SACRAMENTO – The second offering of collector Don Dwyer’s bottle collection closed at American Bottle Auctions June 6, the top lot found with a Chalmer’s Catawba Wine Bitters in aqua at $13,500.

“This example is as deep a shade of blue aqua as we’ve seen with some good overall crudity and whittle,” the auction house wrote, grading it a 9.

The whiskey-shaped bottle is a coveted western bitters notable for its full-face embossing and San Francisco origin.

When Robert Chalmers married Louisa, the widow of Martin Allhoff, in 1870, he inherited Allhoff’s successful winery in El Dorado County. Chalmer would transform the winery into an acclaimed producer, earning awards for his many products, which included brandies.

In this bottle, Chalmer memorialized the discovery of gold at Sutter’s Old Mill in 1948.

Watch for a full review of this sale in a future issue.