In 2008, LeNell Camacho Santa Ana, the owner of a specialty liquor store in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, sent out a store newsletter to her customers:
RED HOOK RYE is about to be featured in TIME OUT NY. However, bottles left number in the teens. I am a f'ing female dog I know, but the price is now $300. I'm just tired of morons trying to pick it up and eBay it as collectible for more than I am selling it at the shop.
After opening her shop in 2003, Camacho Santa Ana would go beyond stocking popular American whiskey brands such as Pappy Van Winkle, going to Kentucky to source her own. On one trip, she ended up at Willett Distillery, where she selected four barrels of rye whiskey for a limited production of Red Hook Rye.
A total of 852 bottles of 23- and 24-year-old Red Hook Rye were produced. Originally priced around $100, word soon spread, and bottles became more expensive.
Today, it’s among the most expensive American whiskeys in history, with some listings reaching as high as $100,000.
Sotheby’s is selling one of the rare bottles, signed by Camacho Santa Ana, next week, with a pre-sale estimate of $24,000 to $35,000.
Red Hook Rye’s rise in popularity is not only due to its quality, but also its timing, Zev Glesta, Sotheby’s whiskey apecialist and assistant vice president, told cllct.
In 2006, upon its release, the American whiskey boom was still years away.
“Red Hook bottlings were sold in New York City, where they were embraced by some of the most influential bartenders, collectors, and whiskey enthusiasts of the era,” Glesta said. “Many recognized what they had: rare liquid from a legendary distillation run, bottled by Willett and championed by one of the most forward-thinking names in the business.”
According to Glesta, by 2016 bottles had reached as high as $5,000 in European auctions, thanks to the rising appreciation of American whiskey on the international stage.
“Like most coveted whiskies, their value stems from quality (above all) and rarity,” Glesta said. “Few remain — and many have been drunk. To collect all four barrels is perhaps the ultimate checkmark in American whiskey collecting."
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct, the premier company for collectible culture.