Old Hoffman is back, and the two releases bearing its name are already occupying very different places in the bourbon market. The Old Hoffman 6 Year arrived first. Old Hoffman Rare Selection followed with individual single barrel picks and a much steeper secondary market price.

The 6 Year currently averages $102 in the Bourbon Blue Book. Across ten Rare Selection picks, the unweighted average of their individual secondary market averages is $310. That is roughly three times as much. What is driving the gap?

I have a personal reason to follow it. I helped select Barrel #145, the Brady & Brooks Rare Selection. Participating in that pick gave me an early look at the whiskey behind the revived name. Now that more selections are reaching buyers, we can begin to see how the market values one barrel against another.

The Hoffman Name Has a History

The Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, property that Old Commonwealth now occupies dates to 1889. The Hoffman family became involved in 1893, and Old Commonwealth credits them with creating the Old Hoffman brand. The distillery later passed through other hands, closed in 1979, and became home to Julian Van Winkle III’s whiskey operation after he bought the property in 1983. The present-day owners acquired it in 2019 and started bringing back historic labels in 2024. Read Old Commonwealth’s history.

Rare Selection also has its own past. Collectors can find Hoffman Rare Selection bottles from the Van Winkle era, including a 1988 bottling made for the Japanese export market. That lineage is part of the appeal of the modern release. It describes the history of the name and property, rather than the origin of the whiskey in today’s bottle. See the historic bottle.

One Brand Two Different Ways In

The 6 Year provides an introduction to the revived Old Hoffman name. Rare Selection offers something more specific: barrels chosen separately, at different proofs, with each pick standing on its own. The decisions made for one barrel should not be assumed to describe every bottle in the series.

That distinction feels tangible to me because I helped choose Barrel #145. The Brady & Brooks pick is one expression of Rare Selection, not a template for all of them. If a particular bottle interests you, the barrel and proof matter as much as the label.

For example, the Black Bourbon Run selection, HRS-154, is listed at 121 proof after six years of primary maturation and a year of secondary maturation in a Kelvin barrel. Those details apply to HRS-154; they are not specifications for every Rare Selection pick. See HRS-154 details.

What the First Sales Show

These picks are only beginning to reach the market. Here is an early Bourbon Blue Book view of average, low and high secondary sales for each barrel through September 27, 2026.

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The two picks near 95 proof average $237 across their pick-level averages. The other eight average about $328. Proof is a plausible part of that difference, but each barrel also has its own appeal. Since several of these releases are new, additional sales should give us a better picture of where their prices settle.

Barrel #145 averages $360 in this early snapshot, (and is also the highest proof pick released to-date). The Black Bourbon Run pick leads the group at $385 however, some of the earliest sales were of these bottles driving a slight premium, while several other higher-proof barrels are landing near $300 to $330. The spread is a good reason to search for the exact pick before deciding what a Rare Selection bottle is worth to you.

Is Rare Selection Worth the Premium

The $102 6 Year and these $310 Rare Selection picks serve different buyers. If you want to explore the Old Hoffman revival, the 6 Year gives you a reference point. If you want a particular single barrel, you are paying for that barrel’s proof, character and availability. There is no single price that describes every pick.

Know Before You Buy

A historic name can make you stop and look. The Bourbon Blue Book helps you decide what to pay. Search the exact Old Hoffman Rare Selection barrel to see its recent sales, price range and how its value changes as more bottles reach the market.

Considering a bottle at retail, on the secondary market or in a trade? Get the Bourboneur app and check the Bourbon Blue Book before you make the call.

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