World’s oldest liquor collection now worth millions of euros

Van der Bunt’s A. E. Dor cognacs date as far back as the early 19th century.

BREDA, Netherlands: Forty years ago when Dutch businessman Bay van der Bunt bought his first two bottles of vintage cognac on a road trip to France, little did he know it would be the start of a collection worth millions of euros today.

“Collecting old liquor never even crossed my mind back then,” Van der Bunt, 63, told AFP as he uncorked an ancient-looking bottle, part of what is regarded as the largest collection of old liquors in the world – now up for sale for a “mere” 6 million euros.

“Go ahead have a taste, this is an 1895 cognac from the house of A. E. Dor,” he said, pouring the deep brown liquid into a snifter glass then holding it up to the light as the cellar filled with a musky, velvety aroma.

“A glass like this could set you back several thousand dollars in any top restaurant in the world,” he added as he carefully lifted his own snifter to his nose, savoring the rich bouquet before taking a small sip.

Van der Bunt wants to sell the collection in its entirety “otherwise its integrity will be compromised.” And he has already received solid interest, notably from potential buyers from China and Russia, but has accepted no offers yet.

In the early 1970s, the businessman owned a small antiques shop, which frequently took him on trips to France to look for hidden gems in second-hand stores. “But many times there were also old bottles of cognac or armagnac and I decided to buy these, not even thinking back then what it would one day become,” he said.

In 1978, his collection got its first major boost when Van der Bunt’s father gave him a gift of some 100 bottles, “presents my dad received while running a small gardening service company” for the well-heeled in the area.

“My father said: ‘You are out of your mind to collect liquor. Why don’t you invest in something worthwhile?’

“Well, I didn’t listen,” Van der Bunt said, smiling.

His collection has grown to over 5,000 dusty bottles, kept safely behind lock and key in a converted cow shed at his rustic farmstead on the outskirts of the southern Dutch city of Breda.

The collection consists mainly of bottles of rare cognac and armagnac, distilled from French grapes, as well as a variety of ports, madeiras and rums.

The crown prince of the collection is undoubtedly a 6-liter bottle of 1795 Leopold Brugerolle, bought at an auction by Christie’s in 1990.

It is the last remaining hand-crafted bottle in the world that accompanied Napoleon Bonaparte’s army on its campaigns and is valued at 138,000 euros ($182,000 ), according to Van der Bunt.

There ares also three complete sets of eight bottles of A. E. Dor cognacs, dating from 1805, 1811, 1834, 1840, 1858, 1875, 1889 and 1893 and valued at between 70,000 to 80,000 euros per set.

There is also a hand-blown bottle of 1789 Courvoisier & Curlier which will set a potential buyer back 49,000 euros, or an Armagnac Eau de Vie from the same year.

“The year of the French Revolution,” Van der Bunt said proudly.