What's the most that you've paid for a bottle?

[Skinsfan1311]

I'm cheap.  Very cheap.  Proudly cheap.  "If it costs more than $10.00 get 3 estimates" cheap.  I'm not easily separated from my money.   You get the point.

With apologies, and all due respect,  to @mbroo5880i, I'd like to think that I'm the cheapest bastard on this board.  

 

That being said, last year, I got out of my comfort zone and paid a lot for a bottle.   In my cheap universe, I paid waaaaay too much for it.    I "won" a lottery for the chance to buy one and it was only at the urging of the great enabler,(aka Mrs. Skinsfan), that I  blew the dust & cobwebs out of the wallet and pulled the trigger.

I paid $750.00 for this bottle.        That is not a typo.   I paid $750.00 USD for a 700ml bottle of 24 year old whiskey.    It's HH pre-fire whiskey that was aged for 24 years, and vatted in SS tanks before being bottled.   You can Google it for the back-story, if you're interested in that kind of thing.   I'm scared to open it!

 

 

Edited June 28, 2023 by Skinsfan1311

[Obree]

I sometimes get carried away in auctions, and spend more than I want then, also because you tend to forget about the additional costs (commision, shipping) that can add up quickly. Paid almost 250 USD for a WT RB (old one, WT-01-97) a while ago, that may have been overdoing it a bit.......

[Richnimrod]

$250 USD at the gift shop at Heaven Hill for a bottle of Wm. Heavenhill 14-year.   I'd sampled the same barrel in a premium tasting a short while earlier, and just had to have it.   That's slightly more than the Pappy 23-I'd bought about 11-years earlier.  The Wm. H. was a way more dynamic pour!

[Clueby]

Just recently hit my PB with a bottle of Heaven Hill 20 Corn Whiskey at $300.  Had I tried it first I wouldn't have dropped that amount...or I'd have "GASP" flipped it! Prior to that my highest purchase was an Ardbeg Committee release version of Drum for $175.

[fosmith]

Way more than I wanted to pay but how do you pass on this unicorn?   $430 and no Club Card discount!  Now I have to work up the courage to open it, lol. 

[Obree]

10 minutes ago, fosmith said:

Way more than I wanted to pay but how do you pass on this unicorn?   $430 and no Club Card discount!  Now I have to work up the courage to open it, lol. 

Wow! I would likely not be able to resist this either, and I guess not many would be!

[Special Reserve]

25 minutes ago, Obree said:

Wow! I would likely not be able to resist this either, and I guess not many would be!

I'm thinking that the most I've paid was also for one of those VWFRR but it was more like $88 plus tax, many years ago.

[River Hills]

Paid $300 for a bottle of ETL for a Christmas present for my SIL.  Could NOT find it anywhere else.

[Skinsfan1311]

7 hours ago, Richnimrod said:

$250 USD at the gift shop at Heaven Hill for a bottle of Wm. Heavenhill 14-year.   I'd sampled the same barrel in a premium tasting a short while earlier, and just had to have it.   That's slightly more than the Pappy 23-I'd bought about 11-years earlier.  The Wm. H. was a way more dynamic pour!

 A buddy of mine snagged one for $250.00 as well, after we did the premium tasting.  They had a couple, but I was too cheap to buy one.   I can't remember what year,....I think it was 2019.   They were still working on the renovation.   The tasting was a great experience....they had some really good pours, including the Wm. Heavenhill.   

[mbroo5880i]

Even Cheap Bastards buy nice things.  We just know the value of a dollar.   That is a unique bottle and based on the pedigree should be spectacular whiskey.  Think of it this way.  It is probably already more valuable than the price you paid.  So you got a bargain.   You are still a card carrying member of the Cheap Bastard Society in my book.  Congratulations and enjoy, as I am sure you will!

 

I believe the most I have ever spent on a bottle was $84.99.  I might have done so more than once.  I recall buying an older Willett WFE at that price.  I also recall buying a FRSiB OESK at that price.  

 

 

[PhantomLamb]

$120 for LB Ch. 3, worth every penny, heck I bought 2.

 

Now rum on the other hand…

[steven s]

i traded multiple bottles of EHTSmB, ER, Bookers, and WSR, that I had spent about $450 on at retail, for a PVW15 a while back.

 

I think the most I have bought a bottle for was an EC18 for $230, or a RR13 for about the same.

[Skinsfan1311]

9 hours ago, mbroo5880i said:

Even Cheap Bastards buy nice things.  We just know the value of a dollar.   That is a unique bottle and based on the pedigree should be spectacular whiskey.  Think of it this way.  It is probably already more valuable than the price you paid.  So you got a bargain.   You are still a card carrying member of the Cheap Bastard Society in my book.  Congratulations and enjoy, as I am sure you will!

 

I believe the most I have ever spent on a bottle was $84.99.  I might have done so more than once.  I recall buying an older Willett WFE at that price.  I also recall buying a FRSiB OESK at that price.  

 

 

Agreed and thanks!

I'm not afraid to spend money......we live comfortably....it's the principle of the thing.   If I've overpaid, I feel like  someone has gotten one over me, and that pisses me off.   An unintended consequence, (collateral damage?), of being a card carrying member of the CBS, is buyers remorse.   I had it in spades after this purchase.

