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The most expensive bottle of American whiskey ever sold at auction is no longer a dusty pre-Prohibition relic or a museum-grade antique. Its a 1982 bottle of Old Rip Van Winkle. This weekend at Sothebys New York, a bottle of Old Rip Van Winkle 20-Year-Old Single Barrel Sams (1982) sold for $162,500, setting a new record for the most valuable bottle of American whiskey ever sold at auction. Only 60 hand-numbered bottles of the legendary Sams release were ever produced, bottled at a staggering 133.4 proof, the highest proof Van Winkle expression ever released. The bottle hadnt appeared at auction in more than a decade. And it wasnt alone. That record-setting bottle headlined the Great American Whiskey Collection Saturday, which brought in $2.5 million, making it the most valuable single-owner American whiskey collection ever sold and the most valuable single-owner spirits auction ever held in New York. The total more than doubled Sothebys low pre-sale estimate of $1.17 million, and every single lot sold. For a category that, until recently, lagged far behind Scotch in the auction world, the sale marked a watershed moment. This wasnt just a good night for Van Winkle. It was a signal that American whiskey has fully arrived as a serious, global collectible. A first for Sothebys and for bourbon The auction, held live at Sothebys new global headquarters in the Breuer Building on Madison Avenue, was the first live, single-owner American whiskey sale in history. Sothebys leaned into the moment, installing a pop-up bar inside the space so visitors could experience the 360-bottle collection up close before bidding began. The bottles read like a greatest-hits list of Kentucky and rye history: Old Rip Van Winkle, Old Fitzgerald, private bottlings for historic retailers, and ultra-rare single barrels that were never meant to leave a small circle of friends and insiders. And the buyers reflected how the market is shifting. Sotheby’s says 96% of the lots were purchased by North American collectors. Nearly a third of the buyers were new to Sothebys, and more than half were under 40. That last number matters. American whiskey collecting is no longer being driven by the same older Scotch-focused crowd that traditionally dominates auction houses. A younger generation of bourbon and rye obsessives is entering the secondary market with serious money and a deep knowledge of the categorys lore. Why private labels and store picks dominated the night What propelled the sale beyond expectations wasnt just age statements or old glass. It was something uniquely American: private label bottlings and single barrels made for liquor stores, families, and insiders decades ago. These bottles were never widely distributed. Many were likely consumed long ago. Their survival is almost accidental. A few standouts: Van Winkle 18-Year-Old Binnys (1985, 121.6 proof) sold for $106,250. Distilled at Stitzel-Weller and bottled at full cask strength for Chicago retailer Binnys, fewer than 100 bottles were made. Very Very Old Fitzgerald Blackhawk 18-Year-Old (1950, 121 proof) realized $112,500, more than double its low estimate. This was a private bottling for the Wirtz family, owners of the Chicago Blackhawks, and was never available to the public. A companion Blackhawk 12-Year-Old from the same series sold for $60,000. Van Winkle 18-Year-Old Family Reserve Park Avenue Liquor Shop fetched $62,500. Originally retailing for $75, it is one of only three known 18-Year-Old Van Winkle bottlings ever produced. All three were in this auction. A 1909 O.F.C. Bourbon 115 Proof drove competitive bidding to $47,500, far above estimate. Time and again, bottles tied to specific retailers, families, or one-off selections outperformed expectations. These werent mass-market releases. They were whiskey folklore in liquid form. A night of records for Van Winkle and beyond Numerous lots set new records, especially for obscure Van Winkle private labels and long-forgotten rye bottlings: Old Rip Van Winkle Blue Smoke 18-Year-Old: $37,500 Twisted Spoke 16-Year-Old: $32,500 Old Rip Van Winkle Delilahs 10th Anniversary: $30,000 Van Winkle 19-Year-Old Corti Brothers bottlings: $35,000 each J.W. Gottlieb Private Stock Rye 13-Year-Old (1984): $56,250 Old Rip Van Winkle Bottled in Bond 1917: $47,500 Pappy Van Winkle 20-Year-Old City Grocery 20th Anniversary: $30,000 Many of these bottles had never appeared at auction before. Others hadnt surfaced in decades. What this says about the American whiskey market Zev Glesta, Sothebys Whiskey Specialist, called the sale a defining moment for American whiskey at auction, pointing to the continued maturation of the global market for the rarest American whiskeys. Hes right. These werent aristocratic estate bottles. They were store picks, family gifts, anniversary barrels, and retailer exclusives that accidentally became legends. A bottle meant for a Chicago liquor store. A gift for the owners of a hockey team. A Manhattan shop pick that sold for $75. Forty years later, theyre museum pieces. And at least one of them just became the most expensive American whiskey ever sold.
