Current/Recent Bonhams Whiskey Auction

[Rockefeller]

Scroll down for the hammer prices. PVW15 and 20 ... wow wow WOW! The ORWV23 Decanter seems like a relative steal at $5712

Bonhams April Whiskey Auction

[qman22]

I believe this is the guy that bought all the Bonham's Van Winkle. I don't know who else would do that.

http://youtu.be/GlYEVu-F_to

[kjbeggs]

so, I've been sippin' on some $2000 whiskey? Who knew? It'll taste so much better now that I'm aware...

[garbanzobean]

Reading through that list has made me enjoy whiskey a little less.

[GaryT]

It shows that some people will pay anything for a bottle (and I suspect that some of the folks bidding in these auctions have sums of money such that a few grand isn't something their accountants even notice when balancing the books - like pennies in my couch cushions).

[MyOldKyDram]

What it shows is that I should sell every durned thing I have and simply live off of 4R private selections and gs bottles.

[smknjoe]

Shhhh!...........

[humchan2k]

Like PT Barnum NEVER said "A fool and his money are soon parted," but still....$300+ for a BTEC is absurdity.

[DBM]

Someone unloaded their GTS vertical. Crazy prices on all things bourbon, that is a very worrisome sign. It's unfortunate that the distillers aren't capturing any of the aftermarket value, but as smart businessmen (and women) they are going to raise the price for everyone, not just the people at auctions with more money than brains.

[Restaurant man]

Someone unloaded their GTS vertical. Crazy prices on all things bourbon, that is a very worrisome sign. It's unfortunate that the distillers aren't capturing any of the aftermarket value, but as smart businessmen (and women) they are going to raise the price for everyone, not just the people at auctions with more money than brains.

[Clavius]

Thanks for sharing this. Absolutely fascinating.

[KyleCBreese]

I certainly do not believe in flipping bottles, but if you have 20+ bottles of something that you paid retail, you'd be crazy not to sell a few of them simply to cover your expenses.

[squire]

Just points out a couple of things, auctions are not necessarily a place to find a bargain but may well be the place to sell your stash.

[garbanzobean]

Just points out a couple of things, auctions are not necessarily a place to find a bargain but may well be the place to sell your stash.

Definitely a true statement. I find the list to be disheartening for what is probably a silly reason: I got into whisk(e)y because it is good old fashioned lighthearted fun (and also easier to consume responsibly, at least for me). Especially bourbon and the bourbon nerd community. I look down that list, and all I see is srs bizniz.

[wadewood]

Those prices are crazy, but do consider how much Bonham takes. The buyer pays a 15% buyers premium and I've heard Bonham's take 20-25% from seller, plus the cost ship it to auction.

[NWBourbonDrinker]

Reading through that list has made me enjoy whiskey a little less.

Doesn't alter my enjoyment of whiskey one way or another. Some people (I am looking at you BX flippers), not so much.

[jvd99]

We could all have millions of dollars in liquid assets in a few years at this rate!

[sutton]

Auctions are fad, scarcity and luxury - "normal" pricing has little to do with it.

1982 Ch. Lafite Rothschild sells between $3600 and $4500 a bottle. It was released at $41; inflation adjusted it would be $99. Not a bad investment if you bought it and cellared it properly. Return between 36X and 45X compared to the S&P 500 over the same period of about 15X.

An equivalent quality recent vintage is 2010 - it is going for about $1500 a bottle, 15 times what it would have cost if inflation were the only consideration. Limited capacity to produce, exploding demand worldwide, perceived luxury good purchasing status, etc.

High end wine prices will never again see "normal" pricing and one could argue that as wonderful as many of the high high end can be, there are many at 1/100th the price that would be difficult to differentiate in blind tastings (sound familiar, my fellow lower- mid-shelf bourbon buyers?)

If whisk(e)y demand isn't a fad, I'm afraid that what we complain about in the BX/auction/flipper market is just a temporary arbitrage opportunity that will eventually find its way in higher prices from distillery to distributor, and distributor to retailer. Perhaps another period of over supply may occur, but other than the lower end of the wine market (the "fighting varietal" segment), that has never happened on the top end of the market to any significant degree and only in sub-standard vintages.

So what you don't drink, pay careful attention to the provenance - you could be sitting on those 1982 Ch. Lafite's of tomorrow, and whiskey is much more tolerant to the vagaries of aging than wine.

[BonVivant84]

Auctions are fad, scarcity and luxury - "normal" pricing has little to do with it.

1982 Ch. Lafite Rothschild sells between $3600 and $4500 a bottle. It was released at $41; inflation adjusted it would be $99. Not a bad investment if you bought it and cellared it properly. Return between 36X and 45X compared to the S&P 500 over the same period of about 15X.

An equivalent quality recent vintage is 2010 - it is going for about $1500 a bottle, 15 times what it would have cost if inflation were the only consideration. Limited capacity to produce, exploding demand worldwide, perceived luxury good purchasing status, etc.

High end wine prices will never again see "normal" pricing and one could argue that as wonderful as many of the high high end can be, there are many at 1/100th the price that would be difficult to differentiate in blind tastings (sound familiar, my fellow lower- mid-shelf bourbon buyers?)

If whisk(e)y demand isn't a fad, I'm afraid that what we complain about in the BX/auction/flipper market is just a temporary arbitrage opportunity that will eventually find its way in higher prices from distillery to distributor, and distributor to retailer. Perhaps another period of over supply may occur, but other than the lower end of the wine market (the "fighting varietal" segment), that has never happened on the top end of the market to any significant degree and only in sub-standard vintages.

So what you don't drink, pay careful attention to the provenance - you could be sitting on those 1982 Ch. Lafite's of tomorrow, and whiskey is much more tolerant to the vagaries of aging than wine.

Ehhh. Fuck it. I'm just going to drink it all. :grin: The only thing that my bunker is full of, is an investment in my future good times.

[BFerguson]

Straight up nuts. I looked over the results during lunch today. Jaw dropped and people came by the office to see what I was yelling about.

If this isn't the peak, it's going to be freaking nuts in the future.

Seriously, Vintage 17 for $450?? I don't get it.

B

[Brisko]

Oh that's nothing. Four Roses BLENDED whiskey for $178.

at least vintage 17 is drinkable.

[squire]

Blended Four Roses is drinkable if the alternatives are Thunderbird or Night Train Express.

[Brisko]

I have some Sterno I could list for the next auction.

[PaulO]

There was a huge firearms collection auctioned off in Indy a few months ago. I went, but decided not to stay when I could find no parking. I said to myself "there will be no good deals here today". Later, I saw some of the prices, and was glad I didn't waste all day there. I think sometimes people don't even realize they overpaid, unless they try to re-sell the item. For the whiskey auction, I guess if some one wants a specific bottle, and this is their only way. Maybe it's worth it to them. I'm not so optimistic these buyers would ever get much of that money back, if they change their mind in the future.

[petrel800]

Am I the only one that looked at the results and then looked at the bunker and thought of the Dave Chapel Show . . . "I'm rich biaxxx!" Ha!