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- Ex-Uber Exec and Bar Owner Spot Liquid Gold in Rare Spirits, Create $150 Million Marketplace Where High-End Bottles are Bought and Sold</p>
<p>Caroline LubinskyOctober 13, 2025 at 1:31 AM</p>
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<p>Ex-Uber Exec and Bar Owner Spot Liquid Gold in Rare Spirits, Create $150 Million Marketplace Where High-End Bottles are Bought and Sold</p>
<p>If you want to sell a rare bottle of whiskey, how can you be sure you're getting a fair price? That was the question a tech veteran and a bar owner teamed up to answer with their online marketplace, Unicorn.</p>
<p>Phil Mikhaylov, one-time head of global partnerships for Uber Eats, and bar owner Cody Modeer launched the site in 2020 so alcohol aficionados can buy and sell high-end spirits and wine for what they're really worth.</p>
<p>A Spirits Startup Is Born</p>
<p>Mikhaylov got the idea for Unicorn while working with a whiskey lover whose collection was worth over $1 million. That made him wonder: How many other collectors have no idea how valuable their bottles are but would look for the answer through a reputable marketplace.</p>
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<p>Modeer was motivated as a bar owner who wanted a marketplace where high end alcohol could be bought and sold for fair prices.</p>
<p>Together, they created Unicorn, a web- and app-based auction/marketplace that also has a brick-and-mortar vault in Chicago with more than $100 million worth of bottles under management. The company also has 11 dropoff and pickup locations across the nation.</p>
<p>One key component to Unicorn is its authentication mechanisms. These include tech-enabled authentication, appraisal and digitization of every bottle. The company also has a database of more than 400,000 historical transactions and 1 million digital photos, making it possible to spot inconsistencies and ensure authenticity.</p>
<p>Unicorn's more expensive bottles can range from $100 to $250,000, but the company also did more than 50,000 transactions last year that were under $100.</p>
<p>Some of the most expensive bottles that have sold on Unicorn include a bottle of Very Very Old Fitzgerald 18-year Blackhawk bourbon that sold for $80,000, a bottle of Buffalo Trace Old Fashioned Copper 1982 that sold for close to $123,000, and a bottle of Yamazaki 55-year Single Malt Japanese Whiskey that sold for more than $200,000.</p>
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<p>Buyers can partake in 1-3 weekly auctions with up to 6,000 listings worth $1 million to $2million and more than 65,000 bids. By contrast, Sotheby's and Christie's only hold auctions every month or two, and only for high-end bottles.</p>
<p>Unicorn says more than 100,000 customers have used the platform, generating more than 7 million bids and more than $150 million in sales, and that 60% to 70% of its customer base is Gen X, millennials and Gen Z.</p>
<p>The Global Spirits Marketplace</p>
<p>As digital marketplaces for big-ticket luxury items like designer handbags, sneakers, and automobiles took off, it was only a matter of time before entrepreneurs found similar opportunities in alcohol.</p>
<p>Younger generations with disposable income and an affinity for luxury goods have also inspired digital marketplaces where high-end and rare alcohol is bought by serious collectors and casual drinkers alike.</p>
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<p>The global luxury wine and spirits market is expected to grow from $274.1 billion in 2024 to around $438 billion in 2034, translating into a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.8% between 2025-2034, according to a report by Market.US, a market analyses firm in New York.</p>
<p>North America captured 31.4% of the global market share, about $84.9 billion, in 2024. The report also noted that luxury wines accounted for 56.1% of the 2024 luxury wine and spirits market in 2024, with online retail accounting for 36.3% of distribution.</p>
<p>Competition and Other Risks</p>
<p>Unicorn is not without its digital rivals in a very competitive space.</p>
<p>New York-based BAXUS describes itself as "the first peer-to-peer Marketplace for buying, selling, trading, and storing your valuable spirits & wine." The company says that it uses blockchain technology "to give users proof of ownership, authentication, and a safe storage solution."</p>
<p>Other digital marketplaces catering to the high-end wine and spirit aficionado include Winebid.com, Good Bottle Auctions, Whisekey.acition.com, Invaluable.com, Whiskey Auctioneer, and Whiskeytrades.com.</p>
<p>And because alcohol attracts more scrutiny from regulators than most other industries, digital marketplaces for wine and spirits need to navigate the complex rules that could affect their business.</p>
<p>Another risk is the decline in U.S. alcohol consumption. According to a 2023 Gallup poll, 54% of Americans reported drinking alcohol, down from 67% in 2017. That's the lowest percentage of Americans who said they consumed alcohol since Gallup started tracking American drinking behavior in 1939.</p>
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<p>Image: Shutterstock</p>
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<p>This article Ex-Uber Exec and Bar Owner Spot Liquid Gold in Rare Spirits, Create $150 Million Marketplace Where High-End Bottles are Bought and Sold originally appeared on Benzinga.com</p>
<p>© 2025 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.</p>
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