I’ve been going through my personal booze collection lately and I’ve found a lot of duplicates and extras that – while I love having a healthy home bar – I’d love to share with the world rather than hoarding. So I’ve partnered up with Unicorn Auctions to set some of my personal bottles free. I’d love to find a good home for all of my babies, and I love the idea of being able to toast virtually across the country (or beyond) with you while we both enjoy some of my delicious booze.
Rum
Bacardi 151 was permanently discontinued in 2016, and sealed bottles have become increasingly sought after by collectors of discontinued spirits. This 375ml flask bottle, bottled at 75.5% ABV (151 proof), is a genuine artifact of an era when overproof rum occupied a central place in cocktail culture — from tiki bars to flaming drinks. With production permanently ceased and global supplies continuing to dwindle, sealed examples in any size are becoming harder and harder to find. I’m selling two: bid on this one or this one!
Appleton Estate is one of the great names in Caribbean rum stretching back to 1749. The V/X expression, estate distilled and hand blended by J. Wray & Nephew Ltd., was for many years the benchmark introduction to authentic Jamaican rum for enthusiasts discovering the category. The V/X was discontinued in 2015 and replaced by the Appleton Estate Signature Blend, making sealed bottles in this classic squat presentation increasingly sought after by collectors who appreciate the original expression in its optimal form. For anyone with a serious interest in Caribbean spirits history, this is a bottle that connects directly to nearly three centuries of Jamaican rum-making tradition. I have two of these bottles on auction, one is here and the other is here.
If the Bacardi 151 in this auction represents the face of overproof rum, this bottle represents its soul. Lemon Hart & Son has been producing Demerara rum since 1804, making this one of the oldest and most historically significant rum brands in existence. This is the rum that tiki bartenders and cocktail historians have long considered the gold standard for overproof Demerara — called for by name in classic recipes from both Trader Vic and Don the Beachcomber, and widely regarded as irreplaceable in the cocktail canon. This older-label “yellow label” presentation is particularly significant: the original formulation of Lemon Hart 151 went off the market in the mid-2010s before being reformulated and reissued, and bottles from the earlier production run are considered by serious rum enthusiasts to be meaningfully different from what is available today. For tiki aficionados and collectors of rare overproof spirits, a sealed bottle of the original Lemon Hart 151 in this presentation is a genuine and increasingly scarce find.
American Whiskey
The Austin Nichols-era Wild Turkey Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey represents an important chapter in American whiskey history. Bottled at 101 U.S. proof (50.5% ABV), this expression predates the brand’s various ownership transitions and is the one that established Wild Turkey’s reputation among serious rye drinkers. The “Real Kentucky” designation and the classic Austin Nichols label are markers of a specific era in the distillery’s history that rye lovers like myself seek out. This is a genuine vintage rye that is simply no longer available through conventional retail channels. Get it here!
WhistlePig FarmStock Crop No. 001 represents a landmark moment in the distillery’s history – the inaugural release of their estate-grown rye program and the first expression to incorporate rye grain actually harvested on WhistlePig’s Vermont farm. Crop No. 001 laid the foundation for WhistlePig’s ongoing evolution toward full farm-to-bottle production. As the first release in the FarmStock line, Crop No. 001 holds particular significance for collectors tracking WhistlePig’s development as a distillery, and it is no longer available through retail channels. Get this OG bottle here!
The Leopold Bros. Three Chamber Rye is one of the most historically significant American whiskeys produced in the modern era. They spent years researching and reconstructing a three-chamber still – a 19th-century apparatus that had fallen entirely out of use – specifically to revive the style of rye whiskey that defined American drinking culture before Prohibition. The Holiday Edition, bottled in bond at 50% ABV, is an annual limited release (this is from 2021) that consistently sells out upon release. The three-chamber distillation process produces a rye of exceptional complexity that is simply not achievable through modern column or pot still methods. For collectors and enthusiasts of American whiskey history, this is among the most compelling bottles currently being produced anywhere in the country. Check it out here.
Hill and Hill Kentucky Whiskey is a long-discontinued brand with roots stretching back to 1878, and this vintage bottle is the kind of piece that serious American whiskey historians and label collectors actively seek out. The style of whiskey represented here, a carefully crafted Kentucky blend emphasizing what the label describes as “magnificent flavor and modern lightness,” reflects a category that has largely disappeared from the modern market. For collectors drawn to the history of American spirits production and the brands that defined it, this bottle is a genuine and rare artifact. This brand has been gone for a very long time, don’t miss out on this bottle.
