(Photo: Don Julio 1942)
Don Julio Tequila is expanding its ever-popular 1942 lineup with a quintet of bespoke barrel-aged expressions. Unlike typical releases, the bottles will only be doled out to five customers who buy 240 bottles each at auction.
The exclusive drop marks the first-ever limited-edition twist on the flagship luxury tequila. While a standard bottle of Don Julio 1942 is aged up to 32 months in American white oak barrels, the five new expressions are finished in ex-bourbon, ruby port, Portuguese Madeira wine, orange wine and Crémant casks. The auction comes courtesy of BlockBar, the leading marketplace for spirits-based NFTs (more on that later).
Here's how it all works:
Each expression has been limited to just one cask, equivalent to forty cases containing a total of 240 bottles. Bidding has opened at $35,000 per cask with a "winner takes all approach"; by the time the auction wraps on June 20, five buyers will own the entirety of each bottling.
Next comes the admittedly complex NFT angle. All casks will be stored at the Don Julio distillery until March 25, at which time each cask NFT will be converted into forty individual case NFTs. Owners will then have the chance to resell their cases — represented as NFTs — to third parties through BlockBar. All told, it won't be until June 2025 that bottles reach the hands of consumers.
“We recognize that for many, luxury tequilas are considered an extension of one’s lifestyle, so we’re meeting the demand for prospective buyers and tastemakers to not only own an extremely rare, super luxe-tequila, but to own a piece of the Tequila Don Julio history and legacy," Sophie Kelly, senior vice president of Global Tequila and Mezcal Categories at Diageo, said in a news release.
Don Julio's intricate sales strategy is the latest in a burgeoning trend toward NFT-spirits hybrids. Browsing through BlockBar, you'll find dozens of glitzy releases including an $11,000 bottle of Ballantine's 40-Year-Old and an $8,000 Benriach twin set. Prices regularly reach into the six figures; in 2022, an NFT of Hennessy 8 Cognac went on sale at a record-breaking $226,450.
Don Julio 1942 seems like a natural pairing for the concept. Often spotted in the hands of celebrities and showy club-goers, the bottle has fostered a luxury reputation reminiscent of Clase Azul Tequila and Dom Pérignon Champagne.
Collectors hoping to snatch up a cask can find the auction here.
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