Old liquor collection up for grabs(1)
Bay van der Bunt, 63, checks a cognac in a converted cow shed at his rustic farmstead on the outskirts of the southern Dutch city of Breda. [Jan Hennop / AFP]
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, said 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" eight million US dollars.
"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."
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.
