April 2025 Auction

Clynelish 1998 Signatory Vintage 17 Year Old

Clynelish distillery as it is recognised today, was built in 1967 to replace the smaller distillery next-door, which was the original site of that name. The first distillery was closed, but later re-opened, changing its name to Brora (but that’s another story). Clynelish is part of the Diageo stable, having been taken over by DCL in 1925. Despite being an important part of the Johnnie Walker blends, it has long been bottled as a single malt.

This Clynelish was distilled on 27th May 1998 and aged in hogsheads #7772 + #7773 for 17 years before being bottled on 16th July 2015.

Signatory Vintage were established in 1988 by Andrew Symington and are one of Scotland's most prolific independent bottlers. Their offices and bottling facility are located next to Edradour distillery, which they have also owned since 2002.

Chivas Royal Salute 21 Year Old Special Batch / Miami Polo Edition

The first Chivas Regal blend was launched by Chivas Brothers in 1909, a premium brand that quickly developed a big market in the US. While Prohibition put a temporary halt to its success ten years later, it also allowed Canadian distillers, Seagram, to become the biggest drinks company in North America, and they targeted Chivas Brothers straight away when buying into the Scotch market. They acquired the firm in 1949, adding Strathisla to its portfolio, and building a further three more distilleries. Over the years they also acquired the assets of Campbell Distillers and The Glenlivet Distillers, positioning it as one of the largest whisky companies in Scotland. The Seagram empire eventually collapsed in the early 2000s, with its Chivas Brothers arm picked up by Pernod-Ricard, along with Allied Domecq in a separate acquisition, bringing over the Ballantine's brand. Chivas now produces two of the top three selling blends in the world, and its distillery portfolio, with Glenlivet as its flagship brand, is rivalled only by that of Diageo.

Created by master blender, Charles H Julian, the Royal Salute was launched in 1953 as a tribute to the newly crowned Queen Elizabeth II.

Chivas Regal 25 Year Old

The first Chivas Regal blend was launched by Chivas Brothers in 1909, a premium brand that quickly developed a big market in the US. While Prohibition put a temporary halt to its success ten years later, it also allowed Canadian distillers, Seagram, to become the biggest drinks company in North America, and they targeted Chivas Brothers straight away when buying into the Scotch market. They acquired the firm in 1949, adding Strathisla to its portfolio, and building a further three more distilleries. Over the years they also acquired the assets of Campbell Distillers and The Glenlivet Distillers, positioning it as one of the largest whisky companies in Scotland. The Seagram empire eventually collapsed in the early 2000s, with its Chivas Brothers arm picked up by Pernod-Ricard, along with Allied Domecq in a separate acquisition, bringing over the Ballantine's brand. Chivas now produces two of the top three selling blends in the world, and its distillery portfolio, with Glenlivet as its flagship brand, is rivalled only by that of Diageo.

A bottle of the Chivas Regal 25 Year Old, in an impressive presentation box. 

Chivas Revolve 75cl

The first Chivas Regal blend was launched by Chivas Brothers in 1909, a premium brand that quickly developed a big market in the US. While Prohibition put a temporary halt to its success ten years later, it also allowed Canadian distillers, Seagram, to become the biggest drinks company in North America, and they targeted Chivas Brothers straight away when buying into the Scotch market. They acquired the firm in 1949, adding Strathisla to its portfolio, and building a further three more distilleries. Over the years they also acquired the assets of Campbell Distillers and The Glenlivet Distillers, positioning it as one of the largest whisky companies in Scotland. The Seagram empire eventually collapsed in the early 2000s, with its Chivas Brothers arm picked up by Pernod-Ricard, along with Allied Domecq in a separate acquisition, bringing over the Ballantine's brand. Chivas now produces two of the top three selling blends in the world, and its distillery portfolio, with Glenlivet as its flagship brand, is rivalled only by that of Diageo.

This Chivas whisky has been triple blended, oak aged and chill-filtered. It is presented in a contemporary decanter which, in keeping with the name, revolves when spun. 

