The crown jewel of New York's first liquor auction since Prohibition brought in $54,000 at Christie's yesterday. The 1926 bottle of whiskey went to an anonymous bidder, the New York Daily News reports, but was "worth the price," said a contender for the bottle. But it wasn't the only big-ticket item on the list.
A bottle of rye whiskey distilled in 2003 went for $6,000. The catch: it was made at Mt. Vernon from George Washington's recipe. The auction tallied $304, 800 in sales of 101 lots of rare whiskey, armagnac, calvados, cognac, and Chatreuse. While Prohibition ended in 1933, New York only legalized the auction of spirits in August. (More whiskey stories.)