London Bar’s Closure Leads Unexpected Gem to Auction: Rare Jack Daniel’s Whiskey From The 1940s

Bottles of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot, File)

It isn’t something one sees every day: a rare bottle of Jack Daniel’s from the 1940s heading to auction. Yet the reason behind the rare gem’s sudden appearance is growing sadly more and more common.

The American Whiskey Auction that took place online was a result of yet another London bar shuttering its doors in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Robb Report.

“The Crobar,” located in London’s trendy Soho neighborhood, opened in 2001 and shut its doors in 2020. The heavy metal bar hosted an impressive whiskey collection complete with the entire Pappy Van Winkle range, Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye —a rye whose 2020 vintage was one of the best we’ve ever tasted — and then there were the dusties.

Dusties are vintage bottles of whisky that earn their name from the layer of dust they collect from sitting on the shelf, according to Punch.

The dusties in Crobar’s collection included the rare, 6-year-old Jack Daniel’s, which has since been discontinued.

A bottle of blended Four Roses from back when the distillery was owned by Seagram’s and mostly making whiskey to be exported to Japan also was a part of the collection.

One could find a vintage bottle of Beam’s Choice — a Jim Beam expression geared towards the Italian market — in the eclectic lineup as well.

For dusty enthusiasts who wanted to travel back to the era before Prohibition, a bottle of Old Charter bottled-in-bond distilled in 1917 was also available for auction.

The bottle of Jack Daniel’s from the 1940s fetched a price of $5,000 (Photo: Whisky.Auction)

The bottles ended up fetching hefty prices, and the Jack Daniel’s sold for a winning bid of nearly $5,000. The Four Roses blended whisky sold for $1,500.

Yet, as the spirits market soars, with bottles fetching exorbitant prices at auction, London’s bar and restaurant scene struggles.

Hospitality Closures in the United Kingdom

An article published in The Drinks Business on Tuesday cited statistics from Price Bailey showing that U.K. restaurant closures have reached their highest level in a decade, with an average of five restaurants closing each day. The article cites reasons such as climbing energy costs, inflation and rising interest rates putting pressure on the already highly pressurized hospitality industry.

In May, the same outlet published an article about venues experiencing a rise in bills by about 81% on average. The difficult years of the pandemic have pushed many bars and restaurants past the breaking point.

Grace Regan, the owner of a closed restaurant in Leystone called The Spice Box, spoke to BBC about shuttering her beloved restaurant’s doors. Many of her reasons were attributed to the high costs of living following the COVID-19 Pandemic.

“Since COVID, we’ve seen about a 30% reduction in revenue… and on top of that I’ve seen a 15% increase in the costs of goods – that’s food, takeaway packaging, drinks and energy of course – that’s all impacting,” she said.

The irony is not lost that as these businesses scramble for cash and flounder, sales of exorbitantly priced scotches continue to soar in an increasingly volatile market.

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