George T. Stagg Packaged in a Vintage Four Roses Box, Pappy Van Winkle 23 Year Among Myriad Rare Bourbons at 2023 Art of Bourbon Auction
The 2023 Art of Bourbon Auction is happening this month. (Images: Speed Art Museum)
On Sept. 12, Louisville, Kentucky’s Speed Art Museum announced the whiskey lineup for its annual Art of Bourbon auction, which will be held 7:15-8:45 p.m. EST. Sept. 26, both virtually and in-person at the museum.
The auction comprises 35 lots, including expensive whiskeys, exclusive experiences and more.
Tickets to attend the auction in-person are priced at $300 and include a cocktail hour, bourbon tastings and a seated dinner with a bourbon-inspired menu.
Well-known bourbon critic Fred Minnick curates the auction.
“Since 2018, I’ve worked closely with the Speed to auction the rarest whiskey bottles and experiences ever, raising more than $1.2 million dollars for this institution,” bourbon critic Fred Minnick, who curates the auction, said in a news release. “These rare whiskeys can make a huge impact on one of our country’s best art museums. We have the vintage and rare, and the new and unique. These sort of in-the-know bourbons don’t come up very often.”
All proceeds from the auction support education programs and exhibitions at the Speed.
Whiskey Highlights Selling at the 2023 Art of Bourbon Auction
The 16-year-old George T. Stagg was bottled in 1928, at which time it was under the leadership of Albert Blanton, whose name you likely know from Blanton’s Bourbon. Surprisingly, this Stagg bottle is presented in a Four Roses box, the explanation being that Four Roses had developed the first patented tamper-proof container, which Stagg used for this whiskey.
The vintage George T. Stagg bottle is pictured in its Four Roses packaging.
Estimate: $20,000-$30,000
Pappy Van Winkle 23 Year Old is an incredibly valuable and sought-after whiskey, among the most desired in the world.
An exceedingly rare bottle of Pappy Van Winkle 23 Year Old is going under the hammer.
In December, a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle 23 Year Old sold for $52,000.
Estimate: $30,000
A.H. Hirsch 20 Year Old has been impossible to find on shelves for 25 years now, according to the museum, which describes it as “widely considered one of the best bourbons ever produced.”
Estimate: $20,000
I.W. Harper Rye is a Prohibition-era bottle distilled in 1917 at Bernheim Distillery and bottled in 1927.
Estimate: $6,000-$8,000
The auction also includes bottles and experiences from Rabbit Hole Distillery, Bardstown Bourbon Company, Green River and more.
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