2025-2026: Reflecting on the Rare Spirits Market
2025 was a great year for our Rare Spirits Department here at Leland Little. We saw strong results across all of our sales, culminating in a remarkable December auction that brought record numbers of new bidders and a particularly outstanding selection of rare and sought-after bottles. As we enter the new year, looking forward to our March 6th Rare Spirits Auction, we’re taking a moment to reflect upon market trends and the strength we saw in 2025.
Classic 'Dusty' Bottles
Prohibition-Era bottles may often be found covered in dust and dirt, but they will certainly never lose their luster in the eyes of whiskey collectors. Every year, fewer and fewer of these ‘dusties’ remain undiscovered, but that makes it even more special when we have the chance to unpack a box from someone’s grandfather’s cellar and come across a gem like this Mammoth Cave Bourbon Whiskey, made in 1901 and bottled in 1919.
Stitzel-Weller
There are few names in the bourbon world that bring light to the eyes of a seasoned collector as quickly as ‘Stitzel-Weller.’ The famed distillery, opened by Julian ‘Pappy’ Van Winkle in 1935, produced highly sought-after wheat whiskey for a number of famous labels, including Old Fitzgerald, W.L. Weller, Rebel Yell, and (of course) Pappy Van Winkle.
In 1972 the distillery was sold to Norton Simon and renamed the Old Fitzgerald Distillery, and then in 1992 it closed for good. For collectors, bottles produced at Stitzel-Weller, like this Weller’s Antique Reserve 10 Year Bourbon, represent a bygone era and encapsulate the phrase ‘they just don’t make ‘em like they used to.’
All Things Buffalo Trace
The Stitzel-Weller distillery may be no more, but in recent decades Buffalo Trace has gladly taken up the mantle of producing some of the best top-shelf bourbon on the market. The distillery houses production facilities for a remarkable number of the labels most coveted by collectors today, including Pappy Van Winkle, Weller, Eagle Rare, Blanton’s, and (of course) the full Buffalo Trace Antique Collection.
Mighty Macallan
The Scotch market, like the bourbon market, has seen its ups and downs, but one name that continues to perform at the highest level year after year is the titan Macallan. An early pioneer in the category of unique and collectible single malt whiskies, Macallan has amassed a truly astounding selection of long-aged and in-demand labelings that continue to be pursued by collectors year after year.
See, for instance, this Macallan Anniversary Malt 25 Year.
Are you interested in consigning bottles for our upcoming March 6th Rare Spirits Auction? We’d love to hear from you. Give us a call at (919) 644-1243, or send an email to consignments@llauctions.com.