Historic Collection of Rare Liquors Goes to Auction

March 25, 2016 – In the Dutch city of Breda, housed in a former cowshed, there’s a collection of Cognac and Armagnac of extraordinary historic significance that will be auctioned by Christie’s in New York on April 13.

The collection of about 6,000 bottles was amassed by Bay van der Bunt over the past 40 years.  It includes treasures such as a bottle of Cognac dating by to 1789 the year of the French Revolution.  A hand-blown six-liter jeroboam marked 1795 Brugerolle,  the last of its kind in the world,  travelled with Napoleon’s army.

Christie’s will auction a lot called “The American Presidential Collection”.  It comprises 39 single bottles of Cognac and Armagnac produced during the tenure of each American president from George Washington in 1789 to Jimmy Carter in 1977.   The starting bid is $100,000.

We recommend visiting the web site of Old Liquors, which is owned by Bay van der Bunt, for an excellent video tracing the close relationship between France and the United States for more than 200 years, as well as photos and a list of the magnificent old bottles in the collection.