April 2025 Auction

Octomore 15.3

Octomore is the super-heavily peated single malt produced by Bruichladdich distillery, the most routinely heavily peated in the world. The whisky is named after the farm of the same name, located on a hillside north of the town of Port Charlotte. Having been traditionally an un-peated single malt due to the needs of its former owners for their blends, Murray McDavid were quick to diversify the Bruichladdich portfolio, also introducing the more lightly peated Port Charlotte and Lochindaal.

Octomore 15.3 was bottled in 2024 with a ppm level of 307.2. It has been matured for 5 years in bourbon and Oloroso casks, and bottled at cask strength.

Old Cabin Still 6 Year Old Collector's Gallery Decanter 1969 / Stitzel-Weller

Bottled in 1969, this is the sought-after version of the Cabin Still brand that contains whiskey distilled at Stitzel-Weller. 

The Stitzel-Weller company was officially established in 1933 at the repeal of National Prohibition in the US. It was the result of a merger between the A. Ph. Stitzel distillery and its biggest customer, W.L. Weller & Sons. The Stitzel-Weller distillery opened on Kentucky Derby day in 1935, and quickly developed a reputation for its high quality wheated bourbon, and its main brands were Old Weller, Old Fitzgerald and Cabin Still. The original ownership was shared between Alex T. Farnsley, Arthur Philip Stitzel and Julian Van Winkle. The former passed-away in 1941 and 1947, respectively, leaving the Van Winkle family as the sole heirs to the business. 'Pappy' died in 1965, having handed the reigns to his son, Julian II the year prior, who ran it until 1972 when the board of directors forced him to sell it to the Norton-Simon subsidiary, Somerset Imports. When they were bought over by the American arm of Scottish distillers, DCL, its subsequent iteration invested heavily in bourbon. So much so in fact, that their newly rebuilt Bernheim distillery had such capacity that Stitzel-Weller was rendered surplus to requirements. It was shut down in 1992. Still part of the Diageo portfolio, it has never re-opened and instead now houses the visitor experience for their Bulleit brand.

Cabin still was actually the catalyst for Somerset Imports' purchase of the distillery, and they used the brand to bottle their vast supply of ageing stocks from other distilleries. Cabin Still remains available today, produced by Luxco who had acquired it from Heaven Hill following their purchase of it from the closing Stitzel-Weller in 1992. This Van Winkle era Stitzel-Weller distilled version is a truly rare opportunity to own an example of the brand in its prime.

Octomore 15.2

Octomore is the super-heavily peated single malt produced by Bruichladdich distillery, the most routinely heavily peated in the world. The whisky is named after the farm of the same name, located on a hillside north of the town of Port Charlotte. Having been traditionally an un-peated single malt due to the needs of its former owners for their blends, Murray McDavid were quick to diversify the Bruichladdich portfolio, also introducing the more lightly peated Port Charlotte and Lochindaal.

Octomore 15.2 was bottled in 2024 with a ppm level of 108.2. It has been matured for 5 years in first-fill Cognac, second-fill red wine and second-fill bourbon casks, and bottled at cask strength.

Oban 1978 Signatory Vintage 18 Year Old #215

Oban is a small distillery, situated in the heart of the high street in the town after which it is named. Although its output is low deliberately low in order to retain its character, it had an early presence on the single malt scene. The license for the distillery was granted to blenders, John Hopkins & Co by owners, DCL, and they introduced a 12 year old release back in 1979. The license was returned to the distillery itself with the inception of the Classic Malts range in 1988, with this 14 year old becoming the the core range product from a newly relaunched Oban single malt brand the following year.

This Oban was distilled in January 1978 and matured for 18 years in single oak cask #215. It was bottled by Signatory Vintage in March 1996.

One of only 272 bottles.

Old W.L. Weller 7 Year Old Special Reserve 1 Litre 1970s / Stitzel-Weller

William Larue Weller was born into a distilling family in Kentucky in 1825, and launched his W.L. Weller brand in 1849. Originally a rectification business (creating 'whiskey' using neutral spirit, colouring and flavourings), this all changed with the Bottled in Bond Act of 1897 and the death of Weller two years later. The company was left in the hands of the fiercely passionate Julian 'Pappy' Van Winkle I who, having steered it safely through the wreckage of National Prohibition, established Old Weller alongside the newly acquired Old Fitzgerald labels and the flagship brands for the new Stitzel-Weller distillery in 1933. It was produced there for over 60 years, eventually being sold to the Sazerac Company in 1999, who distil it at Buffalo Trace using Pappy's recipe to this day.

