Video: 1795 Cognac for sale in world's most valuable drinks collection Collecting old liquors is a family passion. Mr van der Bunt's collection of 5,000 unopened bottles of spirits was started by his great-grandfather in 1880. Mr van der Bunt said he was aiming the sale at a rich Chinese or Russian buyer. However, any bidder hoping to savour the rare drink will be disappointed as the collector said he would not sell to anyone considering opening the precious bottles. We will screen potential buyers to minimise that risk," the collector said. Although Cognac is named after the town of Cognac in France, Mr van der Bunt claims it is actually a Dutch invention. Dutch sailors were, he said, the first to have started distilling their wine on-board big ships, in order to keep it from going sour.