Dutchman to sell rare 250-year-old liqueur collection

Thousands of bottles of rare cognac and other drinks, some dating back to the French Revolution, went up for sale, with their Dutch collector expected to reap several million euros.

Describing it as the “largestcollection of old liqueurs inthe world”, a spokesman for Breda publisher Bay van der Buntsaid around 5,000 bottles of cognac, whisky, armagnacand other liqueurs are to be sold for a total estimated price of€6 million.

Van der Bunt “promised his wife he’d sell his collection when she retired at the age of 65 and he’s making good on that promise,” Bart Laming told AFP.

He said that Van der Bunt, 63, who inherited part of the collection from his father and grandfather and stored it in a cellar at his home in the southwestern Dutch city, had no children to hand it to.

The collection includes ahand-blown six-litre bottle of1795 Brugerolle cognac believedto have been requisitionedby French revolutionary armyofficers.

“It is believed this bottle also accompanied Napoleon Bonaparte on his campaigns and is the only one left in the world,” Laming said.

On its own, the bottle has an asking price of €138,000, although Van der Bunt is hoping to negotiate a sale for most of the collection as a single lot.

Van der Bunt – who has been adding to the collection for the last 35 years – bought the Brugerolle at a Christie’s auction in Chicago in 1990.

The collector, who ironically does not drink alcohol, also bought bottles from famous restaurants such as Maxim’s in Paris and Le Cirque in New York, Laming said.

He said several buyers have already shown interest, mainly from China and Russia.

However, the oldest cognac, dating back to 1760, will not be for sale. “That is a real heirloom. It stays with Mr Van der Bunt,” he said.