This is a late 1970s bottling of the 7 year old Special Reserve, their 90 proof wheated bourbon. This was produced by Somerset Imports at Stitzel-Weller, although by this point they had renamed the distillery after the Old Fitzgerald brand.

The Stitzel-Weller company was officially established in 1933 at the repeal of National Prohibition in the US. It was the result of a merger between the A. Ph. Stitzel distillery and its biggest customer, W.L. Weller & Sons. The Stitzel-Weller distillery opened on Kentucky Derby day in 1935, and quickly developed a reputation for its high quality wheated bourbon, and its main brands were Old Weller, Old Fitzgerald and Cabin Still. The original ownership was shared between Alex T. Farnsley, Arthur Philip Stitzel and Julian Van Winkle. The former passed-away in 1941 and 1947, respectively, leaving the Van Winkle family as the sole heirs to the business. 'Pappy' died in 1965, having handed the reigns to his son, Julian II the year prior, who ran it until 1972 when the board of directors forced him to sell it to the Norton-Simon subsidiary, Somerset Imports. When they were bought over by the American arm of Scottish distillers, DCL, its subsequent iteration invested heavily in bourbon. So much so in fact, that their newly rebuilt Bernheim distillery had such capacity that Stitzel-Weller was rendered surplus to requirements. It was shut down in 1992. Still part of the Diageo portfolio, it has never re-opened and instead now houses the visitor experience for their Bulleit brand.

Eagle Rare 10 Year Old 1983

Eagle Rare is a historic bourbon brand, originally developed by Seagram's in an effort to capitalise on what it felt were the popular marketing motifs used by Wild Turkey. The produced these early bottlings at the Four Roses distillery in Lawrenceburg, before the label was acquired by the Sazerac company in the 1980s.

The Four Roses distillery was built in Lawrenceburg in 1910 by JTS Brown & Sons. Known back then as the Old Prentice, it is one of the Kentucky distilleries on the National Register of Historic Buildings for its distinctive Spanish mission style architecture. It was re-opened in 1933 after the repeal of Prohibition, passing into the hands of Seagram in 1946, who moved the production of their Four Roses brand there and eventually renamed the distillery after it. When Seagram was wound up in the early 2000s, the distillery and its brands were bought by Japanese firm, Kirin, who continue to produce Four Roses to great acclaim, as well as contract distilling for a number of other bourbon brands.

The Sazerac company moved production of th the Eagle Rare brand to what is now Buffalo Trace in 1992.

Old Heaven Hill 10 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon 1975

Heaven Hill was established by a group of private investors in 1935, following the repeal of Prohibition a few years earlier. Among the founders was distiller, Joseph L. Beam, and a member of the Shapira family. As the company grew, the Shapira's eventually acquired sole ownership of it, and their descendants still run it today. In a similar dynastic vein, Joe Beam remained master distiller despite the Shapira takeover, and members of his family have occupied the role ever since. This was produced at the Old Heavenhill Springs distillery, later renamed simply as Heaven Hill, which was located in Bardstown, Kentucky. It was sadly lost in a devastating fire in 1996, and bourbon made there has become increasingly sought after as the years pass. The company had no distillery for the next three years, but were permitted to rent stills at Jim Beam and Brown-Forman in order to maintain production. They eventually acquired the newly refurbished Bernheim distillery from Diageo in 1999, which has been their home ever since.

This 10 year old was distilled in Bardstown and bottled in 1975.

Eye Of The Dragon Islay Single Malt / slowdrink.de & Regensburger Whisky Club

This is an Islay single malt from an undisclosed distillery, speculated to be Caol Ila.

Though scant on the details, the label provides a tongue-in-cheek rundown of the tasting notes, as well as disclosing that the whisky is from a cuvée of vintages with almost 40% dating back to the 1970s. It was matured in ex-Bourbon and Oloroso casks and bottled by Regensbuger Whiskey & Wine Club, and is the 15th in their series of private club bottlings.

Old Smuggler Finest Scotch Decanter 1970s

A 1970s bottling of this unusual blended whisky from Jas & Geo Stodart Ltd.

Excalibur 12 Year Old Special Reserve Decanter 1980s

A Charles H. Julian blended scotch whisky for the Italian market. 

