July's Spirits Auction: Time for Explorations & Libations!

Summer is a time to go to new places and try new things. We at K&L Auctions are taking our bidders to a place we've never gone before: Overtime! If you haven't seen or experienced it yet, our auctions no longer end promptly at a pre-determined time. Now, if a bid comes in the final 2 minutes of an auction lot, the lot is automatically extended 2 minutes from when that bid came in. This will repeat until there are no more bids and then —going once, going twice, sold! You still have to pay attention; 2 minutes goes quicker than you would think, but still gives you enough time to get your heart rate up and your bid in.

In the vein of trying new things, my list of American Whiskies is heavily weighted towards multi-bottle tasting lots. While auctions are a great way to snag those high-end bottles that you never saw the first time around, they are also a tremendous way to explore things that you haven't tried before. Sure, there may be a bottle in the set that you don't think you want but open your mind up and try those bottles up against the ones you're jazzed about; you might just have your mind changed.

Also, combining warm weather and experimentation, check out the broad selection of rums up for auction. Rum is the perfect drink for summer: it just seems to go with everything and everywhere. I have always been shocked that rum has never exploded as a category. Where else can you get incredibly complex and aged spirits for such a relative bargain? If the first thing you think of when you hear the word "rum" is "coke," it's time to reprogram your brain. Our current auction has rums not just from the Caribbean but from all over the globe, including offerings from Japan and California. Drink them as you would a fine whisky: neat, with a few drops of water or over a rock of ice. If you prefer your rum in a cocktail, my summer go-to is the Daiquiri; it only has 3 ingredients, is incredibly satisfying and really lets the rum shine. 2 ounces rum (typically a light rum, but it's super complex with a darker aged rum), 0.75 ounces of fresh-squeezed lime juice and 0.75 ounces of simple syrup. Shake over ice and strain into a glass. No garnish is necessary, but a thin slice of lime on the rim will definitely earn you style points. Drink it while it's still cold and then make yourself another one using a different rum...remember it's not drinking, it's exploration!

— Steven Birer, K&L Rare Spirits Auction Director

These incredible highlights, and the other curated selections below offer rich, diverse flavor profiles to enhance any spirits collection. Track the action here, set a keyword alert for your white whales, and don’t overlook lots with no bids as they're often the sharpest buys on the site.

Along with this featured auction, keep an eye on our weekly e-mails or set up a keyword notification to be alerted with updates on the hundreds of lots live at K&L every day. Looking for some of the sharpest buys on the market? Be sure to browse auction lots without bids for opportunities on remarkable collectibles at incredible prices.