This Austin Nichols-era Wild Turkey 80 Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon is one of America’s most iconic whiskey brands in an earlier and increasingly collectible form. Bottled by the Austin Nichols Distilling Company out of Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, this expression defined the brand’s visual identity for decades. Wild Turkey passed through several ownership changes over the years — from Austin Nichols to Pernod Ricard and eventually to Campari Group — and bottles bearing the original Austin Nichols label are a tangible artifact of the brand’s earlier independent era. This is Wild Turkey in its most original form.
This is a bottle with genuine historical significance on two levels. Old Forester holds the distinction of being America’s first bottled bourbon, and this special 375ml edition was released to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Prohibition’s repeal in 2008, making it a collector’s piece that marks one of the most consequential moments in American drinking history. Bottled by Brown-Forman Incorporated of Louisville, Kentucky, this is a dual collector’s piece: one of America’s most historically significant bourbon brands, marking one of American spirits culture’s most historically significant anniversaries. It was one of two bottles presented to me specifically for my work in making Repeal Day a global phenomenon and I can attest to how delicious it is. Get this one for yourself.
Heaven Hill 6 Year Old Style Bourbon is a straightforward representation of what everyday Kentucky bourbon looked like before the category’s modern renaissance. Distilled and bottled at Heaven Hill’s Bardstown, Kentucky facility this expression carries the classic green label that defined the brand for decades. The Old Style Bourbon line has since been discontinued, making sealed bottles in this classic presentation increasingly difficult to source. I miss the Heaven Hill Green Label greatly, and am fortunate to have found a few bottles long after it was gone. Make this one yours.
Ancient Age Kentucky Straight Bourbon was distilled at the Ancient Age Distilling Company in Frankfort, Kentucky — a storied facility situated on the banks of the Kentucky River that would eventually become the home of Buffalo Trace Distillery. This bottle most likely dates to the 1980s, placing it squarely in what collectors often refer to as the “dusty” era of American bourbon – a period now highly regarded for the character of its whiskey. What makes this particular bottle especially appealing to collectors is the inclusion of its original period box — an embossed, faux-leather presentation case. Bottles of Ancient Age in this older presentation, particularly those accompanied by their original packaging, are an increasingly rare find while being quite affordable.
Mellow Corn is one of the last surviving examples of a once-common American whiskey style that has largely disappeared from the modern market and has developed a devoted cult following among American whiskey enthusiasts who appreciate its status as a genuine link to a pre-bourbon-boom era of American distilling. What makes this particular bottle significant is that I personally selected this barrel during my tenure as bar director at Clyde Common — the celebrated Portland, Oregon restaurant and bar long regarded as one of the finest whiskey programs in the Pacific Northwest. This is not simply a retail purchase; it is a direct piece of provenance from one of the most respected bar programs in the country, selected by the hand that built it. I have two of these bottles on auction, one is here and the other is here.
This bottle represents a singular piece of American whiskey history. McCarthy’s Oregon Single Malt, produced by Steve McCarthy at Clear Creek Distillery in Portland, is widely recognized as the first American single malt whiskey — a category that now encompasses hundreds of distilleries across the country, all of which owe a profound debt to the vision Steve McCarthy pursued beginning in the early 1990s. McCarthy’s was unlike anything else being made in America at the time of its debut in 1996, and it remains a benchmark of the category to this day. This specific bottle — Batch W18-01, bottled on August 13, 2018 — was produced and bottled by Steve McCarthy himself, four years after he sold Clear Creek to Hood River Distillers in 2014 but while he was still actively involved with the distillery he founded. Steve McCarthy passed away in 2023, making bottles produced under his direct stewardship a genuine and irreplaceable artifact of one of the most important figures in the history of American craft distilling. I’m proud to have known him and absolutely love this whiskey.
Tequila
San Matias is one of the oldest continuously operating tequila producers in Mexico, with a history dating back to 1884 in Jalisco. This Blanco, distilled from 100% blue agave under NOM 1103-1, represents a traditional approach to blanco tequila production that long predates the category’s modern boom. Produced and bottled by Tequila San Matias de Jalisco, S.A. de C.V. in Guadalajara, this older-label presentation is notably different from the brand’s current packaging, adding a layer of collectibility for agave spirits enthusiasts who appreciate the historical context of their bottles. For collectors of vintage tequila this is an uncommonly encountered bottle from one of the region’s most enduring distilling families. Tequila is rarely made like this any more.
Patrón XO Café was a distinctive entry in the liqueur category — a coffee liqueur built on a foundation of Siete Leguas silver tequila, producing a drier, more spirit-forward profile that set it apart from conventional coffee liqueurs. At 35% ABV (70 proof), it struck a balance between the richness of coffee and the clean agave character of the tequila base, making it a versatile and sophisticated option for both sipping and cocktail applications. This original version has long been discontinued, and sealed bottles of this “Imported Reserve” expression in the distinctive black conical bottle are increasingly difficult to source. It is absolutely my favorite coffee liqueur of all time. Do not miss out on this.
