April 2025 Auction

Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon 80 Proof 70cl

A historic distillery, Buffalo Trace was built in 1812 Harrison Blanton. It was then purchased by the legendary Edmund Haynes Taylor Jr in 1870, who named it OFC (Old Fashioned Copper) and invested heavily in its modernisation. So much so in fact that he declared himself bankrupt after just seven years, and George T. Stagg stepped in to rescue it, becoming its owner in 1878. He ran the distillery until his retirement in the 1890s, and it was renamed in his honour in 1904. Having survived Prohibition, it was bought up by the Schenley company in 1933, who ran it as part of their extensive portfolio for the next fifty years,eventually selling it to Age International. The latter's new Japanese ownership in 1992 had no interest in it (only in its brands), and immediately sold it to the Sazerac company, who renamed it Buffalo Trace in 1999.

Sazerac caused quite a stir when revealing Buffalo Trace as the distillery's new title, borrowed from a DBA (\"doing business as\") name that they had used to bottle several Age International brands in the early 1990s. This was unusual as it was more common for a distillery to take its name from a product it sold, or from its actual parent company. After much confusion, they enlisted the help of former master distiller, Elmer T. Lee, who found the barrels ageing in their warehouse that would become the first batch of Buffalo Trace straight bourbon. It proved so popular that he was subsequently invited to assist them with replicating the flavour for their core range product.

Blair Athol 2015 Claxton's 7 Year Old

Blair Athol distillery is one of Scotland's oldest, dating back into the late 18th century. Its modern story begins when it was closed down by Peter Mackenzie in 1932, and was purchased by Arthur Bell & Sons the following year. Distilling recommenced in 1949, and with Blair Athol malt at its heart, Bell's became one of the world's best-selling whiskies. Despite its importance to the blend, Blair Athol was also bottled as a single malt under the Bell's banner in the 1970s and 1980s. New owners, Guinness, were less interested in this when they took over in 1985, but their subsequent iteration, United Distillers, brought a back distillery bottling with the Flora & Fauna release. Despite its popularity, Blair Athol has yet to be bottled under its own single malt brand. Other official bottlings from the Diageo era are very rare too, however the distillery has regularly provided casks to independent companies, many of whom have bottled some exceptional releases.

This Blair Athol was distilled in August 2015 and matured for 7 years in a Brandy barrique. It was bottled in March 2023 by Claxton's as part of their Exploration series.

Based in Yorkshire, England, Claxton’s Spirits have been bottling independent single malt whiskies since 2015. A truly family run company, the casks to be bottled are debated and decided upon by the family members themselves.

Buchanan's Reserve 1970s

James Buchanan was born in Ontario, Canada in 1849, eventually moving to Scotland to work for blending agent, Charles Mackinlay & Co. In 1884 he struck out on his own, and the rest is history. Working with W.P. Lowrie, he created the inaugural Buchanan Blend, using Dalwhinnie, Clynelish and Glendullan, which was specifically designed to appeal to the English palate. It was such a success that it became the drink of choice in the House of Commons bar, and Buchanan renamed it after the institution. Better known by its distinctive monochrome packaging however, the affectionately referred to Black & White whisky became the brands official title in 1902. The company merged with John Dewar & Sons in 1915 to become Buchanan-Dewar, which in turn became part of DCL in 1925. It modern iteration, Diageo, still produce its blends today.

Buchanan's 12 Year Old De Luxe 1 Litre 1990s

James Buchanan was born in Ontario, Canada in 1849, eventually moving to Scotland to work for blending agent, Charles Mackinlay & Co. In 1884 he struck out on his own, and the rest is history. Working with W.P. Lowrie, he created the inaugural Buchanan Blend, using Dalwhinnie, Clynelish and Glendullan, which was specifically designed to appeal to the English palate. It was such a success that it became the drink of choice in the House of Commons bar, and Buchanan renamed it after the institution. Better known by its distinctive monochrome packaging however, the affectionately referred to Black & White whisky became the brands official title in 1902. The company merged with John Dewar & Sons in 1915 to become Buchanan-Dewar, which in turn became part of DCL in 1925. It modern iteration, Diageo, still produce its blends today.

This is an older version of the 12 year old from around the 1990s.

Bisquit 3 Star Cognac 1970s

A classic bottle of Bisquit cognac from the 1970s. The term V.S. (Very Special) or \"Three Star\" indicates that the youngest element in this cognac will be aged for a minimum of two years.

Bowmore 30 Year Old Sea Dragon 75cl

Islay’s oldest working distillery, Bowmore was established in 1779 and is now regarded as one of the most popular malts not only on Islay, but in the whole of Scotland. The distillery was acquired by Stanley P. Morrison in 1963, ushering in an era of iconic single malts, including the legendary Black Bowmore, credited by many as the genesis of whisky collecting, bottled in 1993. The distillery was bought under the control Suntory the year after (they had been stakeholders since 1989), and it remains one of the most collectible brands in Scotch whisky today. Bowmore is one of the few remaining Scottish distilleries to use its own floor maltings, providing them with 40% of their requirements.

Nicknamed 'the Sea Dragon' due to the mythical beast adorning the rather pretty black ceramic bottle and box, this 30 year old Bowmore appeared in the mid 1990's and has achieved almost legendary status.

The contents of this decanter are almost entirely made up from long-matured casks from the legendary 1960s vintages.

Ballantine's 12 Year Old Special Reserve 1 Litre

A more premium offering from Ballatine's, matured for over 12 years in a striking blue livery.

The core single malts which make up Ballantine's are Miltonduff and Glenburgie.

Book: The Industrial Activities of Distillers Company Limited 1957

The Distillers Company (DCL) existed from 1877 until 1986 when it was acquired by Guinness. This book covers all areas of whisky from how it is made, the industry and production. 

Paperback book. 56 pages. 20cm x 26cm.

Balblair 10 Year Old

Balblair distillery in situated in the northern Highland region, currently under the ownership of Inver House Distillers and previously part of the Hiram Walker empire before it became Allied Distillers. Allied sold it to Inver House in 1996, who introduced the much-loved vintage-dated core range in 2007. Distillery bottlings were also produced in the 1980s but in the intervening years, independent releases like this were the most commonly available way to sample this lesser-known Highland single malt.

Balblair was one of the distilleries that licensed its brand to Gordon & MacPhail to produce official releases in the 1970s and 1980s, not having the capacity to do so itself at the time. This good standing with the distillery furnished the Elgin-based independent firm with a steady supply of high quality casks, and subsequently, high quality releases.

Inver House 6 Year Old Islay Single Malt / Drum Major

An old blend from Inver House. Back in 1956, USA based Publicker Industries of Philadelphia created a blend called Inver House Rare. Then in 1964 they established Inver House Distillers Ltd and they purchased a whisky distilling complex at Airdrie. Inver House is still going strong today, but with more of a focus on single malts.

This release from Inver House is a 6 year old single malt from an unspecified Islay distillery. It was bottled for the Russian market under the Drum Major label, a collection of single malt whiskies from the main whisky regions of Scotland; Highlands, Lowlands, Islay, and Speyside. All whiskys in the colleciton are matured for minimum of 6 years in oak barrels, and bottled at 43% ABV.