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E-Commerce
Leaders of law enforcement organizations expressed alarm Sunday over the latest deadly shooting by federal officers in Minneapolis while use-of-force experts criticized the Trump administration’s justification of the killing, saying bystander footage contradicted its narrative of what prompted it.The federal government also faced criticism over the lack of a civil rights inquiry by the U.S. Justice Department and its efforts to block Minnesota authorities from conducting their own review of the killing of 37-year-old Alex Pretti.In a bid to ease tensions, the International Association of Chiefs of Police called on the White House to convene discussions “as soon as practicable” among federal, state and local law enforcement.“Every police chief in the country is watching Minneapolis very carefully,” said Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, a police research and policy organization. “If a police chief had three officer-involved shootings in three weeks, they would be stepping back and asking, ‘What does our training look like? What does our policy look like?'”Pretti’s death came on the heels of the Jan. 7 fatal shooting of Renee Good and another incident a week later in Minneapolis when a federal officer shot a man in the leg after being attacked with a shovel and broom handle while attempting to arrest a Venezuelan who was in the country illegally.“We’re dealing with a federal agency here,” Wexler said, referring to the Department of Homeland Security, “but its actions can have a ripple effect across the entire country.” Experts say video of shooting undermines federal claims While questions remained about the latest confrontation, use-of-force experts told The Associated Press that bystander video undermined federal authorities’ claim that Pretti “approached” a group of lawmen with a firearm and that a Border Patrol officer opened fire “defensively.” There has been no evidence made public, they said, that supports a claim by Border Patrol senior official Greg Bovino that Pretti, who had a permit to carry a concealed handgun, intended to “massacre law enforcement.”“It’s very baked into the culture of American policing to not criticize other law enforcement agencies,” said Seth Stoughton, a former police officer and use-of-force expert who testified for prosecutors in the trial of the Minneapolis officer convicted of murdering George Floyd.“But behind the scenes, there is nothing but professional scorn for the way that DHS is handling the aftermath of these incidents,” Stoughton said.Several government officials had essentially convicted Pretti on social media before the crime scene had been processed.Deputy White House chief of staff Stephen Miller generated outrage by describing Pretti as “a would-be assassin” in a post, while a top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, Bill Essayli, drew the ire of the National Rifle Association for posting that “if you approach law enforcement with a gun, there is a high likelihood they will be legally justified in shooting you.”“In a country that has more guns than people, the mere possession of a weapon does not establish an imminent threat to officers and neither does having a weapon and approaching officers,” Stoughton said. “I don’t think there’s any evidence to confirm the official narrative at all. It’s not unlawful for someone to carry a weapon in Minnesota.” Minnesota official says state investigators blocked from shooting scene In the hours after Pretti’s shooting, Minnesota authorities obtained a search warrant granting them access to the shooting scene. Drew Evans, superintendent for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said his team was blocked from the scene.Minnesota authorities also received an emergency court order from a federal judge barring officials “from destroying or altering evidence related to the fatal shooting involving federal officers.”Bovino sounded a less strident tone at a Sunday news conference, calling Pretti’s shooting a “tragedy that was preventable” even as he urged people not to “interfere, obstruct, delay or assault law enforcement.” He refused to comment on what he called the “freeze-frame concept,” referring to videos circulating on social media that raise doubts about the dangers Pretti posed to officers.“That, folks, is why we have something called an investigation,” Bovino said. “I wasn’t there wrestling him myself. So I’m not going to speculate. I’m going to wait for that investigation.”Policing experts said the irregularities in the federal response went beyond the government’s immediate defense. Before Pretti’s parents had even been notified of his death, DHS posted a photograph on X of a 9mm Sig Sauer semiautomatic handgun seized during the scuffle, portraying the weapon as justification for the killing.“The suspect also had 2 magazines and no ID,” the post said. “This looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage.”However, the photo showed only one loaded magazine lying next to the pistol, which had apparently been emptied and displayed on the seat of a vehicle. Minnesota state officials said that, by removing the weapon from the scene, Border Patrol officers likely mishandled key evidence. Videos show Pretti holding a cellphone None of the half-dozen bystander videos shows Pretti brandishing his gun. Rather, the videos showed Pretti’s hands were only holding his mobile phone as a masked Border Patrol officer opened fire.In videos of the scuffle, “gun, gun” is heard, and an officer appears to pull a handgun from Pretti’s waist area and begins moving away. As that happens, a first shot is fired by a Border Patrol officer. There’s a slight pause, and then the same officer fires several more times into Pretti’s back.Several use-of-force experts said that unenhanced video clips alone would neither exonerate nor support prosecution of the officers, underscoring the need for a thorough investigation. A key piece of evidence will likely be the video from the phone Pretti was holding when he was killed. Federal officials have not yet released that footage or shared it with state investigators.“The evaluation of the reasonableness of this shooting will entirely depend on when the pistol became visible and how, if at all, it was being displayed or used,” said Charles “Joe” Key, a former police lieutenant and longtime use-of-force expert.Ian Adams, an assistant professor of criminal justice at the University of South Carolina, described the federal government’s response as “amateur hour.”“Jumping to the end result of this investigation, or what’s supposed to be an investigation, is somewhat embarrassing for policing professionals nationwide,” Adams said. “It’s clear that professionals in policing are observing what’s going on and not liking what they’re seeing.̶__Associated Press reporter Hannah Fingerhut contributed reporting Des Moines, Iowa. JIm Mustian and Michael Biesecker, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
