Sotheby's Rewrites the Record Books for American Whiskey

The Great American Whiskey Collection, comprised of 359 bottles, fetches a total hammer price of more than $2 million

January 27, 2026 –––––– Jonny McCormick, , , ,

Sotheby’s shattered auction records galore in New York on January 24th, as The Great American Whiskey Collection lived up to its name. Now the most valuable American whiskey collection ever sold at auction, its combined hammer price* of $2,003,900 (or $2,504,892 with buyer’s premiums) soared above the $1.2–$1.7 million pre-sale estimate. Old Rip Van Winkle 20 year old (distilled in 1982) for Sam’s Wines & Spirits achieved a new auction record for American whiskey, with a hammer price of $130,000 (or $162,500 with buyer’s premiums). This is the highest proof Van Winkle release in history at 133.4 proof, one of only 60 bottles created. This is the first appearance of the bottling for Sam’s to hit the auction block in over a decade.

At the podium on the Breuer Building, Jonny Fowle, Sotheby’s global head of spirits, gave an electrifying performance as the new record was set, tapping his hammer repeatedly to quiet the room as the major rarities came up, and deftly coaxing bids from collectors on the phone, online, and in the room. In a statement he said, “The enthusiasm from bidders was phenomenal, reflecting a global appreciation for American whiskey that continues to grow year after year. This exceptional auction has propelled bourbon and rye into a new stratosphere of desirability.” The results for these 319 lots, consisting of 359 bottles (one lot was withdrawn prior to the sale), is a landmark moment in American whiskey auctions, eclipsing events such as The American Muscle Collection in 2022 and The Thoroughbred Collection in 2021.

The single-owner sale covered more than a century of American whiskey releases from pre-Prohibition rarities to contemporary classics, built around a once-in-a-lifetime collection of unicorn bottles. The single cask exclusives and private label Van Winkle bottlings were highly sought after by collectors; some had never been auctioned before. Julian Van Winkle III signed the bottles ahead of the sale and appeared in a promotional video for Sotheby’s, reminiscing about the history of these labels and how they came to be bottled. The $85,000 bid for the Binny’s Van Winkle fell short of the record hammer price of $86,000 achieved by Unicorn Auctions in October 2024. The Blue Smoke bottling took a hammer price of $30,000 at Sotheby’s, nearly reaching the record $30,900 bid set at Unicorn Auctions in April 2023.

The sale also included a full set of LeNell’s Red Hook Rye and two Blackhawk bottlings of Very Very Old Fitzgerald, continuing Blackhawk’s phenomenal run of results from 2025. The 18 year old Blackhawk hammer price of $90,000 beat Unicorn Auction’s existing record of $85,200 set in October 2025. Twisted Spoke 16 year old garnered a record hammer price of $26,000, comfortably beating Sotheby’s previous best price of $19,000 and Unicorn’s record hammer price of $22,100 from October 2023. While 47 individual bottles attracted bids of up to $10,000, this was not a sale solely for wealthy collectors. The median hammer price was $2,200 per lot, with 65 individual bottles sold for less than $1,000. Sotheby’s declared 100% of the lots sold. Over half of the buyers were aged 40 or under, and 96% were based in North America.

Our 20 highest hammer prices for January will be published in early February, and you can be certain that the results from this sale will be leading the charge. Sotheby’s next scheduled New York sale of whisky and whiskey opens for bidding on April 23^rd.

*A hammer price is the successful highest bid placed by a buyer during an auction These are compared without buyers’ premiums to create a level playing field, because buyers’ premiums vary between auction houses. For example, Unicorn Auctions charge 15% of the hammer price, while Sotheby’s charges 25%.