The 25 Most Expensive Whiskey Bottles Ever Sold at Auction

Very Very Old Fitzgerald “Blackhawk” 18 Year Old made its auction debut at Unicorn, but by the time it arrived in Sotheby’s Great American Whiskey Collection, this bourbon saw a significant increase in value. The whiskey is a private bottling for the Wirtz family, owners of the NFL’s Chicago Blackhawks, of a vintage 1950 bourbon distilled at the historic Stitzel-Weller Distillery, aged for 18 years, and bottled at 121 proof. Its vintage and the fact that the bottle actually contains bourbon distilled at this revered distillery helped push the hammer price close to 100 grand.

Price: $90,000
Date: January 24, 2026 at Sotheby’s
Style: Bourbon

Bowmore released this 52-year-old vintage 1968 single malt in 2022. But it wasn’t just the quality of this ultra-aged whisky that made it stand out—it was also the stunning decanter it came in. The design of this futuristic vessel was a collaboration with Aston Martin, so the shape of the crystal bottle and the metal topper are meant to evoke the style of this luxury automobile brand. Just 100 bottles were released of this first edition, followed by an older 54-year-old a few years later.

Price: $102,660
Date: February 6, 2023 at the Whisky Auctioneer
Style: Single Malt Scotch

The whiskey in this bottle was distilled in 1982, back when Buffalo Trace was known as the George T. Stagg Distillery. It was aged for 19 years and then put into stainless steel vats for more than two decades, something that distilleries occasionally do to hold onto whiskey while preventing it from further maturing in wood. It was finally bottled in 2022 as part of Buffalo Trace’s highly-coveted O.F.C. collection, and sold for more than $120,000 at Unicorn Auctions in 2024.

Price: $122,900
Date: June 15, 2024 at Unicorn Auctions
Style: Bourbon

This bottle of rare Old Rip Van Winkle set a record for being the highest selling bottle of post-Prohibition American whiskey at auction in March of 2025 when it sold for $125,000. It originally appeared at a charity auction in 2007 benefitting the Oscar Getz Museum of Bourbon History in Kentucky. The liquid inside is a blend of bourbon aged from 15 to 20 years, most likely distilled at the famed Stitzel-Weller Distillery (although the source is not 100 percent confirmed) and blended by Julian Van Winkle himself, and bottled at a relatively high 125.6 proof.

Price: $125,000
Date: March 21, 2025 at Sotheby’s
Style: Bourbon

In January of this year, this rare Old Rip Van Winkle expression became the most expensive bottle of American whiskey ever sold at auction. This bourbon, which was part of Sotheby’s Great American Whiskey Collection auction, was a single-barrel selection for Sam’s Wines & Spirits that was distilled in 1982 at Stitzel-Weller (well before the Buffalo Trace partnership began). It was bottled in 2003 at 133.4 proof, making it the highest proof Van Winkle release to date and adding to its value and legend.

Price: $130,000
Date: January 24, 2026 at Sotheby’s
Style: Bourbon

This bottle contains what was believed to be the world’s oldest whiskey, distilled and bottled sometime at the end of the 18th century according to carbon dating. It once belonged to Wall Street baron J.P. Morgan, who is said to have purchased the bottle while on a business trip. That was just the start of its journey, as it changed hands several times over the years and was part of a set of bottles that were owned by presidents F.D.R. and Truman. This is the only surviving bottle, and while we can’t actually say how a whiskey this old actually tastes, it certainly showed great value at auction.

Price: $137,500
Date: June 30, 2021 at Skinner Auctioneers
Style: American Whiskey

When this single malt came out in 2022, it was the oldest whisky to date from storied Speyside distillery the Macallan, which is known for its popular sherry cask-matured single malts. It was aged for a staggering 81 years in a single sherry-seasoned cask that was laid down in 1940, and came in a specially designed decanter set into a truly unique sculpture depicting hands holding the bottle up. Just 288 sets of this ultra-rare whisky were released, adding it to the pantheon of Macallan single malts that have sold for impressive amounts at auction.