Old Taylor 6 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon 1 Litre 1996

Edmund Haynes Taylor Jr is considered one of the true bourbon pioneers. Born in 1830, he was orphaned at the age of five and was adopted by his uncle, Edmund Haynes Taylor Snr, who rechristened him as his junior. E.H. Taylor Jr is also referred to as Colonel Taylor due to his holding of the honourary title of Kentucky Colonel, something he shares with a number of state's distinguished sons, most notably a certain fried chicken vendor. Throughout his career, Taylor set up and owned seven different distilleries, and his lobbying for the Bottled in Bond Act of 1897 has seen him considered as \"the father of modern bourbon.\" Ten years earlier, having sold his stake in the OFC distillery (now Buffalo Trace), to George T. Stagg, he set up the Old Taylor distillery near Frankfort in Kentucky. The distillery featured a faux-Castle and sunken gardens on-site, and was the birthplace of bourbon tourism. Here he established the Old Taylor brand, which following Prohibition passed into the hands of National Distillers, one of the \"big four\" distilling company's who dominated the post-repeal market. The distillery itself closed in 1972, but production was moved to the neighbouring Old Grand-dad site until National Distillers were acquired by Jim Beam in 1987, who converted it into a warehousing and bottling facility. Beam marketed the brand alongside the other \"Olds\" from the National Distiller portfolio (Old Crow and Old Grand-dad) until 2009 when the Sazerac Company acquired it, returning Taylor's name to his early spiritual home at Buffalo Trace.

This Old Taylor brand bourbon was distilled and bottled by Jim Beam in the 1990s. 

Old Crow Traveler Kentucky Straight Bourbon 1967

Old Crow is one of Kentucky's earliest bourbon brands, created in the 1830's by Scottish immigrant, James C. Crow, Master Distiller at the Old Oscar Pepper distillery. He pioneered the use of scientific methods to ensure continuity in the quality of his whiskey. The brand was purchased by W.A. Gaines who opened the Old Crow distillery. Both were then procured by National Distillers during prohibition, who produced the brand until 1987 when they were purchased by Jim Beam who shut the distillery and moved production to their Clermont facility.

A 1960s bottling, distilled at the now closed Old Crow Distillery and bottled by National Distillers.

Rumour has it, in the process of enlarging the Old Crow distillery in the 1960s, National Distillers accidentally altered the percentage of setback they were using to condition the mash there, altering the flavour of the final bourbon. Production was required in such volume at such pace that it was nearly 20 years before the error could be rectified. This is likely some of the last bourbon to be distilled prior to that incident and will be well worth investigating.

Orkney Single Malt 2010 Whisky Taste

This single malt was distilled at an undisclosed Orkney distillery (Highland Park or Scapa) in 2010 and matured in single bourbon hosghead #7. It was bottled by Whisky Taste in March 2020.

One of 347 bottles.

Old Ezra 12 Year Old 101 Proof 1996

A 101 proof bourbon produced at Heaven Hill on behalf of Luxco. The brand takes its name from the Ezra Brooks label, historically produced by the Ripy brothers at Hoffman distillery before they sold it to Julian Van Winkle III.

Ezra Brooks from the Hoffman days was notorious for its copycat claims and subsequent court case after being sued by Jack Daniel's for, in their opinion, mimicking their branding. The current iteration of the brand is very well-regarded product however.

Luxco completed construction of their own distillery, Lux Row, in 2018.

Old Commonwealth 7 Year Old 'Lucky Leprechaun' Decanter 1983 

When the Van Winkle family sold the Stitzel-Weller distillery in 1972, the new ownership offered Julian II an office and first-refusal on casks with which to pursue his new bottling venture. He named it the Commonwealth Distillery Co, and focussed on bottling Stitzel-Weller casks in porcelain commemorative decanters. When he died, his son Julian III moved the operation to the old Hoffman distillery, renaming it Old Commonwealth in the process. Although the family are best known for the Old Rip Van Winkle label, these Old Commonwealth decanters are rare and important pieces in one bourbon's greatest stories.

Bottled in 1978, this Lucky Leprechaun decanter contains a 7 year old Stitzel-Weller bourbon.