Herradura is one of the foundational names in tequila, and this older bottle represents the brand in a form that today’s buyers simply cannot replicate. The back label identifies Sazerac Company, Inc. of New Orleans as the U.S. importer, and notes an aging period of 40 days — details that place this bottle firmly in the early-to-mid 2000s, before Brown-Forman’s 2007 acquisition changed both the importer and subtly altered the production. Tequila enthusiasts who remember Herradura from this period will tell you it simply does not taste the same today — the traditional production from the independent family era produced a character that has never quite been replicated under new ownership. For collectors of vintage tequila, this is exactly the kind of bottle that becomes more significant with each passing year. You need to taste it to believe it.
The companion piece to the Herradura Silver also in this auction, this old-label Herradura Añejo represents the brand’s flagship aged expression from its independent family-owned era. The distinctive black horseshoe label design and flat square bottle, combined with the “Tequila Natural” designation, place this bottle in the same 2000-2007 period as the Silver also on offer in this auction — the independent family era before Brown-Forman’s acquisition eventually altered the brand’s production and flavor. Herradura’s Añejo was aged significantly longer than the legal minimum required for the category, producing a richness and complexity that collectors and agave spirits enthusiasts who remember this era of the brand speak of with considerable reverence. A genuinely rare find alongside its Silver counterpart.
Scotch/Irish Whisk(e)y
Michael Collins 10 Year Single Malt carries a distinction that makes it genuinely rare in the Irish whiskey category: light peating. This expression was distilled at Cooley Distillery in County Louth, which at the time of production held the distinction of being the last independent Irish-owned distillery in the country. Cooley was acquired by Beam Inc. in 2012, and the Michael Collins brand was subsequently discontinued, giving sealed bottles an added layer of historical significance beyond the whiskey itself. For collectors of discontinued Irish whiskey, this 10-year single malt from Cooley’s independent era represents exactly the kind of bottle that becomes harder to find with each passing year. Lock it down and make it yours.
Highland Park Dark Origins is one of the more distinctive expressions to emerge from the distillery’s modern lineup, and it remains a favorite among fans of sherried single malt Scotch. Dark Origins was crafted using double first-fill sherry casks, producing a whisky of exceptional depth and richness. Bottled at 46.8% ABV and non-chill filtered, it delivers the full natural texture that its sherry cask maturation provides. The expression was discontinued in 2017 when Highland Park determined it no longer had sufficient stock to sustain it, and sealed bottles have become genuinely scarce in the years since. This example comes complete with its original presentation tube. Do not miss out on this one.
This is among the most significant bottles in the entire auction. The Chivas Brothers Cask Strength Edition Linn House Reserve is an exceptionally rare non-chill filtered blended Scotch whisky, aged a full 35 years and bottled directly at cask strength from Chivas Brothers’ historic Linn House in Keith, Scotland. Batch LH 35 002 was bottled in April 2011, meaning the liquid itself was distilled in the mid-1970s — an era widely celebrated among Scotch whisky collectors for the exceptional quality of its distillates. I was given two of these while doing some work at the distillery back in 2011, this one could be yours. It represents a singular opportunity.
The Game of Thrones limited edition whisky series was a global phenomenon that paired eight iconic Scotch distilleries with eight Houses from the show, and the Lagavulin 9 Year House Lannister bottling is widely regarded as the standout expression of the entire collection. The House Lannister packaging — featuring the roaring lion crest on the bottle and the striking illustrated tube — makes this one of the most visually dramatic bottles in the entire Game of Thrones series. This bottle comes complete with its original collector’s tube, and represents an increasingly difficult find for both Scotch enthusiasts and Game of Thrones collectors alike as the series continues to recede into the past and sealed examples become scarcer. Perfect for the GOT/Scotch whisky fan.
Black & White Blended Scotch Whisky is one of the great heritage brands of the Scotch whisky industry. The brand’s iconic black and white Scottish terriers, representing the dark and light whiskies in the blend, became one of the most recognizable images in spirits advertising history. This old-label 750ml bottle, presented in distinctive green glass and carrying the James Buchanan & Co. signature in the classic cream label format, represents the brand in an earlier and more historically evocative presentation than what is available today. Bottles bearing this particular label style and green glass format are a collectible piece of Scotch whisky heritage, appealing both to those with an appreciation for the brand’s considerable history and to collectors of vintage spirits packaging more broadly. Don’t miss out!