Price: $162,431
Date: June 12, 2024 at the Grand Whisky Auction
Style: Single Malt Scotch

This ultra-aged Yamazaki 50-Year-Old was distilled at Suntory’s flagship distillery, Yamazaki, and aged entirely in Japanese mizunara oak. The whisky was released in three editions which arrived in 2005, 2007, and 2011. This bottle came from the 2011 run which consisted of just 150 bottles, and was housed in a special handmade wooden presentation case. The value of Yamazaki 50 would increase exponentially over the coming years, and eventually be surpassed by its even older 55-year-old sibling at auction.

Price: $184,000
Date: November 2018 at Christie’s
Style: Japanese Whisky

This ultra-aged Japanese whisky, which surpassed the 50-year-old by five years, was first released in 2020 by the House of Suntory. It’s a blend of single malts distilled in 1960 and 1964 that were aged in both Japanese mizunara oak and American white oak. Shingo Torii, grandson of Shinjiro and Suntory’s current master blender, was responsible for the final blend of this ultra-rare whisky. This bottle, part of a run of just 100, set a record for Unicorn Auctions when it sold for more than $200,000 in 2024.

Price: $210,000
Date: June 15, 2024 at Unicorn Auctions
Style: Japanese Whisky

Just 24 bottles of this 1919 vintage single cask whisky were bottled in 1970 at Springbank, a Campbeltown distillery founded in 1828. This whisky has gone through some major ups and downs at auction over the years, but it reached an impressive hammer price nearing $300,000 in 2019 when it sold via Sotheby’s—despite the fact that it’s actually bottled at an ABV that doesn’t quite meet the legal requirement of 40 percent to be called whisky.

Price: $281,865
Date: October 24, 2019 at Sotheby’s
Style: Single Malt Scotch

This 81-year-old single malt from the Macallan, which was originally released in 2022, was the oldest whisky from the distillery to ever be bottled. That has since been surpassed by an 84-year-old expression, but the value of the Reach has continued to increase. The 2023 sale at a Sotheby’s auction saw it nearly triple in value from its original $125,000 asking price, due to its limited availability, ultra age statement, and art piece sculpture that holds up the decanter.

Price: $325,740
Date: February 2023 at Sotheby’s
Style: Single Malt Scotch

Yamazaki 50 makes a repeat appearance on this list at about triple what it sold for at auction earlier in the same year. This incredibly rare single malt from Suntory’s flagship distillery continues to be a highly coveted collector’s item, and one of the most valuable Japanese whiskies ever, as proven by the hammer price of close to $350,000 it commanded at a Bonhams auction in 2018.

Price: $343,318
Date: August 17, 2018 at Bonhams
Style: Japanese Whisky

This bottle of Japanese whisky from ghost distillery Karuizawa set an auction record when it sold in March of 2020. The oldest Karuizawa expression to have been released at the time, this is a 52-year-old 1960 vintage bottled from cask #5627 (an ex-sherry butt) that was called Zodiac Rat. Karuizawa continues to be one of the most valuable Japanese whiskies that you can find at auction to this day, based on its limited availability and dwindling stocks.

Price: $435,300
Date: March 18, 2020 at Sotheby’s
Style: Japanese Whisky

This 54-year-old single malt scotch from the Bowmore distillery, which is located on the island of Islay, was the oldest to date from the distillery at the time it was sold (that record has since been matched by the release of ARC-54). Just 12 bottles of this whisky were released that were nicknamed “Crashing Waves” because of the hand-blown glass decanters created by a pair of Scottish artists, which were meant to depict the Atlantic Ocean’s roiling surf.

Price: $468,488
Date: October 24, 2019 at Sotheby’s
Style: Single Malt Scotch

This ultra-aged Japanese whisky from the House of Suntory’s flagship distillery set a record when it sold at a Bonhams auction in 2020. Like the previous example on this list, this is a blend of single malts distilled in 1960 and 1964 which were aged in Japanese mizunara oak and American white oak before being married together and bottled. Ultra-aged Yamazaki continues to be some of the most valuable whisky at auction outside of rare expressions from the Macallan.

Price: $645,125
Date: August 21, 2020 at Bonhams
Style: Japanese Whisky

Bottles from ghost distillery Karuizawa continue to be some of the most valuable Japanese whiskies you can find outside of the ultra-high age statements from Yamazaki. Such is the case with Treasure Ship, a 52-year-old single malt from cask number 5627 (a sherry hogshead) that is one of just 41 bottles in existence. This bottle was housed in a wooden case modeled after Japanese puzzle boxes, and its label was etched by a master calligrapher, adding to its value.

