Christie's to Auction Rare and Pre-Prohibition Bourbon

On December 7 Christie’s in New York will be offering extremely rare pre-prohibition era bourbon and whiskey. They are calling it:

'The largest collection of pre-prohibition whiskey ever to appear at auction, a truly once in a lifetime chance for collectors of American spirits to drink their piece of American history. Featuring Old Crow 1912 and deep quantities of Hermitage 1914 from W. A. Gaines amongst others, this is truly a unique chance to acquire rarities with perfect provenance and documented history.'

A lot of the whiskeys being auctioned belonged to California businessman Jean-Baptiste (JB) Leonis. A true visionary, prior to prohibition, JB could see the writing on the wall and constructed hidden prohibition vault rooms into his two new residential properties.

'One built in the late 1920s was in the fashionable Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. The other was a weekend retreat and working ranch in Little Tujunga Canyon (whose neighbor was the famed Hollywood filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille). The prohibition vault rooms were each constructed behind book cases which open to reveal a bank vault door and combination lock'

After the death of JB’s grandson, Leonis C. Malburg in 2017, the family discovered over 40 cases of unopened bonded whiskey from as early as 1914. The bottles are expected to fetch anywhere from $2400 for the Hermitage Pure Rye Whiskey, WA Gaines 1908 all the way to $9500 for the Hermitage Whiskey Bottled in Bond 9 Years Old 1914.

As with the other auctions we've covered, if you are lucky enough to win any of these... I'm available for tastings or even as a best friend for hire. Contact information is located on the front page. 

Source: Christie's, Christie's