The Stitzel-Weller company was officially established in 1933 at the repeal of National Prohibition in the US. It was the result of a merger between the A. Ph. Stitzel distillery and its biggest customer, W.L. Weller & Sons. The Stitzel-Weller distillery opened on Kentucky Derby day in 1935, and quickly developed a reputation for its high quality wheated bourbon, and its main brands were Old Weller, Old Fitzgerald and Cabin Still. The original ownership was shared between Alex T. Farnsley, Arthur Philip Stitzel and Julian Van Winkle. The former passed-away in 1941 and 1947, respectively, leaving the Van Winkle family as the sole heirs to the business. 'Pappy' died in 1965, having handed the reigns to his son, Julian II the year prior, who ran it until 1972 when the board of directors forced him to sell it to the Norton-Simon subsidiary, Somerset Imports. When they were bought over by the American arm of Scottish distillers, DCL, its subsequent iteration invested heavily in bourbon. So much so in fact, that their newly rebuilt Bernheim distillery had such capacity that Stitzel-Weller was rendered surplus to requirements. It was shut down in 1992. Still part of the Diageo portfolio, it has never re-opened and instead now houses the visitor experience for their Bulleit brand.

Eagle Rare 10 Year Old 101 Proof 1985

Eagle Rare is a historic bourbon brand, originally developed by Seagram's in an effort to capitalise on what it felt were the popular marketing motifs used by Wild Turkey. The produced these early bottlings at the Four Roses distillery in Lawrenceburg, before the label was acquired by the Sazerac company in the 1980s.

The Four Roses distillery was built in Lawrenceburg in 1910 by JTS Brown & Sons. Known back then as the Old Prentice, it is one of the Kentucky distilleries on the National Register of Historic Buildings for its distinctive Spanish mission style architecture. It was re-opened in 1933 after the repeal of Prohibition, passing into the hands of Seagram in 1946, who moved the production of their Four Roses brand there and eventually renamed the distillery after it. When Seagram was wound up in the early 2000s, the distillery and its brands were bought by Japanese firm, Kirin, who continue to produce Four Roses to great acclaim, as well as contract distilling for a number of other bourbon brands.

The Sazerac company moved production of th the Eagle Rare brand to what is now Buffalo Trace in 1992.

Orkney Single Malt 2003 Infrequent Flyers 16 Year Old

This single malt was distilled at an undisclosed distillery on Orkney (either Scapa or Highland Park) in 2006, and matured in single hogshead #A521-9 for 16 years. It was bottled by Alastair Walker under their Infrequent Flyers label.

The Alistair Walker Whisky Company is based in Grangemouth, Scotland and was established in 2018. Mr Walker gained over 20 years experience working in the whisky industry before he decided to form his own independent bottling company. 

One of 337 bottles.

Octomore 1.1 Inaugural Release

Octomore is the super-heavily peated single malt produced by Bruichladdich distillery, the most routinely heavily peated in the world. The whisky is named after the farm of the same name, located on a hillside north of the town of Port Charlotte. Having been traditionally an un-peated single malt due to the needs of its former owners for their blends, Murray McDavid were quick to diversify the Bruichladdich portfolio, also introducing the more lightly peated Port Charlotte and Lochindaal.

This was the first release of the Octomore, and at 131ppm this was the most heavily peated spirit in the world at the time.

Matured for 5 years from October 2002 until April 2008. 

One of 6,000 bottles.

Octomore 4.1

Octomore is the super-heavily peated single malt produced by Bruichladdich distillery, the most routinely heavily peated in the world. The whisky is named after the farm of the same name, located on a hillside north of the town of Port Charlotte. Having been traditionally an un-peated single malt due to the needs of its former owners for their blends, Murray McDavid were quick to diversify the Bruichladdich portfolio, also introducing the more lightly peated Port Charlotte and Lochindaal.

Octomore 4.1 was peated to 167ppm and matured for 5 years.

One of 15,000 bottles.