Cardhu 12 Year Old John Walker and Sons 1980s

Cardhu is the Speyside home of Johnnie Walker, and the distillery contributes much of its production to the world-famous blend. So much so in fact that the Cardhu brand was turned into a vatted \"pure malt\" for a brief period in 2002 to ease pressure on its stock, but quickly reverted back to a single malt in 2004 following widespread criticism. The incident saw the rewriting of the rulebook for single malt whisky, and the birth of the term \"blended malt,\" adding some infamy to the Cardhu history books in the process.

This is a 1980s bottling of the 12 year old age-statement. Cardhu was one of a number of DCL distilleries that were licensed to John Walker & Sons in the 1980s due to its importance to their blends, along with high profile names like Talisker and Mortlach. This was common practice at the time, and continued until the company's subsequent iteration, United Distillers, began to restructure by withdrawing these licenses and reclaiming control over the distribution of its single malt portfolio.

Chivas Royal Salute 21 Year Old The Blended Grain

The first Chivas Regal blend was launched by Chivas Brothers in 1909, a premium brand that quickly developed a big market in the US. While Prohibition put a temporary halt to its success ten years later, it also allowed Canadian distillers, Seagram, to become the biggest drinks company in North America, and they targeted Chivas Brothers straight away when buying into the Scotch market. They acquired the firm in 1949, adding Strathisla to its portfolio, and building a further three more distilleries. Over the years they also acquired the assets of Campbell Distillers and The Glenlivet Distillers, positioning it as one of the largest whisky companies in Scotland. The Seagram empire eventually collapsed in the early 2000s, with its Chivas Brothers arm picked up by Pernod-Ricard, along with Allied Domecq in a separate acquisition, bringing over the Ballantine's brand. Chivas now produces two of the top three selling blends in the world, and its distillery portfolio, with Glenlivet as its flagship brand, is rivalled only by that of Diageo.

Compass Box A Side 2023 / New Vibrations

Despite brands like Ballantine’s, Johnnie Walker and Chivas Regal remaining the best-selling Scotch whisky brands in the world, the blended Scotch category played second fiddle to the more fashionable single malt market in the second half of the 20th century. This remains largely true today, however in recent decades the perception of the blend has improved. The company at the forefront of this is Compass Box, founded in 2000 by John Glaser, a former marketing director for the Johnnie Walker brand. Their core range consists of The Spice Tree, The Peat Monster, Story of the Spaniard, Oak Cross and Hedonism blends, and they regularly produce limited editions as well. The company prides itself on its boundary-pushing approach to its creations, and on occasion, boundary-crossing creations, such as the original Spice Tree in 2005 which was banned by the Scotch Whisky Association for its use of suspended staves in casks. Despite investment from Bacardi in 2015, the company continues to push the envelope and rebel against tradition, most notably in its Scotch Whisky Transparency campaign, launched in 2016 following another disagreement with the SWA, this time about their detailed revealing of the recipes of their whiskies.

This whisky was aged in ex-bourbon  barrels and Madeira-seasoned Hogsheads.

One of 930 bottles.

Caol Ila 2000 Gordon and MacPhail Single Sherry Cask #309578 / Exclusively for Denmark

Caol Ila distillery was built in 1846 by Hector Henderson, who was bought out from the venture a little over 10 year later by Bulloch Lade. The blending firm merged with DCL (now Diageo) in 1927, who still run the distillery today. In 1972 the original site was demolished and replaced by a new one. When distilling resumed in 1974, Caol Ila was the largest producer of single malt on the Isle of Islay. Despite this, due to its importance in popular blends such as Johnnie Walker, its single malt brand disappeared under United Distillers, and it was not until 2002 that it would return, when the 12 year old was revived by Diageo.

This Caol Ila was distilled in October 2000 and matured in single first-fill Sherry hogshead #309578. It was bottled by Gordon and MacPhail in June 2011 exclusivley for Denmark.

One of only 356 bottles.

