SECURE WHISKEY STORAGE • NEXT DAY DELIVERY • ONE-TO-ONE SERVICE • ONLINE TASTING EVENTS
At the end of last year, a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle 23-Year-Old Family Reserve sold for a staggering $52,500 at auction. This record-breaking price even surprised auctioneers, with Jonny Fowle, Sotheby’s head of whisky and spirits, North America and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), commenting that it went “far beyond anyone’s expectations” as a bidding war took place between two collectors, sending the price 16 times over its pre-auction estimate.
"Synonymous with enthusiasts, whiskeys bottled under the Van Winkle brand have gone on to become amongst the most highly rated and sought-after, gathering an almost cult-like following," Sotheby's shared in a statement. "Many of those were distilled at the old Stitzel-Weller Distillery, opened on Derby Day in 1935, which went on to create some of the finest and most sought-after bourbons ever produced before its closure in the early 1990s, with production moving to the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort."
The 23-Year-Old Family Reserve wasn’t the only Pappy Van Winkle to fetch impressive prices. It’s reported that 14 bottles sold for more than estimated, raking in nearly $400,000 for the beloved bourbon brand.
By the end of 2022, whisky sales at Sotheby’s in New York doubled from US$5.4m in 2021 to US$11.9m. Fowle says, “The auction marked a remarkable end to a year that has seen prices soar for American whiskey at Sotheby’s.”
In March 2022, a selection of Bourbon and rye whiskeys fetched US$1.63m at Sotheby’s, breaking the record for the most valuable auction of American whiskeys ever held.
So what do these results say about the bourbon market?
Within the whisky category, bourbon was the most popular whisky subcategory on the online ordering platform Drizly, accounting for a 39 per cent share of whisky sales in 2022.
Brandy Rand, the chief strategy officer for the IWSR Drinks Market Analysis, says, “Bourbon has been on an upward growth trajectory and continued to grow year-on-year in both volume and value terms even during the pandemic.” She adds, “The continued rise of cocktail culture has helped broaden the appeal of the category to more consumers as well.”
Rand explains how the bourbon market has changed in recent years, “A lot of brands that used to be relatively easy to buy are now on allocation,” she says. “This is due to both supply issues as well as consumer demand for popular brands that have a reputation for quality and value. Consumers are more educated on the bourbon category and are looking to explore across the brands they know as well as to discover new brands. Limited releases are also driving more interest fuelled by social media and scarcity, more and more bourbon fans are looking to get bottles that no one else can.”
As consumers begin to view high-end bourbon as a luxury, its value is expected to rise significantly in years to come. So, ladies and gents, we’re pleased to tell you the “Bourbon Boom” is finally here.
If you’re interested in knowing more about investing in the future of bourbon with our bourbon casks, please do come and visit us in our flagship store at the Royal Exchange; alternatively, please email us at info@tfandr.com
Main Image: Courtesy of Sotheby’s
