The Priciest Bourbons And Ryes In 2018

American Whiskeys At Over $3,000 A Bottle

By Richard Thomas

Old Rip Van Winkle 25 Year Old
(Credit: Sazerac)

Although the prices commanded by ultra aged, rare American Whiskeys have not quite caught up with what a similar bottle of single malt Scotch might fetch, much has changed since the last time The Whiskey Reviewer looked at this subject, in the middle of 2015. Prices for prized expressions have risen sharply in that time, changing the landscape for rare bottles of bourbon and rye.

Two differences between this updated review of costly whiskeys and the one made 2 1/2 years ago paint the new picture in its broad strokes. First is the stark rise in prices. Our original list topped out at $3,619, a price point which would now rank as only the 8th most expensive whiskey. Although American Whiskey has only begun to catch up with Scotch Whisky in terms of how it’s dearest bottles are priced, it can now be truly said that the catch up has begun in earnest.

Another key change is that our 2015 list was dominated by whiskeys bearing the name “Van Winkle.” Now that brand has only one entry on the list, and that a one-time release rather than one of the annual limited editions. The still prized, much sought-after Pappy Van Winkle annuals have now been completely eclipsed by the truly rare whiskeys, a sure indicator that the market for collectable American Whiskeys is maturing.

This list was compiled drawing on average prices with online retailers presented by Wine-Searcher.com.

Michter’s Celebration Sour Mash
(Credit: Michter’s)

10. Parker’s Heritage 27 Year Old Small Batch Bourbon ($3,053): This is the oldest bourbon ever released in the Parker’s Heritage series, and it was also the second installment. Parker’s 27 was priced at a now modest-seeming $185 back in 2008, and, in that very different time, $185 is what most people paid for it! Interestingly, it is not the Parker’s Heritage that earned the highest marks, with some regarding it as over-aged and too woody. That it is the most expensive edition of the series just goes to show how a high age statement can trump all other considerations when it comes to whiskey.

9. Rittenhouse 25 Year Old Single Barrel Rye ($3,189): This was the last and oldest of the Rittenhouse Very Rare Single Barrel line from Heaven Hill, coming out in 2009. Over the last couple of years, the price has almost doubled.

8. Black Maple Hill 17 Year Old Single Barrel Rye ($3,749): Black Maple Hill built its mystique among whiskey fans a decade or more ago, by releasing some very well-chosen, sourced, very old bourbons and ryes in batches that added up to just a couple thousand cases combined. This is the oldest, dearest example that is actually on the market.

7. Black Maple Hill 16 Year Old Small Batch Bourbon ($4,264): See above. Ditto.

6. Michter’s Celebration Sour Mash Whiskey ($4,913): This was the priciest whiskey of them all in 2015, and now it sits in the middle of the list, having risen only $1,200 in price in the interim. The loss of standing might be because this is a periodic release, with batches of less than a few hundred having come out in 2016 and 2013. Based on some of the oldest sourced whiskeys in Michter’s inventory, it’s an odd one in that it’s retail pricing is actually pretty close to it’s market value.

5. A.H. Hirsch Finest Reserve 20 Year Old Bourbon ($5,204): In yet more proof that the age statement often matters more than what is in the bottle, this isn’t the bourbon that Chuck Cowdery famously labeled as the best ever made. That one is the 16 year old. Even so, this item should not be confused with similar knock offs that have appeared under the Hirsch name in recent years. This is the genuine article, distilled at the “Old Michter’s” distillery in Pennsylvania.

The 2017 Michter’s 25 Year Old Bourbon
(Credit: Richard Thomas)

4. Michter’s 25 Year Old Single Barrel Bourbon ($5,526): Like Celebration Sour Mash, Michter’s 25 is a periodic release, and the latest batch came out only last year. The official retail price is $800, but upon release the market value fluctuated wildly. At one point, bottles of the 2017 release had surged to $15,000! Now it has cooled off to a more reasonable level, under the $6,900 that the 2008 release was fetching prior to the new installment.

3. Very Old Fitzgerald 8 Year Old Bourbon ($5,810): So why has a merely 8 year old bourbon risen to become the third most expensive whiskey in America? Because it is now ardently sought after by diehards of the golden age of the Stitzel-Weller Distillery, the same whiskey-maker whose repute has made Pappy Van Winkle what it is today. These 1960s era bottlings reflect the golden age of Stitzel-Weller, an item made as a collector’s item and before the whiskey crash of the 1970s, from the idealized wheated bourbon stock of a legendary, defunct distillery.

2. Willett 24 Year Old Single Barrel Rye ($8,400): This is the big boy of Willett’s sourced ryes, reflecting it’s Kentucky Bourbon Distiller days, when they were the main bottlers of sourced whiskey in America. Willett 24 is also the most expensive rye on the list. A little research suggests the reason why that is the case, and not Rittenhouse or Black Maple Hill, is a simple matter of supply. Although not conclusive, the evidence available suggests there isn’t as much of this Willett out there as other pricey Ryes.

1. Old Rip Van Winkle 25 Year Old Bourbon ($14,671): The Van Winkle name might not dominate this list anymore, but it still crowns it. Released in the Spring of 2017 to great fanfare, it stands as the oldest bourbon turned out by Pappy Van Winkle. The expression is also a throwback, representing the first time in a long time that a Van Winkle whiskey has been made entirely with the Stitzel-Weller stock that made their reputation.