If there’s one spirit synonymous with American drinking culture, it’s bourbon — and that’s written into law. America’s native spirit must be produced in the States to officially qualify as bourbon, and while it doesn’t have to be produced in Kentucky by law, 95 percent of it is.
Bourbon is available at a range of price points, but the rarest and oldest bottles of the spirit could set you back by about $55,000. From near impossible-to-find grails like Old Rip Van Winkle to coveted bottles that just hit the market a few months ago, these are currently the most expensive bourbons according to Wine Searcher.
25. John E. Fitzgerald Very Special Reserve 20 Year Old Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Kentucky, USA
- Average price: $6,493
- ABV: 45%
- Tasting Notes: Caramel, dusty cocoa, clove, red fruit, figs
24. A.H. Hirsch Reserve 16 Year Old Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Kentucky, USA
- Average price: $7,145
- ABV: 45.8%
- Tasting Notes: Creamy vanilla, toffee, oak, baking spices
23. Black Maple Hill 16 Year Old Premium Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Kentucky, USA
- Average price: $7,690
- ABV: 47.5%
- Tasting Notes: Nougat, honey, brown sugar, marzipan
22. Martin Mills 24 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Kentucky, USA
- Average price: $7,725
- ABV: 53.5
- Tasting Notes: Dark fruit, wood, leather, honey, cinnamon, butterscotch, spice
21. W.L. Weller 19 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Kentucky, USA
- Average price: $8,457
- ABV: 45%
- Tasting Notes: Oak, caramel, spice
20. Willett Family Estate Bottled Single-Barrel 18 Year Old Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Kentucky, USA
- Average price: $8,748
- ABV: 55.1%
- Tasting Notes: Caramel, vanilla, oak, spice, dark chocolate
19. W.L. Weller Millennium Bourbon Whiskey, Kentucky, USA
- Average price: $9,060
- ABV: 49.5%
- Tasting Notes: Caramel, vanilla, toasted oak, dried fruit
18. Colonel E.H. Taylor Warehouse C Tornado Surviving Straight Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey, Kentucky, USA
- Average price: $9,731
- ABV: 50%
- Tasting Notes: Jam-like fruit, vanilla, touches of smoke, tobacco
17. Buffalo Trace Distillery The Sixth Millionth Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Kentucky, USA
- Average price: $9,873
- ABV: 45%
- Tasting Notes: Vanilla, toasted oak, cinnamon
16. Elmer T. Lee 90th Birthday Edition Single Barrel Sour Mash Bourbon Whiskey, Kentucky, USA
- Average price: $9,858
- ABV: $45
- Tasting Notes: Rye spice, vanilla, fruit undertones
15. Michter’s 25 Year Old Single Barrel Bourbon Whiskey, USA
- Average price: $10,126
- ABV: 58.1%
- Tasting Notes: Molasses, holiday spice, chocolate, smoke roasted nuts, dried fruit, melted butter, vanilla
14. A.H. Hirsch Finest Reserve 20 Year Old Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Kentucky, USA
- Average price: $10,166
- ABV: 45.8%
- Tasting Notes: Caramel, orange peel, leather, slight pepper
13. Willett Family Estate Bottled Single-Barrel 16 Year Old Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Kentucky, USA
- Average price: $10,193
- ABV: 50.6%
- Tasting Notes: Pine, eucalyptus, toffee apple
12. Eagle Rare Double Eagle Very Rare 20 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Kentucky, USA
- Average price: $10,564
- ABV: 45%
- Tasting Notes: Vanilla, toasted oak, caramel
11. Brown Forman’s King of Kentucky Single Barrel 18 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Kentucky, USA
- Average price: $11,143
- ABV: 65.55%
- Tasting Notes: Caramel, dark chocolate, honey, cinnamon, tobacco
10. Weller’s Antique Reserve 10 Year Old Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Kentucky, USA
For the most part, any existing bottles of Weller’s Antique Reserve were produced in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s at the Stitzel-Weller Distillery under the direction of Julian “Pappy” Van Winkle I. Any such bottle from that time is a true relic of bourbon history.
- Average price: $12,358
- ABV: 55%
- Parent Company: The Sazerac Company
9. Hirsch Reserve 15 Year Pot Still, Kentucky, USA
In 1974, a bounty of whiskey from a small distillery in Pennsylvania was sold off after it was decommissioned, and a large portion of the barrels were sent to Kentucky for further aging. 15 years later, Adolph Hirsch discovered the batch, and after realizing its incredible quality, he purchased roughly 400 barrels and bottled them under his own name. And so, the world got Hirsch Reserve 15 Year Pot Still, which is technically a Pennsylvania bourbon despite being aged and bottled in Kentucky.