A new year often starts with a simple question: How can we do better? For businesses, its a question that applies to almost everything, from product innovation to climate impactan area of increasing urgency for many. The goal of achieving net-zero is now a staple of most businesses annual plans, however the journey there is often challenging. It can be fraught with hidden trade-offs, making it difficult for ESG leaders to know whether they are truly backing the right solutions in pursuit of their climate goals. Take aviation, for example. As one of the world’s most difficult sectors to decarbonize, its 2.5% share of global CO2 emissions represents a major challenge for nearly every corporate climate plan. To solve this, the industry developed a solution called Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). Unlike traditional jet fuel made from crude oil, SAF is produced from renewable sources like used cooking oil, agricultural waste, and other plant-based materials. Crucially, its designed to work with existing aircraft engines, allowing airlines to dramatically reduce their carbon footprint without having to build new planes. While promising a dramatic reduction in air travels carbon footprint, the well-intentioned race to scale this green fuel has created a dangerous paradox, leading companies down a path that risks undermining the goals they are trying to achieve. THE HIDDEN FLAW IN GREEN JET FUEL SAF has quickly become the poster child for sustainable flight, as it cuts an aircrafts lifecycle emissions by up to 80%. However, the way we scale SAF matters just as much as the volumes we achieve. Many of todays biofuels rely on crops grown on arable land, creating direct competition with food production and increasing the risk of deforestation and biodiversity loss. This is the hidden flaw in the first wave of green jet fuel. When the same land that could grow food or support forests is converted for use in jet fuel, claims of sustainability become less convincing. This approach risks incentivizing solutions that reduce carbon emissions on spreadsheets while increasing the social and environmental risks in reality. At the same time, no one should underestimate the scale of aviations challenge. Industry roadmaps state that to align with net-zero targets by 2050, the sector will need hundreds of millions of tons of SAF per year, compared to only a few million tons produced per year today. We must choose the right path to close that gap over the next quarter-century. The world generates an enormous amount of waste every year, from used cooking oil and animal fats to agricultural residues such as corn cobs, straw, and empty fruit bunches. Much of this material is mismanaged, leading to open burning, water contamination, and methane emissions as organic waste decomposes. Turning this waste into fuel tackles two problems at once: it avoids methane and pollution from unmanaged waste, and it displaces fossil fuels in sectors like aviation. FROM PILOT TO SCALE: PROOF IN THE REAL WORLD The key question for any sustainability solution is simple: Can it scale? For waste-based SAF, the answer is increasingly yes. At EcoCeres, our first large-scale renewable fuels plant in Jiangsu, Chinawhich launched in 2021demonstrated that industrial-scale production of SAF from 100% waste oils is commercially viable, with a capacity of around 350,000 tons per year. Now, that model is scaling. In January 2026, we officially opened our new production facility in Johor, Malaysia. With 420,000 tons of annual renewable fuel capacity, its one of the country’s first dedicated SAF facilities and it effectively doubles EcoCeres SAF production capability. The plant utilizes 100% waste-based feedstocks, supported by a strategy that secures used cooking oil and other residues across Asia. Its circular model is demonstrated by facilities certified under leading industry bodies like ISCC (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification) and CORSIA (Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation). It has moved beyond pilots and is now delivering at industrial scale, proving the viability of truly circular SAF. SAF AS A GATEWAY TO CREDIBLE NET-ZERO FOR BUSINESS For many global companies, business travel and air freight form a substantial share of their carbon emissions. Without a scalable, credible source of SAF, corporate net-zero pledges risk becoming aspirational rather than actionable. Its clear that a more sophisticated standard for green fuel is needed. Three simple criteria can guide better decisions: Feedstock integrity: Does the fuel rely on 100% waste and residue-based feedstocks that do not compete with food or high-value ecosystems? Verified lifecycle impact: Does it achieve high lifecycle emissions reductions validated by robust, third-party certification schemes aligned with global standards? Circular and local co-benefits: Does the solution tangibly reduce local pollution and create sustainable economic opportunities in the regions where waste is collected? Applying these tests can differentiate between models that simply shift problems elsewhere and circular solutions that create compounded benefits. CLOSE THE LOOP ON GLOBAL MOBILITY The concept of a circular economy has successfully reshaped countless industries. For years, however, global aviation has remained a critical open loop. A truly circular, waste-based SAF model can help us finally close the loop on global mobility. This is not a distant dream. As weve demonstrated, the technology is already proven and operating at scale. Global studies confirm that underutilized waste streams can support the production of hundreds of millions of tons of sustainable fuel, more than enough to bridge the current supply gap. As more of the worlds waste is brought into productive use, the idea of flying on circular fuel moves from promising pilot to practical reality. For the business leaders and ESG teams asking, How can we do better? this presents a clear and actionable path. By championing a higher standard for the fuels they endorse, they can help transform one of the world’s most difficult climate challenges into a story of innovation and opportunity. If we can turn the worlds waste into the worlds jet fuel, then every business trip, shipment, and journey can be part of the solution, not the problem. Matti Lievonen is CEO of EcoCeres.
Category:
E-Commerce
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