A private barrel release of 18-Year-Old Van Winkle has shattered the record for “most expensive Bourbon ever auctioned” going for a total of $107,715
There’s a new “most expensive bourbon ever auctioned” (or sold) and, surprise, surprise, it’s a bottle of Van Winkle. The private barrel release of Van Winkle 18-year-old Bourbon for Binny’s sold for $107,715 (after taxes and fees), breaking the previous record of $100,100 held by Very Very Old Fitzgerald Blackhawk 18, a historic 1969 release also bottled at 18 years and a similar proof.
Bottled at 60.8% ABV and distilled on June 10, 1985, the rare Van Winkle Special Reserve was bottled in 2003 for Chicago’s beverage depot Binny’s and originally retailed for $119.99. The unfiltered, barrel-proof Stitzel-Weller Bourbon, known by whiskey enthusiasts as “Binny’s 18,” has become a crown jewel for bourbon aficionados and collectors. While the actual number of bottles in existence remains unknown, it is believed that just 80 to 100 bottles were released–many of which are expected to have been consumed upon purchase.
The bottle set the new record as the highest-selling 750ml post-Prohibition Bourbon bottle ever sold last month on Unicorn Auctions. The winning bid was actually $86,000, but climbed to north of $107k after 15% buyer’s premium and a 10.25% tax. The sale is the first time any major auction house has hosted a Van Winkle 18-year-old Special Reserve Bourbon from Binny’s.
“We’re excited to set a new standard with the sale of this legendary bottle,” says Phil Mikhaylov, CEO of Unicorn Auctions. “This record-breaking moment not only showcases the passion collectors have for the rarest finds but also reinforces Unicorn as the ultimate destination for discovering and trading the world’s most coveted spirits. This is just the beginning of what’s to come both across the US and internationally.”
Other Most Expensive Whiskeys
Unicorn also played home to the highest sale for a Bourbon of any size in history, but that release was significantly larger as a six-liter bottle of 1982 Buffalo Trace Old Fashioned Copper Bourbon sold for $154,000.
Bourbon is yet to reach the multi-million dollar marks that collectors have spent purchasing the most expensive bottles of whiskey or whisky ever sold. That title is currently held by a bottle from Craft Irish Whiskey that came as part of a seven-piece set with Fabergé, which sold earlier this year for $2.8 million. Though that title is considered controversial, since it’s not purely liquid focused.
The actual most expensive bottle of whisky title belongs to a bottle of the almost mythical Macallan 1926 Adami, which was sold in November 2023 at a Sotheby’s auction for $2,714,250.
