What's the most expensive alcohol ever?

In recent years, alcohol collectors have spent upwards of a million dollars, both at auctions and private sales, purchasing particularly coveted bottles of liquor and wine.

Last January, Vietnamese collector Viet Nguyen Dinh Tuan spent more than $2 million purchasing a rare bottle of cognac in a private sale. This was far from Viet’s first expensive alcohol purchase – it’s estimated that his spirits collection is worth more than $190 million, according to the Guardian.

For many people, an enjoyable bottle of wine or liquor can be purchased for less than $100. But for connoisseurs and collectors, high-end alcohol is an investment comparable to fine art or sports cars. This is especially true with whiskey and wine – both of which are known to improve with age.

Read on to learn more about the most expensive bottles of alcohol ever sold.

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The most expensive bottle of white wine ever sold at auction is an 1811 bottle of Chateau d’Yquem that was sold for $117,000 in 2011. French sommelier Christian Vannequé purchased the dessert wine with the intention of commemorating the 50th anniversary of his own career in wine tasting – though he died before reaching that milestone.

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A bottle of 1762 Gautier was the oldest cognac ever sold at auction, according to Sothebys. The cognac dates to before the French Revolution and is believed to have been bottled in the 1840s. A family purchased the liquor for the equivalent of $144,525 in 2020 – setting a new record for the most expensive cognac ever sold.

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In 2018, a private collector purchased a bottle of 1945 Romanée-Conti for $558,000 – setting the world record for the most expensive wine ever purchased at auction. The 1945 vintage is considered a “unicorn wine” because so few bottles were produced that year due to inclement weather.

“If you want to drink the world’s most special bottle of wine, this is it,” Jamie Ritchie, worldwide head of wine for Sotheby’s, told Bloomberg after the sale.

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Vietnamese collector Nguyen Dinh Tuan Viet bought a bottle Louis XIII: 1874 in January 2024 for $2,188,280, making it the most expensive cognac ever purchased in a private sale. Louis XIII has long been known as a purveyor of high-quality cognacs – in 2022 the brand even created a line of high-end fragrances inspired by the liquor.

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A bottle of Macallan 1926 single malt whiskey sold for $2.7 million in a 2023 auction, making it the most expensive wine or spirit ever purchased. The prohibition-era whiskey aged for 60 years before being bottled in 1986. When the whiskey was first bottled it was not put on sale – rather 40 bottles were offered to Macallan’s top customers. It is unknown how many bottles of the whiskey remain in existence today.

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