Oldest Bottle of Pappy Van Winkle 25 Year Bourbon For Sale
You can’t put a price on a fine spirit like the Old Rip Van Winkle 25 Year Old Decanter Bourbon – but someone just did! On December 9, 2023 some of the most rare Pappy Van Winkle bourbon hit the market and was up for grabs to the highest bidder. At Sotheby’s auction house, you could buy Old Rip Van Winkle 25 Year Old Decanter for sale. Nonetheless, only one lucky bidder would be leaving with this highly coveted bourbon to make its new home in their favorite bourbon tasting glass! Well, on their bar cart or shelves at least.
Old Rip Van Winkle 25 Year Old Decanter 1989 Vintage
This expression of an incredibly rare private bottling of Old Rip Van Winkle 25 Year Old bourbon was distilled in the Spring and Fall of 1989. It is the “Pappy of Pappys,” because it is the rarest and oldest Van Winkle whiskey ever released. This distillate was the product of Julian Van Winkle III from the legendary Stitzel-Weller Distillery, just south of Louisville, Kentucky. This run of wheated bourbon, which the Van Winkle family embraced and helped scribe this distillery in bourbon lore forever, was some of the last whiskey made before it closed down in 1992.
After maturing in freshly charred white oak cask for 25 years, the juice was moved to stainless steel tanks to prevent over-oaking. It was then bottled and offered for sale in 2014, with an allocation of only 710 bottles available. This Old Rip Van Winkle 25 Year bottle for sale is bottle no 479 of 710. This bottle code: B1707508:48N includes the Glencairn crystal stopper and certificate of authenticity signed by Julian Van Winkle III. The unique bottle also comes in a wooden box for those collectors who want to keep it hidden away for a little while longer. The Pappy 25 Year inside comes in at 100 proof or 50% ABV.
SEE ALSO: Pappy Van Winkle 23 Year Bourbon Sells for $52,000 at Auction
How much for Old Rip Van Winkle 25 Year Old Decanter?
This ultra rare offering of Old Rip Van Winkle 25 Year Old Decanter bottle auction closed on December 9, 06:27 PM CST and sold for a closing bid of $37,500. It was estimated to bring $20,000 to $30,000, so it showed a strong demand and surpassed expectations.
Whisky & Whiskey – Festive Spirits and American Classics Auction
The Whisky & Whiskey – Festive Spirits and American Classics auction featured a collection of “some of America’s rarest whiskeys that only surface once in a blue moon,” said Sotheby’s spirits specialist Zev Glesta. It featured some whiskeys that were private bottlings, or specifically made for private parties. Other whiskeys featured were set to be exports for the European and Japanese markets. Therefore, this was the first time many of these bottles have been made available to the public.
The auction feature other bottles of Pappy Van Winkle for sale, including a couple of Van Winkle Special Reserve 19 Year Old Corti Brothers private selection from the 1980s. Darrell Corti was the owner of a gourmet grocery store in Sacramento, CA. In a time where demand for bourbon was low, unlike today’s red hot market, Corti was a strong supporter of Pappy. Those days are long gone, presumably like this private selection picked back in the 80s. However, two bottles of these old dusties were offered for sale. One was a Van Winkle Special Reserve 19 Year Old Corti Brothers 45.7 ABV from 1975 which sold for $20,000. A second bottle of Van Winkle Special Reserve 19 Year Old Corti Brothers 90.4 Proof sold for $22,500.
SEE ALSO: Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon Release
Congratulations to each of the lucky winners, and remember to check back frequently for our bourbon calendar release, and new bourbon raffles and sweepstakes to ensure your best odds at filling your bourbon tumbler with the finest whiskey possible!
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