FIRST NEW YORK SPIRITS AUCTION SINCE PROHIBITION A GRAND SUCCESS AT CHRISTIES

Christie’s conducted the first auction of spirits to be held in New York since Prohibition. A large crowd gathered in the Christie’s saleroom at Rockefeller Center to watch this historic moment in auction history, and the total for the 100-lot selection of fine and rare whiskies, cognac, armagnac, calvados and Chartreuse fetched an excellent $304,800.

Richard Brierley, Head of Wine Sales, Christie’s Americas, says: “We are delighted that our decision to hold the first spirits auction in New York since Prohibition has been met with such an enthusiastic response from bidders across the world. The selection for some of the finest spirits sourced from some of the best collections in America fetched a very satisfying total, illustrating the potential for spirits sales here in New York City.”

The top single-bottle lot of the day was a 1926 Macallan, which sold for an outstanding $54,000 and became the most expensive bottle of scotch ever sold by Christie’s anywhere in the world. Bottled in 1986 after spending a remarkable sixty years in wood barrel, the bottle was expected to fetch between $20,000 to $30,000. It was bought by a New York private collector.

Another notable price was realized for the Scottish whisky Superlot: an incredible one-time offering of single malts, vatted and blended whiskies that offered any buyer an instant comprehensive Scotch library. Sold for $102,000 to an anonymous buyer, the lot included 729 bottles and averaged $140 a bottle for the entire collection.

Elsewhere in the sale, a bottle of straight rye whiskey made from George Washington’s recipe for the first time in 200 years at the George Washington Distillery at Historic Mount Vernon in 2003 fetched $6,000 – and a bottle of Grande Fine Champagne Napoléon Cognac 1812 realized $3,600. A collection of 16 bottles of Erté Cognac also performed well, selling for a total of $36,000.

Christie’s International Wine Department is the leading global fine wine auctioneer, with nine sale locations around the world and a dedicated team of specialists across Europe and North America. Christie’s remains the only international wine auctioneer to sell on both sides of the United States – and in Europe, the only auction house to hold regular sales outside London.

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