Compass Box Asyla 2008

Despite brands like Ballantine’s, Johnnie Walker and Chivas Regal remaining the best-selling Scotch whisky brands in the world, the blended Scotch category played second fiddle to the more fashionable single malt market in the second half of the 20th century. This remains largely true today, however in recent decades the perception of the blend has improved. The company at the forefront of this is Compass Box, founded in 2000 by John Glaser, a former marketing director for the Johnnie Walker brand. Their core range consists of The Spice Tree, The Peat Monster, Story of the Spaniard, Oak Cross and Hedonism blends, and they regularly produce limited editions as well. The company prides itself on its boundary-pushing approach to its creations, and on occasion, boundary-crossing creations, such as the original Spice Tree in 2005 which was banned by the Scotch Whisky Association for its use of suspended staves in casks. Despite investment from Bacardi in 2015, the company continues to push the envelope and rebel against tradition, most notably in its Scotch Whisky Transparency campaign, launched in 2016 following another disagreement with the SWA, this time about their detailed revealing of the recipes of their whiskies.

Asyla was a rich and full flavoured blend containing nothing but whisky matured in first-fill bourbon casks. One of the company's earliest blends, this was a key part of the core range until it was discontinued in 2018 due to difficulties in sourcing the requisite whiskies.

The recipe for the blend varies from batch to batch, however it always consists of a 50:50 malt to grain ratio with the former usually being distilled in Speyside. Only first-fill American oak casks are used. This 2008 release contains Fife grain and malt from the villages of Elgin, Longmorn and Ballindaloch...

Cragganmore 20 Year Old Cask Strength 2020 Release

Cragganmore distillery was built by John Smith at the end of the 19th century. An astute businessman, he selected the location of his distillery to facilitate easy trade with his customers, and produced spirit geared fully towards the needs of the blending companies. It was not long before it was considered one of the finest for such a purpose, and the distillery was eventually acquired by White Horse Distillers. When White Horse were bought by DCL, its subsequent iteration, United Distillers, selected it as part of their Classic Malts series in 1988, officially launching its single malt brand. Despite this, its continued importance to Diageo blends means that distillery bottlings like this are scarce, with only the 12 year old and Distillers Edition making up a permanent range.

This 20 year old single malt has been matured in fresh-charred American oak casks. It was released as part of the 2020 Diageo Special Releases.

Clean Type Blended Japanese Whisky 2019 50cl / The Essence of Suntory

Suntory are one of the founding fathers of Japanese whisky, established by Shinjirō Torii in 1899 as a wine store in Osaka. The venture was hugely successful, and the company was renamed Kotobukiya in 1921, which built its first distillery three years later, Yamazaki. The distillery produced both malt and grain whiskies which the company blended together, releasing its first Suntory White Label in 1929, the resulting popularity of which saw the firm renamed after it 1963. Expansion in the next decade saw the company move its grain production to a new Chita distillery in 1972, and open a second malt distillery, Hakushu, the following year. Suntory today has a large stake in both the bourbon and Scotch whisky industry, but remains at the forefront of its native whisky market too.

Released at the end of 2019, this is from Volume 3 in the Essence of Suntory range of whiskies. 

A blend featuring malt whiskies from the Hakushu distillery, these have been aged for six or more years in casks with cedar heads. These whiskies have been blended with Hakushu malt whiskies aged in white oak casks and clean-type Chita grain whiskies.

Clynelish 2011 Single Malts of Scotland 11 Year Old / Collection Antipodes

Clynelish distillery as it is recognised today, was built in 1967 to replace the smaller distillery next-door, which was the original site of that name. The first distillery was closed, but later re-opened, changing its name to Brora (but that’s another story). Clynelish is part of the Diageo stable, having been taken over by DCL in 1912. Despite being an important part of the Johnnie Walker blends, it has long been bottled as a single malt.

Distilled in 2011 and bottled at 11 years old by Elixir Distillers.

Originally known as Speciality Drinks, Elixir Distillers was established in 1999 as the independent bottling arm of The Whisky Exchange, which launched its online retail site the same year. Their first bottlings were under the Single Malts of Scotland label in 2005, followed by the Elements of Islay range and Port Askaig single malt brand in 2006 and 2009, respectively. The company was renamed Elixir Distillers as of 2017.

One of 90 bottles.

Chateau De Pomes Peberere 1968 Armagnac

This is a 1968 vintage Armagnac from Chateau De Pomes Peberere, bottled in November 2021.

