Some of the World’s Rarest Bourbon Is Going Up for Sale Tonight, Here’s How to Get Your Hands on It

Get your bids ready.

They call rare whiskies “unicorns.” But the ability to procure exceptional bourbon and rye, while also benefiting a good cause, is something even more magical. And tonight, you’re afforded the opportunity to do both.

From 7:15 p.m. - 8:45 p.m. EST, the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Kentucky, is hosting an online auction featuring some of the most cherished examples of American whiskey ever brought to bottle, with all the proceeds going to support education programs and exhibitions at the institution. It’s free to enter the bidding as long as you register at artofbourbon.org before the start of the event. Here’s a rundown of what you’ll be competing for once the lots go live…

The biggest prize of the bunch is undoubtedly a very special bottling of Pappy Van Winkle 23 Year Old. This particular label of Kentucky straight bourbon needs no introduction being that it’s the most collectible American whiskey on the planet. In fact, a single bottle of the liquid sold at auction last year for a whopping $52,000.

Related: This Bottle of Pappy Van Winkle Just Sold for a Record-Breaking $52,000

But here’s the thing: this isn’t just a Pappy 23. This is the Pappy 23. It’s from the first batch of the liquid ever produced, bottled in 1998, the same year that Julian Van Winkle III introduced his now-legendary lineup of wheated bourbons. The whiskey is presented under a gold wax topper, which the brand did away with back in 2005. The estimated minimum bid is $30,000.

Joining Pappy on the block is a 20-year-old expression of A.H. Hirsch. Bourbon enthusiasts know it as one of the most stunning — and frustratingly elusive — iterations of American whiskey ever brought to market. The 91.6-proof liquid, distilled in the spring of 1974, is expected to sell for at least $20,000. And that might read as a bargain compared to what’s likely to be fetched by a remarkably obscure edition of George T. Stagg. This one was distilled sometime before 1917, bottled in 1928, and is presented in a tamper-proof container from that era.

Another showstopper up for sale tonight is a Prohibition-era offering of I.W. Harper Rye. Produced at the historic Bernheim Distillery over a century ago, it’s prized for its unique vintage and unusual mashbill; rye was rarely ever bottled at this particular facility. It could be yours for as little as $6,000.

If you happen to be in Louisville this evening, you can purchase tickets to the in-person event for $300. It includes bourbon tastings, a seated dinner, and front-row access to the 35 lots going under the hammer. Now in its sixth year, the event has raised over $1.2 million for the institution through these annual auctions. 

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