Taking Tastings From A Whiskey Auction

Sampling Prime Choices From The Biggest Single Whisk(e)y Auction Lot Ever

By Andrew Graham

Whisky Auctioneer, a Scotland-based platform for buying and selling whisky and other spirits on the secondary market, held a private tasting October 15th call attention to the the auction of “Pat’s Whiskey Collection,” billed as the largest private gathering of bottles ever put on the block. This was held after the auction was over, but by tasting five prominent labels from the 9,000 bottles and 2,000-plus miniatures that were part of the consignment, Whisky Auctioneer was showcasing what comes under their online gavel.

The auction included a near-complete collection of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, sought-after Pappy Van Winkle bottlings, and the 1974 A.H. Hirsch Reserve, a legendary bourbon that is the subject of an entire book. The owner of the collection is an anonymous whiskey collector reportedly spent 15 years assembling his treasure trove, and described the bourbon and American whiskey segments as the “heart and soul” of the collection.

The 9,000 bottles and sundries were organized into 636 lots and brought in a total “hammer price” of £376,183. Some highlights: Old Rip Van Winkle 23 year old Family Selection / Stitzel-Weller (£8,000 hammer price), Eagle Rare 20 year old Double Eagle Very Rare 2019 Release (£6,400 hammer price),  Old Rip Van Winkle Delilah’s 10th Anniversary (£6,400 hammer price), Michter’s 25 year old Single Barrel Rye 2014 (£6,200 hammer price), and Whistlepig 12 year old Single Barrel Rye – The Boss Hog 1st Edition (£4,500 hammer price).

Fred Minnick, the noted whiskey writer and expert, hosted the after-the-fact tasting along with Joe Wilson, head of auction content at Whisky Auctioneer. Minnick said in a statement, “Pat’s American Whiskey collection is a contemporary gold mine of ridiculously hard-to-find rare bourbons and ryes, ranging from nearly every bottle of the Buffalo Trace Experimental series to the coveted 1974 Van Winkle exports. It is one of the strongest collections I’ve seen in my 15-year career; near every bottle is allocated and impossible to find.”

Diving into examples of such rare American whiskeys was exactly the kind of experience you might imagine:

Very Olde St. Nick Lot 15 Ancient Cask Bourbon / KBD: The Very Olde St Nick brand is owned by InterBev, a subsidiary of Allied Lomar in California. Its president, Marci Palatella, was Julian Van Winkle III’s agent in the Japanese market back in the day, and she’s been sourcing barrels and bottling them for several decades. The Very Olde St Nick brand was initially meant to capitalize on the Japanese demand for well-aged bourbon.

At this time, however, Van Winkle did not have a wealth of aged stock in his warehouses, and Palatella instead turned to Kentucky Bourbon Distillers (KBD), which bottled Olde St Nick throughout the 1990s and early 2000s at the then-silent Willett distillery in Bardstown. Eventually, Palatella procured from United Distillers a number of aging casks that Union no longer had any interest in. Much of it was placed into steel tanks and warehoused in California to prevent any further maturation.

When KBD fired up the still at Willett again in 2012, they began sourcing less casks from elsewhere, reserving the best stock for their own Willett Family Reserve label. Essentially cut off, the production of Very Olde St Nick moved to California where some of the tanked Stitzel-Weller casks were bottled.

On the nose of this bourbon, I found charred orange and candy corn, and the flavor offered luscious notes of polished oak, vanilla bean, and a sherry-like sweetness. A classic, well-developed bourbon.

Jack Daniel’s 150th Anniversary: This special-edition Jack Daniel’s is a limited bottling released to celebrate the distillery’s 150th anniversary in 2016. I imagine the mash bill here is the same as the Jack Daniel’s mainstay No.7 line, which is 80 percent corn, 12 percent rye, and 8 percent barley. The 150th Anniversary bottling comes out of slow-toasted barrels that were aged high up in the barrel house.

This no-age-statement bottling gave me a nose heavy with banana and maple syrup, and then a rush of oaky sweetness that features rich vanilla, almond extract, some black pepper, and more maple syrup.

Old Fitzgerald ‘1849’: This label was introduced in the early 1970s and is named 1849 after the year in which W.L. Weller & Sons was founded. It is the Heaven Hill version, distilled at Bernheim and bottled in 2012.

It has quite a story. Bernheim, a historic Kentucky distillery, was established by the Bernheim Brothers in the late 19th century before passing into the hands of the Schenley company following the repeal of Prohibition. When Schenley was bought by United Distillers in 1987, the distillery was rebuilt. Then, when United Distillers became Diageo in 1997, the new parent company sold the distillery to Heaven Hill.

This expression, which isn’t marked with an age statement but is between four and five years old, had initial aromas of hay and vanilla, and a nose that was more sweet than earthy. This has the flavor notes you’d associate with a classic bourbon–very prominent vanilla and oak notes, with some honey–and then some, finishing with an agave flavor and some walnut-like astringency.

Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye 2019: The first Thomas H. Handy rye was bottled in 2006 as part of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, a selection of whiskies collated and in some cases created to pay homage to the history of the company and its brands. This six-year-old expression released last year was bottled at the cast-proof ABV of 62.85%.

First offering a nose of fresh mint, this expression gave me flavor notes of herbs, white pepper, roasted red pepper, and more mint. Which is all great, but this expression will forever remain in my mind for having one specific and unusual flavor note that I couldn’t shake: fresh oregano. This is probably the best rye I’ve had in some time, and it is definitely the most unique. For me, it was the highlight of this tasting.

Van Winkle 12 Year Old Special Reserve Lot B: The 12 year old Special Reserve is one of the original products bottled by Julian Van Winkle III at his facility in Lawrenceburg, KY. He first bottled it in 1991, using 1979 vintage Stitzel-Weller bourbon, a one-time release called ‘Lot A.’

The subsequent and inaugural release of the Lot B was bottled the same year, and has been a permanent part of the range ever since. This release was distilled at Buffalo Trace.

I found a fruit-forward nose of dried peach and dried apricot, with some ripe red fruit detectable. The flavor was fruity and had a bit of funk to it: More apricots, with notes of orange and apple juice, apple peel, and a touch of umami earthiness.