Cardhu 1991 Cask Strength 21 Year Old

Cardhu is the Speyside home of Johnnie Walker, and the distillery contributes much of its production to the world-famous blend. So much so in fact that the Cardhu brand was turned into a vatted \"pure malt\" for a brief period in 2002 to ease pressure on its stock, but quickly reverted back to a single malt in 2004 following widespread criticism. The incident saw the rewriting of the rulebook for single malt whisky, and the birth of the term \"blended malt,\" adding some infamy to the Cardhu history books in the process.

This is a 21 year old Cardhu released as part of Diageo's Special Releases in 2013.

Caol Ila 18 Year Old Worshipful Company of Distillers Master's Cask / Unpeated

Caol Ila distillery was built in 1846 by Hector Henderson, who was bought out from the venture a little over 10 year later by Bulloch Lade. The blending firm merged with DCL (now Diageo) in 1927, who still run the distillery today. In 1972 the original site was demolished and replaced by a new one. When distilling resumed in 1974, Caol Ila was the largest producer of single malt on the Isle of Islay. Despite this, due to its importance in popular blends such as Johnnie Walker, its single malt brand disappeared under United Distillers, who opted to bottle a 15 year old under the Flora & Fauna banner instead.

This unusually-unpeated Caol Ila was matured in a single cask for 18 years, and bottled by the Worshipful Company of Distillers in support of the Distillers' Charity. Titled the Master's Cask, this cask was donated to the WCD by Diageo.

Chichibu The Peated 2022

Chichibu distillery in Saitama, Japan was opened in 2008, and was the country’s first new distillery since Suntory opened Hakushu back in 1973. Chichibu was the brainchild of Ichiro Akuto, grandson of the founder of the legendary Hanyu distillery. The Ichiro’s Malt brand appeared in 2005 and rose to fame through the bottling of the last casks from Hanyu, particularly the sought after ‘Card’ series. The first Chichibu releases appeared under it in 2011.

The 2022 release of Chichibu which has been produced from heavily peated malt and bottled at cask strength.

One of 11,000 bottles.

Caol Il 15 Year Old Flora and Fauna

Following on from the successful introduction of the Classic Malts range in 1988 (at the time only six expressions), Diageo sought to build on this by releasing a further 22 single malts in 1991. These became affectionately known as the Flora & Fauna series, a term coined by whisky writer, Michael Jackson, in reference to their labels, and the range showcased the lesser-seen distilleries from the extensive Diageo portfolio at the time. Despite four further additions in 2001, only a handful of these are still permanent distillery bottlings, making this a highly collectible series.

Caol Ila distillery was built in 1846 by Hector Henderson, who was bought out from the venture a little over 10 year later by Bulloch Lade. The blending firm merged with DCL (now Diageo) in 1927, who still run the distillery today. In 1972 the original site was demolished and replaced by a new one. When distilling resumed in 1974, Caol Ila was the largest producer of single malt on the Isle of Islay. Despite this, due to its importance in popular blends such as Johnnie Walker, its single malt brand disappeared under United Distillers, who opted to bottle this 15 year old under the Flora & Fauna banner instead.

This was discontinued in 2002 when Diageo revived the Caol Ila brand, relaunching the classic 12 year old age-statement. This release is now highly sought after.

Chivas Royal Salute 24 Year Old Cognac Finish / Asia

The first Chivas Regal blend was launched by Chivas Brothers in 1909, a premium brand that quickly developed a big market in the US. While Prohibition put a temporary halt to its success ten years later, it also allowed Canadian distillers, Seagram, to become the biggest drinks company in North America, and they targeted Chivas Brothers straight away when buying into the Scotch market. They acquired the firm in 1949, adding Strathisla to its portfolio, and building a further three more distilleries. Over the years they also acquired the assets of Campbell Distillers and The Glenlivet Distillers, positioning it as one of the largest whisky companies in Scotland. The Seagram empire eventually collapsed in the early 2000s, with its Chivas Brothers arm picked up by Pernod-Ricard, along with Allied Domecq in a separate acquisition, bringing over the Ballantine's brand. Chivas now produces two of the top three selling blends in the world, and its distillery portfolio, with Glenlivet as its flagship brand, is rivalled only by that of Diageo.

In celebration of the British Monarchy, this 24 year old limited edition of the Royal Salute is the brand's first ever cognac-finished expression and features art from award-winning artist Kristjana S Williams. Launched in 2022, this was originally made exclusive to the Asian market.