That being said, this was a unique opportunity and with only 50 bottles available.   A shit-ton of people tossed their hats in the ring for a chance to buy one .   Quite a few of the folks that didn't get one, were bummed that their numbers didn't come up, and these folks aren't taters.   I've even had an offer for it, which I didn't entertain, so that made me feel better about it.     It's a sunken cost at this point anyway, so I'm looking forward to enjoying it.

 

[PaulO]

I guess now we get to find out who's really cheap.

The most I ever spent on a bottle was 69.99 plus tax (so more like $75).  It was Four Roses Single Barrel 2013 LE.  I like all the regular Four Roses brands.  Did I like the 2013 LE multiple times more relative to price - no.  Had I sampled before hand, it would have been a pass.  At 13 plus years aging, the wood tannins seemed to dominate the other flavors.  No doubt some people go for that sort of thing.

I tend to look at the quality of whiskey as it corelates to age as a bell shaped curve - at least to my enjoyment.

[fosmith]

18 hours ago, fosmith said:

Way more than I wanted to pay but how do you pass on this unicorn?   $430 and no Club Card discount!  Now I have to work up the courage to open it, lol. 

Like fellow cheap bastard @Skinsfan1311, I was also somewhat comforted to receive an offer to sell the bottle ($1,400).  I didn't respond though.  I've never flipped a bottle and never will. 

[Kyjd75]

$360, approximately 11 years ago.  Bought a bottle of PVW 23yr off the shelf at a local store.  Never opened it.  Wound up trading it for a bunch of bottles I wanted to actually drink.  No regrets.

[kcgumbohead]

My personal max was 150.00 for WTMK Decades back when those were on shelves. I don’t see myself scaling those price heights again anytime soon. The MK is intended as my retirement bottle, that’s how I justified it

[GaryT]

My current max was $300 for a Compass Box The General.  Hearing about it before a Compass Box event, I couldn't image paying that much money for one bottle.  After getting a sip of it as John Glaser made the rounds following the tasting (where that was NOT on the menu, I think we each got maybe 1/4 an ounce maybe), I was like "Holy sh!t - I'd buy a bottle of that if I could".  Week later, Big Rich let me know where I could get one if I was still interested - and I was.

 

Label reads there were 1,698 bottles produced.  If I recall, the GBS had 3 or 4 of them.  And if I find another, I'd pay double what I paid the first time.

 

 

 

[BigRich]

Are we talking bourbon?  Because that would be $280 for last bottle of Pappy 23 I was able to get at retail.  Rye....I think the 16 yr Lock Stock  which was close to $200...maybe.  It's been a while.  Japanese whiskey was $150 for a Yamazaki 18 before they went crazy.  Irish.....I think around $700 with the exchange rate for a private selection of Redbreast 30 year old.  Scotch.....mmmm that's tough.  Somewhere in the $750 to $1000 range for a bottle of really old G&M Strathisla years ago but that bottle and my memory of the price paid are long gone.  

 

I kind of feel like this is a 'feel better about you are spending because look at what these fools are spending' kind of thread. 

[smokinjoe]

3 hours ago, GaryT said:

My current max was $300 for a Compass Box The General.  Hearing about it before a Compass Box event, I couldn't image paying that much money for one bottle.  After getting a sip of it as John Glaser made the rounds following the tasting (where that was NOT on the menu, I think we each got maybe 1/4 an ounce maybe), I was like "Holy sh!t - I'd buy a bottle of that if I could".  Week later, Big Rich let me know where I could get one if I was still interested - and I was.

 

Label reads there were 1,698 bottles produced.  If I recall, the GBS had 3 or 4 of them.  And if I find another, I'd pay double what I paid the first time.

 

 

 

Now THAT was a fun night.  Unless I have made purchases so egregious that I have wiped them clean from my memory, Midleton Very Rare and Angel’s Envy Cask release, both from a few years ago are my top spends.  I think both were close to $200.  I honestly don’t think I e topped the $200 barrier.  

[JCwhammie]

The vast majority of my purchases are less than $60. This week I did splurge on a bottle of RR13 for $300. It's a celebratory bottle, so I was able to justify it to myself. It gets opened tomorrow. 

[berto]

I bought into a share of a VOF from the ‘60s for a few hundred bucks, we paid around $1600 total.  I paid $90 for a 1oz pour at a bar.  I’ve dropped $400 on a bottle of whiskey.  The split was part of a ridiculous tasting with good friends.  The pour was the most expensive of a three pour night in Vegas and my total bill was $200+ because I was unicorn hunting.  Wife won back my bar tab and then some within five minutes of leaving.  The bottle was something I adore and I bought a few more of the same for a little less.

[Sven Heuchert]

I spend around 250€ for a bottle of Pappy once, back when it was still available in Germany, around 2010, I guess. This year I paid 120 bucks for a bottle of E.H Taylor and another 100 for a Kirsch Selection of Makers Mark. Yeah, but worth it! 

[markandrex]

I have done a few of the WHH purchases at the Bourbon Heritage Center and enjoyed them all that have fallen in the $250 range.  As a matter of fact, that gives me an idea for this evenings pours, it has been ages.

[Remocap]

I have to add my most expensive purchase. Got drawn in a wrist band lottery before Covid in bardstown. 20yr Pappy for $179.00 and change. A kid hit me up in the parking lot three times for $1100.00. I blew him off. His last try was when I told him that he needed that bad $$1400.00. He said that’s way too high. Still have it and the memory. My wife who didn’t get drawn said “I don’t don’t know who was stupider”   I don’t know who whas stupider,the guy that offered or the guy that turned it down. It’s in the safe for special occasion.