Price: $797,000
Date: May 30, 2026 at Bonhams
Style: Japanese Whisky

This is the first example of a run of very impressive auction sales from the Macallan’s legendary 60-year-old 1926 vintage series. Just 40 bottles were produced when it was bottled in 1986 from a single cask, some with unique labels created by a specific artist. The Peter Blake version, which was one of a set of 12, sold for about a million dollars in 2018 (Blake was the artist who designed a few Beatles’ album covers, like Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band).

Price: $1,000,000
Date: May 18, 2018 at Bonhams
Style: Single Malt Scotch

This Yamazaki 50-Year-Old became the most valuable bottle of Japanese whisky in the world when it sold at a Bonhams auction last month for more than a million dollars. It was distilled at Suntory’s flagship distillery, and was one of three editions that were released in 2005, 2007, and 2011. But this version stood out from the rest for being a custom bottling produced for the members-only Club Natsume in Nagoya, Japan.

Price: $1,050,000
Date: May 30, 2026 at Christie’s
Style: Japanese Whisky

This represents the Valerio Adami edition of the Macallan 1926, with a label created by the Italian artist in 1993. This collection of 12 bottles has clearly attained legendary status, and this particular set of Macallan 1926 is even more valuable because one bottle was thought to be destroyed in a Japanese earthquake in 2011. The sale of this bottle at the Whisky Auctioneer auction proved that its value has only increased over time, a trend that would continue over the years.

Price: $1,072,000
Date: February 17, 2020 at the Whisky Auctioneer
Style: Single Malt Scotch

This sale set another benchmark for the Macallan Valerio Adami 60 Year Old 1926, a single malt from the famed Speyside distillery that would sell for more than a million dollars in 2018. This is one of 40 bottles produced, and one of just 12 that featured labels painted by Italian artist Valerio Adami. The other artists commissioned to create labels were Michael Dillon and Peter Blake, and some were simply labeled as Fine and Rare.

Price: $1,100,000
Date: May 18, 2018 at Bonhams
Style: Single Malt Scotch

This is yet another bottling from the same series of the Macallan 1926 vintage of 60-year-old single malt scotch, with a label created by the same Italian artist as the previous two entries. But this would beat the stunning hammer price that this whisky sold for just a few months prior by just a few thousand dollars, showing that its value continues to increase as it appears at auction.

Price: $1,102,000
Date: October 3, 2018 at Bonhams
Style: Single Malt Scotch

This is another version of the same 60-year-old 1926 vintage series from the Macallan, but this one came with a label hand-painted directly onto the bottle by Irish artist Michael Dillon—and this is the only one in existence. The whiskey was aged for 60 years in cask 263, and when it sold at a Christie’s auction for about $1.5 million in 2018, it became the first bottle of whisky to break the $1 million mark.

Price: $1,530,000
Date: November 29, 2018 at Christie’s
Style: Single Malt Scotch

Like others in the series, this came from cask 263 of the 1926 vintage in the Macallan’s Fine and Rare series. The difference is that this bottle’s label was created by one of the three artists that were commissioned for many of the others—Sir Peter Blake, Michael Dillon, and Valerio Adami. There were 14 bottles that were labeled as simply “Fine and Rare,” a simplicity that added value to this iconic whisky.

Price: $1,600,000
Date: February 22, 2021 at the Whisky Auctioneer
Style: Single Malt Scotch

This bottle of the “Fine and Rare” labeled Macallan 1926 60-year-old sold at Sotheby’s for about the same amount as the Whisky Auctioneer bottle would two years later. Like that one, it did not have one of the artist-designed labels; instead, it featured the distillery’s label providing information about this rare, valuable vintage whisky.

Price: $1,600,000
Date: October 19, 2019 at Sotheby’s
Style: Single Malt Scotch

We’ve reach the pinnacle—this bottle of the Valerio Adami edition of the Macallan 1926 60 Year Old set a record for being the most expensive bottle of whisky in 2023 when it sold for about $2.3 million at a Sotheby’s auction (about $2.7 with buyer premium included), establishing a new standard for just how valuable this limited-edition single malt series is. This record stands to this day, but don’t be surprised if it’s broken sometime in the future.

Price: $2,300,000
Date: November 18, 2023 at Sotheby’s
Style: Single Malt Scotch