This Bottle of Bourbon Just Sold for $15K at Auction

(Photo: Speed Art Museum).

A rare bottle of Van Winkle Family Reserve 15-year bourbon from the 1990s sold for $15,000 at the Speed Museum’s Art of Bourbon auction.

Pre-auction, the estimated sale of the bottle was $12,500.

The bottle was donated by Tom O’Grady, a Louisville-based executive and longtime bourbon collector who serves on the Speed Art Museum’s Board of Trustees.

“I love donating to the Speed’s auction,” O’Grady said. “It’s the perfect opportunity for my passion for bourbon to align with my ongoing support of the Louisville arts community.”

Julian P. Van Winkle III, Pappy Van Winkle’s grandson, donated several bottles of Pappy including a Pappy bottle each of 15-year and 12-year, from his personal stash.

“Making sure Pappy is included in this year’s auction supports this worthwhile cause,” Van Winkle III said.

The bottle is part of the red wax collection, which you can tell at a glance due to the red wax dripping from the cap.

“The red wax collection of Van Winkles is highly collectible and they don’t come up often,” said Fred Minnick, who curated the Speed Art Museum’s fourth annual auction.

Van Winkle bourbon is one of the most coveted and pricy you’ll find. The brand recently partnered with Wolverine to create a pair of boots featuring a heel made of bourbon barrel wood.

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