Chivas Royal Salute 21 Year Old The Malts Blend

The first Chivas Regal blend was launched by Chivas Brothers in 1909, a premium brand that quickly developed a big market in the US. While Prohibition put a temporary halt to its success ten years later, it also allowed Canadian distillers, Seagram, to become the biggest drinks company in North America, and they targeted Chivas Brothers straight away when buying into the Scotch market. They acquired the firm in 1949, adding Strathisla to its portfolio, and building a further three more distilleries. Over the years they also acquired the assets of Campbell Distillers and The Glenlivet Distillers, positioning it as one of the largest whisky companies in Scotland. The Seagram empire eventually collapsed in the early 2000s, with its Chivas Brothers arm picked up by Pernod-Ricard, along with Allied Domecq in a separate acquisition, bringing over the Ballantine's brand. Chivas now produces two of the top three selling blends in the world, and its distillery portfolio, with Glenlivet as its flagship brand, is rivalled only by that of Diageo.

This limited edition 21 year old blend is titled The Malts Blend and was released in 2019 as part of the Royal Salute range.

Caol Ila 12 Year Old Chorlton Whisky

Caol Ila distillery was built in 1846 by Hector Henderson, who was bought out from the venture a little over 10 year later by Bulloch Lade. The blending firm merged with DCL (now Diageo) in 1927, who still run the distillery today. In 1972 the original site was demolished and replaced by a new one. When distilling resumed in 1974, Caol Ila was the largest producer of single malt on the Isle of Islay. Despite this, due to its importance in popular blends such as Johnnie Walker, its single malt brand disappeared under United Distillers, and it was not until 2002 that it would return, when the 12 year old was revived by Diageo. The Flora & Fauna release was well-regarded in the meantime, but it was independent releases like this that gave the best opportunity to sample this much-loved single malt.

This Caol Ila was matured for 12 years in a single hogshead, and bottled at cask strength by Chorlton Whisky.

Chorlton Whisky were founded in 2017 and are based in Manchester,England. The company quickly developed a strong reputation for its affordable releases and top-quality cask selection. Striking in their appearance, the label art is selected by founder, David, from old medieval and Renaissance works of art.

One of 269 bottles.

Cambus 1986 Bladnoch Forum 24 Year Old

Cambus distillery was built in 1806 by John Moubray, on the site of an old mill in Alloa, and initially distilled whisky from malted barley. Production swapped to grain thirty years later, which was fully modernised in 1851 by the installation of a coffey still. Cambus became a founding member of DCL in 1877, who bottled its single grain for the first time in 1906 during a battle with malt distillers over the use of the term \"whisky.\" Occasional runs of distillery bottlings continued to appear during the 20th century, but the distillery was sadly closed down in 1993 during a mass reorganising of their portfolio by its owners, United Distillers. The site now houses a Diageo cooperage, opened in 2011. Independent releases like this have often appeared over the years, and are increasingly sought after as the remaining stocks begin to thin.

This Cambus was distilled in March 1986 and matured in single hogshead #18990 for 24 years. It was bottled for the Bladnoch Distillery Forum in March 2010.

Caol Ila 14 Year Old Four Corners of Scotland

Caol Ila distillery was built in 1846 by Hector Henderson, who was bought out from the venture a little over 10 year later by Bulloch Lade. The blending firm merged with DCL (now Diageo) in 1927, who still run the distillery today. In 1972 the original site was demolished and replaced by a new one. When distilling resumed in 1974, Caol Ila was the largest producer of single malt on the Isle of Islay. Despite this, due to its importance in popular blends such as Johnnie Walker, its single malt brand disappeared under United Distillers, and it was not until 2002 that it would return, when the 12 year old was revived by Diageo.

Released in 2021, this is part of the Four Corners of Scotland Collection. The series celebrated each of the newly minted regional brand homes of Johnnie Walker, which also includes Glenkinchie, Caol Ila and Cardhu.

This expression was matured in a combination of refill and freshly-charred hogsheads.

One of 3,000 bottles.

