whiskies face European import tariffs again.
At least four different bottles of the 1926 Macallan 60-year-old Scotch Whisky have held the world record for the highest price ever paid at auction… Read More
At least four different bottles of the 1926 Macallan 60-year-old Scotch Whisky have held the world record for the highest price ever paid at auction for a whisky. The latest came Saturday at Sotheby’s in London, when a bottle featuring a label by Italian artist Valerio Adami shattered the previous record set by a Fine and Rare-labeled bottle in 2019. The winning bid came in at $2,414,250, beating the 2019 record price of $1.9 million and the pre-auction estimate by nearly three times.
Only 40 bottles of The Macallan 1926 were produced in 1986, with 12 featuring labels by Adami. 12 more had labels created by British artist Sir Peter Blake, and 14 labeled as Fine and Rare. Of the remaining two, one was unlabeled, and one record-setting bottle was hand painted by Irish artist Michael Dillon.
In a statement, Sotheby’s Global Head of Spirits Jonny Fowle said “This record-breaking result for The Macallan 1926 is nothing short of momentous for the whisky industry as a whole. When we first set the record for the Fine & Rare back in 2019 it was a defining moment not just for Sotheby’s, but for me personally. This new record result for The Macallan Adami feels all the more emotional for me, having worked directly with the consignor and distillery to recondition, nose and authenticate this bottle, then finish this journey on the rostrum fielding bids in the room and on the phone. Bringing down the hammer for a new whisky world record is a feeling I’ll never forget.“
The bottle was the first 1926 Macallan to undergo reconditioning with a new capsule, cork, and new glue on the bottle label. Macallan Master Whisky Maker Kirsteen Campbell also authenticated the whisky with a 1ml sample compared with a known 1926 sample from the Edrington archives.
The record-setting price must still be certified as a world record by Guinness World Records.
The auction was part of Sotheby’s “Weekend of Whisky,” which also featured an extensive Japanese whisky collection that brought in a total of $2.2 million.
One of the highlights of this week’s New Brunswick Spirits Festival was the food and whisky pairings created by The Spirited Chef, Taylore Darnell. She… Read More
One of the highlights of this week’s New Brunswick Spirits Festival was the food and whisky pairings created by The Spirited Chef, Taylore Darnell. She and the staff at the Delta Fredericton created spirited breakfasts, lunches, and dinners featuring unique combinations of food and whisky. We’ll talk with Chef Taylore about matching food to whisky and how our senses perceive those combinations on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, there’s a new world record for the most expensive bottle of whisky ever sold at auction, and American single malt makers are still waiting for an official definition for their whiskies.
Balcones Distilling in Waco helped put Texas whiskey on the map when it opened in 2008, and this past weekend, the distillery marked it’s 15th… Read More
Balcones Distilling in Waco helped put Texas whiskey on the map when it opened in 2008, and this past weekend, the distillery marked it’s 15th anniversary with a rain-soaked party. We spent the weekend in Waco for the celebration, and sat down with longtime head distiller Jared Himstedt to get answers to some of your questions. In the news, whisky cask investment schemes in the UK are coming under scrutiny, while a charity auction to benefit victims of the recent Irish floods has raised nearly €35,000.
Actor Sam Heughan is best known for his starring role on TV’s “Outlander,” but he’s a whisky lover, too. Sam started his own whisky brand,… Read More
Actor Sam Heughan is best known for his starring role on TV’s “Outlander,” but he’s a whisky lover, too. Sam started his own whisky brand, The Sassenach, and he’ll join us on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth to talk about his love for whisky. We’ll also hear from the new master distiller at Angel’s Envy, Owen Martin. He’s just unveiled this year’s Angel’s Envy Cask Strength releases, a Bourbon, and for the first time, a Rye. In the news, Pernod Ricard is planning a new distillery on Islay, while Compass Box wants to build one in the Highlands.
The biennial Distillers’ One of One auction held Thursday at Hopetoun House near Edinburgh shattered pre-auction estimates, with bids totaling £2,248,750 ($2,715,815 USD), more than… Read More
The biennial Distillers’ One of One auction held Thursday at Hopetoun House near Edinburgh shattered pre-auction estimates, with bids totaling £2,248,750 ($2,715,815 USD), more than double the pre-auction estimate. Distillers and bottlers contributed 39 one-of-a-kind items for the auction, which benefits The Distillers’ Charity Youth Action Fund and was managed by Sotheby’s.
The high bid came for the Bowmore STAC 55 Years Old, the oldest Bowmore ever released by the distillery. The bidding ended at £562,500, beating the pre-auction estimates of £300-500,000. The Brora Iris 50 Years Old 1972 set an auction record for Broras with a high bid of £400,000. In all, 19 separate records for various distilleries were set during the day’s bidding.
Several whiskies made their debut during the auction, including Dhavall Gandhi’s initial release of Kandoblanc AGA, which sold for £45,000. In addition, The Last Drop contributed a blending session allowing the winning bidder to create their own Scotch Whisky, bringing a winning bid of £60,000.
The biennial auctions have raised £4.2 million for the Youth Action Fund, which supports disadvantaged young people in Scotland. In a statement, Jonathan Driver of The Distillers One of One called the auction a resounding success.
We’ll have a double feature on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth, as Diageo’s Dr. Stuart Morrison joins us to detail this year’s Special Releases series –… Read More
We’ll have a double feature on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth, as Diageo’s Dr. Stuart Morrison joins us to detail this year’s Special Releases series – including a Lagavulin finished in tequila casks – and Donnis Todd of Texas’s Garrison Brothers Distillery gives us a preview of this year’s Cowboy Bourbon. It’s an uncut, unfiltered whopper of a Bourbon at 70.45% ABV! In the news, the TTB avoids being caught up in a U.S. government shutdown after Congress passed a short-term budget extension. Kentucky regulators want to shut down two of the state’s biggest buyers and sellers of vintage spirits over liquor law violations, and Scotch Whisky tourism has recovered from the pandemic.
Women still face huge barriers to equality within the whisky industry, according to a new survey from the Our Whisky Foundation. The survey found high… Read More
Women still face huge barriers to equality within the whisky industry, according to a new survey from the Our Whisky Foundation. The survey found high levels of unconscious bias and sexual harassment along with a perceived lack of respect for women working in the industry. We’ll discuss the survey’s findings with Becky Paskin of the Our Whisky Foundation on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Heaven Hill’s new Bardstown distillery reached a major milestone this week, while the Bourbon Women honored this year’s Women in Whisky Award winners.