Old Fitzgerald '1849' 8 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon 1977 / Stitzel-Weller

Originally registered as \"Jno. E. Fitzgerald,\" the Old Fitzgerald brand was devised by S.C. Hebst in 1870. Hebst was a rectifier by trade (using grain neutral spirit with colouring and flavourings to make \"whiskey\"), but he also had a passion for sourcing high quality barrels of pot still bourbon and rye, which he bottled as Jno. E. Fitzgerald. When the Bottled in Bond Act of 1897 was passed, rectified whiskey fell out of favour and Hebst went into the distilling business, purchasing a distillery which he named Old Judge after his best-selling flagship brand. Old Judge did not survive Prohibition however, and Hebst sold the Old Fitzgerald brand for just $10,000 to a former customer, a certain Julian 'Pappy' Van Winkle, who was sourcing label for his new Stitzel-Weller venture. Van Winkle had a near-religious belief in the importance of quality above all else in the bourbon he produced and under his guidance, Old Fitzgerald became and remains to this day, one of the most sought-after and respected labels in American whiskey. Stitzel-Weller was eventually shut down by United Distillers, and as their successor, Diageo, sold the Old Fitzgerald brand was sold to current owners, Heaven Hill.

While under his management, 'Pappy' Van Winkle refused to bottle Old Fitzgerald at anything less than the domestic requirement of 100 proof, set out by the Bottled in Bond Act of 1897. When he stepped back from management in 1964 however, the board put pressure on Julian II to meet the market demand for a lighter style product, and Old Fitzgerald Prime was launched later that year. This label was introduced in the early 1970s and is named 1849 after the year in which W.L. Weller & Sons was founded. This is the 8 year old Stitzel-Weller version, bottled in 1977.

The Stitzel-Weller company was officially established in 1933 at the repeal of National Prohibition in the US. It was the result of a merger between the A. Ph. Stitzel distillery and its biggest customer, W.L. Weller & Sons. The Stitzel-Weller distillery opened on Kentucky Derby day in 1935, and quickly developed a reputation for its high quality wheated bourbon, and its main brands were Old Weller, Old Fitzgerald and Cabin Still. The original ownership was shared between Alex T. Farnsley, Arthur Philip Stitzel and Julian Van Winkle. The former passed away in 1941 and 147, respectively, leaving the Van Winkle family as the sole heirs to the business. 'Pappy' died in 1965, having handed the reigns to his son, Julian II the year prior, who ran it until 1972 when the board of directors forced him to sell it to the Norton-Simon subsidiary, Somerset Imports. When they were bought over by the American arm of Scottish distillers, DCL, its subsequent iteration inverted heavily in bourbon. So much so in fact, that their newly rebuilt Bernheim distillery had such capacity that Stitzel-Weller was rendered surplus to requirements. It was closed down in 1992. Still part of the Diageo portfolio, it has never re-opened and instead now houses the visitor experience for their Bulleit brand.

Element Fusion Series R/1.0 Irish Whiskey

This is an Irish whiskey created by Great Northern Distillery Co and New Era Spirits. This is the first installment of the Element Fusion Series, a fusion of different grains, different vintages and different casks.

Orkney Single Malt 2008 Douglas Laing's 15 Year Old / Probably Orkney's Finest

This single malt was distilled at an undisclosed Orkney distillery in June 2008 and matured in single refill hogshead #17885 for 15 years. It was bottled by Douglas Laing in June 2023, under their Old Particular label. The whisky is labelled as being sourced from Probably Orkney's Finest distillery, a reference to the Probably Speyside's Finest psuedonym that Douglas Laing have used in the past to bottle whisky from Glenfarclas distillery.

Douglas Laing & Co was established in 1948 by Fred Douglas Laing, affectionately known as “FDL.” The company started out as a blending business, but over time their focus shifted towards independently bottlings single malts. Fred died in 1982, leaving the business to his two sons, Stewart and Fred Jr, who eventually carved it up in 2013, with Stewart leaving to establish Hunter Laing. Fred Jr and his daughter Cara now run Douglas Laing, which continues to bottle single malt and has also revived its blending business. Additionally, the company has recently moved into distilling as well, announcing plans to construct the new Clutha distillery in Glasgow, and taking over Strathearn in Perthshire in 2019.

Part of their Exceptional Single Casks range, Old Particular is Douglas Laing's flagship label, and was launched in 2013 after their Old Malt Cask series became part of the portfolio of the newly established Hunter Laing.

One of 293 bottles. 

Old Bushmills 9 Year Old Irish Whiskey 1960s / Sposetti Import

The Old Bushmills distillery in Northern Ireland is the world's oldest licensed whiskey producer, granted a license to distil whisky in 1608. The modern iteration of the distillery was built in 1885, following a fire. Old Bushmills was bought by the Irish Distillers group in 1971, giving them a full monopoly on the production of whiskey on the island, lasting until 1987 when Cooley was opened by the Teeling family. Diageo later bought the site in 2005, before trading it 9 years later with Casa Cuervo in exchange for a stake in one of their Tequila brands.  