Chichibu Red Wine Cask 2023

Chichibu distillery in Saitama, Japan was opened in 2008, and was the country’s first new distillery since Suntory opened Hakushu back in 1973. Chichibu was the brainchild of Ichiro Akuto, grandson of the founder of the legendary Hanyu distillery. The Ichiro’s Malt brand appeared in 2005 and rose to fame through the bottling of the last casks from Hanyu, particularly the sought after ‘Card’ series. The first Chichibu releases appeared under it in 2011.

A limited bottling of Chichibu matured in red wine casks and bottled in 2023.

One of 11,800 bottles.

Caol Ila 16 Year Old SMWS 53.143 75cl / US Import

\"Sea breezes over the machair at night\"

Caol Ila distillery was built in 1846 by Hector Henderson, who was bought out from the venture a little over 10 years later by Bulloch Lade. The blending firm merged with DCL (now Diageo) in 1927, who still run the distillery today. In 1972 the original site was demolished and replaced by a new one. When distilling resumed in 1974, Caol Ila was the largest producer of single malt on the Isle of Islay. Despite this, due to its importance in popular blends such as Johnnie Walker, its single malt brand disappeared under United Distillers, and it was not until 2002 that it would return, when the 12 year old was revived by Diageo. The Flora & Fauna release was well-regarded in the meantime, but it was independent releases like this that gave the best opportunity to sample this much-loved single malt.

This Caol Ila was matured in a single refill sherry butt for 16 years. It was bottled by the Scotch Malt Whisky Society.

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) was founded in 1983 by a group of friends lead by tax accountant Phillip ‘Pip’ Hills as a private members club. The concept behind the society was to source casks from all over Scotland which would then be bottled and made available exclusively to its members. Perhaps the most famous feature of these bottles are the unique codes. Each distillery is represented by a different number and the following digits indicate that particular release. That same year, the SMWS set up its first location in Leith’s Vault buildings in Edinburgh where it still stands today.

One of 621 bottles.

Cooley 2002 Whiskybase 20 Year Old #2215 / 200,000 Bottles

Cooley distillery was opened in 1987 after it was converted from a potato alcohol plant by John Teeling. It now operates two pot and three column stills, generally double distilling as opposed the more familiar triple distillation that most Irish producers favour. It was bought by Beam Inc. in 2011, with its former owners now operating the Teeling distillery in Dublin. Cooley's core range includes the Kilbeggan blends and a peated and unpeated single malt, called Connemara and Tyrconnell, respectively. In addition to this, they have a massive contract distilling operation, providing whisky to a number of independent labels like this.

This Cooley was distilled in May 2002 and matured for 20 years in single barrel #2215. It was bottled in May 2022 to celebrate Whiskybase listing their 200,000th bottle.

One of only 232 bottles.

Chivas Royal Salute 24 Year Old Cognac Finish / Asia

The first Chivas Regal blend was launched by Chivas Brothers in 1909, a premium brand that quickly developed a big market in the US. While Prohibition put a temporary halt to its success ten years later, it also allowed Canadian distillers, Seagram, to become the biggest drinks company in North America, and they targeted Chivas Brothers straight away when buying into the Scotch market. They acquired the firm in 1949, adding Strathisla to its portfolio, and building a further three more distilleries. Over the years they also acquired the assets of Campbell Distillers and The Glenlivet Distillers, positioning it as one of the largest whisky companies in Scotland. The Seagram empire eventually collapsed in the early 2000s, with its Chivas Brothers arm picked up by Pernod-Ricard, along with Allied Domecq in a separate acquisition, bringing over the Ballantine's brand. Chivas now produces two of the top three selling blends in the world, and its distillery portfolio, with Glenlivet as its flagship brand, is rivalled only by that of Diageo.

In celebration of the British Monarchy, this 24 year old limited edition of the Royal Salute is the brand's first ever cognac-finished expression and features art from award-winning artist Kristjana S Williams. Launched in 2022, this was originally made exclusive to the Asian market.

Chateau De Pomes Peberere 1968 Armagnac

This is a 1968 vintage Armagnac from Chateau De Pomes Peberere, bottled in November 2021.

