Award-Winning Hackstons Acquires Once in a Lifetime Collection of Unicorn American Whiskies

It can feel as though the only form whiskies come in are the ultra rare and expensive sometime, given how often news about them tends to include words like “auction” and “rare”. And whilst there’s nothing wrong with your Johnnie Walker Black Label, sometimes a collection of bottles come along that you just have to gawp at.

That’s certainly the case when it comes to a new acquisition from Hackstons, the London based whisky investment firm who specialise in premium whisky. The latest acquisition is a highly exclusive collection of American unicorn whiskies, bringing together some of the rarest, most sought-after bottles in the world, with some names you’ll definitely recognise.

You hear American whiskies, and you’ll probably think of Buffalo Trace Distillery, which is where most of the collection derives from. The cheapest bottles in the collection start at £210 for a W.L Weller eight year old bourbon, with the priciest at £2,400 for a Pappy Van Winkle 23 year old. The bourbons themselves are a mix of ages, ranging from an eight year old, to a 12 year old, with a couple of 20 year olds thrown in the mix too. Each bottle is not your average age statement, though, with each being a unique and rare release in itself, where the distillers were more experimental, producing a very limited number.

The full collection is:

• W.L. Weller C.Y.P.B. (Craft Your Perfect Bourbon) £210 - A rare people’s choice bourbon shaped by consumer demand and now a modern collector’s trophy. Wheated, eight years old, top-floor warehouse ageing, 95 proof.
• Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Straight Rye £420 - A bold, uncut and unfiltered rye from the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, celebrated for its intensity and complexity.
• Weller Full Proof £210 – Bottled at original barrel entry proof, delivering a purist’s experience of one of the world’s most famous wheated mashbills.
• Pappy Van Winkle 12-Year-Old ‘Lot B’ £450 - Widely regarded as the perfect balance within the Van Winkle range, combining prestige with exceptional drinkability.
• Van Winkle Family Reserve 13-Year-Old Rye £800 - A rare outlier in the Van Winkle portfolio and one of the hardest bottles for collectors to secure.
• William Larue Weller (Barrel Proof) £850 - Frequently named Whiskey of the Year and considered by many to surpass even the famed Pappy line.
• Pappy Van Winkle 20-Year-Old £1,100 - An icon of the bourbon world, delivering extraordinary depth and complexity after two decades of ageing. The #1 rated bourbon in the world. At 20 years, the wheated bourbon has sat in wood long enough to develop a legendary complexity - think leather, tobacco, and dried fruits.
• Old Rip Van Winkle 10-Year-Old £350 - A vibrant, high-proof introduction to the Van Winkle legacy, prized for both flavour and accessibility. Bottled at 107 proof, it’s The 107!
• Pappy Van Winkle 23-Year-Old £2,400 - The ultimate expression of rarity and prestige, representing the absolute pinnacle of the bourbon market. This is the oldest and rarest expression. The barrels are meticulously selected from the heart of the warehouse to ensure they haven't become "too woody" after over two decades of ageing. This is a bucket list item. Most people will never see this bottle in person, let alone taste it. It represents the absolute ceiling of the bourbon market.

If you do happen to have whiskey money burning a hole in your bank balance and think it would be a useful investment or just a fun thing to get your own taste of, you can head to Hackstons to learn more, and even try and get your hands on one.

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