This is an old 1960s bottling of 9 year old Irish whiskey, imported to Italy by Sposetti.

Elmer T Lee Single Barrel Kentucky Bourbon 2024

Elmer T. Lee is a bourbon brand from the portfolio of Age International, the company formed by former Fleischmann's Distilling director's, Bob Baranaskas and Ferdie Falke. They had approached Schenley in the early 1980s with a view to purchasing its Old Charter brand, but were instead offered Ancient Age and the George T. Stagg distillery where it was produced. The deal was completed in 1983, two years before the retirement of George T. Stagg master distiller, Elmer T. Lee, who had served there for 36 years, working his way from the bottom up. One of his final pioneering triumphs before doing so was the introduction of mass produced single barrel bourbon through the creation of the Blanton's brand in 1984. In a fitting tribute, the following year saw the distillery launch the Elmer T. Lee single barrel in his honour. At the time of his death in 2013, Elmer was one of only two living master distillers with a bourbon named after them.

The popularity of these products was particularly high in Japan, coinciding with a market boom for American whiskey there in the 1980s. In 1991, with Age International in some financial trouble, a Japanese company called Takaro Shuzo stepped in and acquired a 22.5% stake in the company. In an unusual series of events, they then scuppered a deal the following year that was to see the remaining shares sold to Heublein (a subsidiary of Grand Metropolitan). Their deal the year before had included a 30 day right of refusal to purchase the shares for themselves should they be put up for sale. With the deal all but done, the Japanese company stepped in on the final day of the window to acquire full control of the company. As it turned out, their only interest was in the brands, and they had used the 30 days to negotiate a deal with the Sazerac Company of  New Orleans. This saw the American company take ownership of the distillery (which they renamed Buffalo Trace in 1999), as well as the exclusive production and US distribution rights for the Age International labels. This is an arrangement that is still in place today.

Interestingly, the Buffalo Trace name is borrowed from the DBA (\"doing business as\") name that Age International used to bottle Elmer T. Lee in the 1980s and 1990s.

Orkney Single Malt 2008 Douglas Laing's 15 Year Old / Probably Orkney's Finest

This single malt was distilled at an undisclosed Orkney distillery in June 2008 and matured in single refill hogshead #17885 for 15 years. It was bottled by Douglas Laing in June 2023, under their Old Particular label. The whisky is labelled as being sourced from Probably Orkney's Finest distillery, a reference to the Probably Speyside's Finest psuedonym that Douglas Laing have used in the past to bottle whisky from Glenfarclas distillery.

Douglas Laing & Co was established in 1948 by Fred Douglas Laing, affectionately known as “FDL.” The company started out as a blending business, but over time their focus shifted towards independently bottlings single malts. Fred died in 1982, leaving the business to his two sons, Stewart and Fred Jr, who eventually carved it up in 2013, with Stewart leaving to establish Hunter Laing. Fred Jr and his daughter Cara now run Douglas Laing, which continues to bottle single malt and has also revived its blending business. Additionally, the company has recently moved into distilling as well, announcing plans to construct the new Clutha distillery in Glasgow, and taking over Strathearn in Perthshire in 2019.

Part of their Exceptional Single Casks range, Old Particular is Douglas Laing's flagship label, and was launched in 2013 after their Old Malt Cask series became part of the portfolio of the newly established Hunter Laing.

One of 293 bottles. 

Eagle Rare 10 Year Old Single Barrel 70cl / Selfridges

Eagle Rare is a historic bourbon brand, originally developed by Seagram in 1975 in an effort to capitalise on what it felt were the popular marketing motifs used by Wild Turkey. Distilled at their Four Roses distillery, the recipe was devised by Charles L. Beam and was sold as a 10 year old with both a 90 and 101 proof version available. Seagram held ambitions beyond the drinks industry however, and in an effort to diversify their portfolio in the 1980s, they sold Eagle Rare along with the Benchmark brand to the Sazerac Company. They initially bottled it using barrels sourced from Heaven Hill, but later moved production to Buffalo Trace in 1992.

This is a Sazerac-era bottling, distilled at Buffalo Trace. Part of the Sazerac Company's Single Barrel Select project, this single barrel was selected exclusively for London-based retailer Selfridges.