Chivas Royal Salute 21 Year Old The Blended Grain

The first Chivas Regal blend was launched by Chivas Brothers in 1909, a premium brand that quickly developed a big market in the US. While Prohibition put a temporary halt to its success ten years later, it also allowed Canadian distillers, Seagram, to become the biggest drinks company in North America, and they targeted Chivas Brothers straight away when buying into the Scotch market. They acquired the firm in 1949, adding Strathisla to its portfolio, and building a further three more distilleries. Over the years they also acquired the assets of Campbell Distillers and The Glenlivet Distillers, positioning it as one of the largest whisky companies in Scotland. The Seagram empire eventually collapsed in the early 2000s, with its Chivas Brothers arm picked up by Pernod-Ricard, along with Allied Domecq in a separate acquisition, bringing over the Ballantine's brand. Chivas now produces two of the top three selling blends in the world, and its distillery portfolio, with Glenlivet as its flagship brand, is rivalled only by that of Diageo.

Cragganmore 1993 Cask Strength 10 Year Old

A small batch cask strength Cragganmore, released as part of the 2004 Diageo Super Premium bottlings. 

Cragganmore distillery was built by John Smith at the end of the 19th century. An astute businessman, he selected the location of his distillery to facilitate easy trade with his customers, and produced spirit geared fully towards the needs of the blending companies. It was not long before it was considered one of the finest for such a purpose, and the distillery was eventually acquired by White Horse Distillers. When White Horse were bought by DCL, its subsequent iteration, United Distillers, selected it as part of their Classic Malts series in 1988, officially launching its single malt brand. Despite this, its continued importance to Diageo blends means that distillery bottlings like this are scarce, with only the 12 year old and Distillers Edition making up a permanent range.

This whisky was distilled in 1993 and bottled at cask strength in 2004.

One of 15,000 bottles.

Campbeltown Loch 21 Year Old

J & A Mitchell are a whisky company with an incredible pedigree. The family firm have been owner-operators of the legendary Springbank distillery since 1837 and are the parent company of Scotland's oldest independent bottler, Wm. Cadenhead. Through these channels alone, their output is nothing short of reverential, and this is before you even consider the casks they sold to independent companies like Samaroli through their R.W. Duthie arm, and to Japan via their Eaglesome company's Kingsbury brands. Many if not all of these are legendary. The company now owns a second distillery in Campbeltown, Glengyle, which is the home of Kilkerran single malt.

This blend contains various Campbeltown single malts from the Springbank, Glen Scotia and Glengyle distilleries.

Clynelish 14 Year Old Flora and Fauna

Clynelish distillery as it is recognised today, was built in 1967 to replace the smaller distillery next-door, which was the original site of that name. The first distillery was closed, but later re-opened, changing its name to Brora (but that's another story). Clynelish is part of the Diageo stable, having been taken over by DCL in 1912. Despite being an important part of the Johnnie Walker blends, it has long been bottled as a single malt.

The Clynelish single malt brand was relaunched by Diageo in 2002, after United Distillers had packaged it as part of its Flora & Fauna range for what lasted over a decade. Clynelish joined Caol Ila and Glen Ord among the Hidden Malts, seeing the old Flora & Fauna 14 year iold replaced with this slightly higher proof expression as the Clynelish core range product.

Chivas Royal Salute 21 Year Old The Peated Blend

The first Chivas Regal blend was launched by Chivas Brothers in 1909, a premium brand that quickly developed a big market in the US. While Prohibition put a temporary halt to its success ten years later, it also allowed Canadian distillers, Seagram, to become the biggest drinks company in North America, and they targeted Chivas Brothers straight away when buying into the Scotch market. They acquired the firm in 1949, adding Strathisla to its portfolio, and building a further three more distilleries. Over the years they also acquired the assets of Campbell Distillers and The Glenlivet Distillers, positioning it as one of the largest whisky companies in Scotland. The Seagram empire eventually collapsed in the early 2000s, with its Chivas Brothers arm picked up by Pernod-Ricard, along with Allied Domecq in a separate acquisition, bringing over the Ballantine's brand. Chivas now produces two of the top three selling blends in the world, and its distillery portfolio, with Glenlivet as its flagship brand, is rivalled only by that of Diageo.

Created by master blender, Charles H Julian, the Royal Salute was launched in 1953 as a tribute to the newly crowned Queen Elizabeth II. This peated expression includes peated whiskies that are no longer in production.