This Clase Azul ‘Dia De Muertos’ 2017 Bottle Is Now The Most Expensive Tequila Ever Sold At Auction

Once a Mexico distillery exclusive, the bottle fetched more than $30,000 at Sotheby’s.

While the experience of sipping the finest tequila on the planet is often priceless, it turns out one can indeed put a number on it, at least according to a record-breaking Sotheby’s auction of a rare 2017 Clase Azul bottle.

There’s already nothing short of a sculptural quality to the breathtaking design behind the Clase Azul decanter, a fixture at the world’s best bars and restaurants. And year after year, the Clase Azul Dia De Muertos release (which featured a blended, aged tequila in its latest limited-edition run last fall) turns heads in the same way.

Just one bottle of 2017 Clase Azul Dia De Muertos fetched a princely sum of about $35,000 at Sotheby’s late last month, cementing its place as the most expensive bottle of tequila ever sold at auction. The Sotheby’s Whisky & Whiskey Single Cask Summer online auction also delivered an impressive lineup of remarkably collectible spirits, including rare bottlings from the likes of Pappy Van Winkle, but it’s the distillery exclusive 2017 Clase Azul Dia De Muertos that shattered records for an agave spirit.

“This is the first big result for one of the industry’s most iconic brands, Clase Azul, which could mark the dawn of a new boom for collectible tequila,” said Sotheby’s Global Head of Spirits, Jonny Fowle. He added in a statement that “this is a very interesting time for tequila,” as tequila sales grew by more than 20 percent in 2025.

Complete with its original presentation case, the handsome decanter holds rare añejo tequila hailing from the Clase Azul Cabo San Lucas distillery, and as Robb Report notes, the original bottling sold for about $250 apiece. The $35,000 final hammer price beat out a Rolling Stones special-edition Jose Cuervo tequila bottle that sold for more than $24,000 at auction.

The company’s ceramic decanters are fetching, memorable and yes, collectible in their own right even without tequila inside. The 2017 Dia De Muertos edition boasts an ornate orange skull motif against white ceramic, with skull designs adorning the decanter itself.

Notably, the company’s Creative Lab pushes the boundaries of design even further. Clase Azul notes that within its Guadalajara lab, “we explore materials, design, and inspiration, developing new creations through in-house experimentation and state-of-the-art technology.” There’s certainly staying power for both the agave spirit within and the Clase Azul decanter itself, and interested parties should watch closely for future Sotheby’s auctions featuring Clase Azul.