- Average price: $16,024
- ABV: 47.8%
- Tasting Notes: Toffee, oak, plum, vanilla
8. The Last Drop 1980 Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky, Kentucky, USA
Hailing from the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Ky., The Last Drop 1980 was distilled in — you guessed it — 1980 by then master distiller, Gary Gayheart. Years later, the recipe was uncovered by current master distiller Harlan Wheatley who then aged the spirit for about 20 years before releasing just 240 bottles for sale.
- Average price: $16,209
- ABV: 45%
- Tasting Notes: Figs, dates, maraschino cherries, wood, leather, tobacco, toffee, gentle warming spice
7. Colonel E.H. Taylor Old Fashioned Sour Mash Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Kentucky, USA
Colonel E.H. Taylor Old Fashioned Sour Mash was distilled in 2002 as an homage to Edmund Haynes Taylor Jr., who was widely known to have used the sour mash process in the 1800s when he was distilling. Meant to be a new aged bourbon serving as a replication of the historic technique, the grains used in each bottle were set aside to sour naturally to lower the pH prior to distilling.
- Average price: $19,578
- ABV: 50%
- Tasting Notes: Fresh honey, leather
6. Old Rip Van Winkle Handmade Family Reserve 16 Year Old, Kentucky, USA
Originally casked in 1974, this whiskey is rumored to have originated at the Boone Distillery in Boone County, Ky. Two versions of it exist today: this expression that was bottled in 1990 at 16 years, and another bottled in 1991 at 17 years. Both iterations actually replicated Maker’s Mark iconic melted-wax stopper, which Van Winkle claims he got away with using due to the trademark only being registered in the U.S.
- Average price: $19,986
- ABV: 50.5%
- Tasting Notes: Toffee, caramel, nutmeg, vanilla
5. Old Rip Van Winkle Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve 17 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Kentucky, USA
This is the aforementioned 1991 release of Boone-distilled Van Winkle Reserve whiskey. Both releases were initially intended for the Japanese market, as Americans weren’t as keen on paying premium prices for aged bourbon at the time.
- Average price: $22,664
- ABV: 50.5%
- Parent Company: Buffalo Trace
4. Michter’s Celebration Sour Mash Whiskey, Kentucky, USA
In the 1970s and 1980s, Sour Mash Whiskey was Michter’s top selling product. After being discontinued in 1989, the brand relaunched the product in 2012 as Michter’s Celebration Sour Mash. The whiskey was produced by Micher’s master distiller, Willie Pratt, who blended all of Michter’s best bourbon and ryes aged from young to 30 years old to create just 273 bottles of Michter’s Celebration. Every gold-etched bottle is waxed and sealed, and includes a hand-signed letter from Willie Pratt himself.
- Average price: $22,950
- ABV: 43%
- Tasting Notes: Toasted brown sugar, spiced smoky fruit, candied cherries, honeyed vanilla
3. Old Rip Van Winkle Twisted Spoke 16 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Kentucky, USA
The label design on this bottle is admittedly a far cry from most Old Rip Van Winkle releases, but the quality of the liquid has cemented this bourbon’s status as one of the most sought-after bottles in the bourbon space. Released as a one-off in partnership with Chicago bar Twisted Spoke, this bottle contains 16-year-old Stitzel-Weller bourbon.
- Average price: $29,634
- ABV: 52.5%
- Tasting Notes: Oak, cinnamon, cherry, vanilla
2. Old Rip Van Winkle Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Selection 23 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey with Glasses and Decanter, Kentucky, USA
Distilled from a wheated bourbon recipe, Old Rip Van Winkle’s ‘Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Selection’ 23 Year Old set a record in December 2022 as the most expensive bottle ever sold at New York’s Sotheby’s auction house. The bottle, which sold for 17 times the presale estimate of $3,000 to $4,000, fetched an impressive $52,000. Originally released in 2008, each bottle of Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Selection 23 Year Old was sold encased in a luxe black velvet bag.
- Average price: $34,358
- ABV: 47.8%
- Tasting Notes: Candy corn, vanilla, cherry, walnut, dark raspberry, oak
1. Old Rip Van Winkle 25 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Kentucky, USA
Launched in 2017, Old Rip Van Winkle 25 Year Old is one of the most sought-after whiskies in the world and was distilled in 1989 at the now closed Van Winkle family distillery in Shively, Ky. There, it was aged from 1989 until 2002 when it was relocated to the Buffalo Trace Distillery after they acquired the label. At Buffalo Trace, it rested in its original casks until 2014 before it was moved into stainless steel tanks to prevent further aging. Just 11 barrels were distilled — amounting to 710 bottles — all of which are packaged in handmade glass decanters packaged in wood from the original oak barrels.
- Average price: $52,888
- ABV: 50%
- Tasting Notes: Predominant oak, sugar, caramel, vanilla