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.

One of 240 bottles.

English Whisky Co Chapter 13 / Lest We Forget

Established in 2006, St George’s in Norfolk was the first distillery in England to produce single malt whisky. With Iain Henderson, formerly of Laphroaig and Edradour in charge, the distillery produced both peated and non-peated single malts, marketing both under this English Whisky Co, brand. Its first release in 2009 was the first legal English whisky in over a century. The brand is now simply known as The English, after it was relaunched in 2016.

Bottled in 2014, this was released to honour the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War.

Octomore 4.1

Octomore is the super-heavily peated single malt produced by Bruichladdich distillery, the most routinely heavily peated in the world. The whisky is named after the farm of the same name, located on a hillside north of the town of Port Charlotte. Having been traditionally an un-peated single malt due to the needs of its former owners for their blends, Murray McDavid were quick to diversify the Bruichladdich portfolio, also introducing the more lightly peated Port Charlotte and Lochindaal.

Octomore 4.1 was peated to 167ppm and matured for 5 years.

One of 15,000 bottles.

Orkney Single Malt 2008 Douglas Laing's 15 Year Old / Probably Orkney's Finest

This single malt was distilled at an undisclosed Orkney distillery in June 2008 and matured in single refill hogshead #17885 for 15 years. It was bottled by Douglas Laing in June 2023, under their Old Particular label. The whisky is labelled as being sourced from Probably Orkney's Finest distillery, a reference to the Probably Speyside's Finest psuedonym that Douglas Laing have used in the past to bottle whisky from Glenfarclas distillery.

Douglas Laing & Co was established in 1948 by Fred Douglas Laing, affectionately known as “FDL.” The company started out as a blending business, but over time their focus shifted towards independently bottlings single malts. Fred died in 1982, leaving the business to his two sons, Stewart and Fred Jr, who eventually carved it up in 2013, with Stewart leaving to establish Hunter Laing. Fred Jr and his daughter Cara now run Douglas Laing, which continues to bottle single malt and has also revived its blending business. Additionally, the company has recently moved into distilling as well, announcing plans to construct the new Clutha distillery in Glasgow, and taking over Strathearn in Perthshire in 2019.

Part of their Exceptional Single Casks range, Old Particular is Douglas Laing's flagship label, and was launched in 2013 after their Old Malt Cask series became part of the portfolio of the newly established Hunter Laing.

One of 293 bottles. 

Old Glasgow Scotch Whisky Decanter 1983

A blended Scotch whisky which was produced by the Hart Brothers of Glasgow. It was released for The Pride of the Clyde Celebrations in 1983.

The Hart Brothers bottling company was founded in 1964 when Iain and Donald Hart incorporated as a wine and spirit merchant and Scotch whisky blenders. They have been bottling independent single malts since the 1980s.

This decanter is accompanied by a personal message from the Lord Provost of Glasgow, Michael Kelly.

Elijah Craig 1990 Single Barrel 23 Year Old #172

Elijah Craig is named after an 18th century pastor, often cited (although probably incorrectly) as the first man to distil bourbon in the US due to his tenuous accreditation for pioneering the use of charred barrels in maturation. The Elijah Craig brand was trademarked by Commonwealth Distillers in 1960, who sold it to current owners, Heaven Hill in 1976. It would be ten years before they would bottle it for the first time however, somewhat controversially launching the flagship 12 year old in 1986 when the US bourbon market, which historically preferred younger age-statements, was already in one of its lowest troughs in popularity. The gamble paid off however, reshaping the image of Heaven Hill as a premium producer, which prevails to this day with the Elijah Craig label remaining at the forefront of its output.

This is a 23 year old Elijah Craig and was matured in single new charred oak barrel #172.

Heaven Hill was established by a group of private investors in 1935, following the repeal of Prohibition a few years earlier. Among the founders was distiller, Joseph L. Beam, and a member of the Shapira family. As the company grew, the Shapira's eventually acquired sole ownership of it, and their descendants still run it today. In a similar dynastic vein, Joe Beam remained master distiller despite the Shapira takeover, and members of his family have occupied the role ever since. This was produced at the Old Heavenhill Springs distillery, later renamed simply as Heaven Hill, which was located in Bardstown, Kentucky. It was sadly lost in a devastating fire in 1996, and bourbon made there has become increasingly sought after as the years pass. The company had no distillery for the next three years, but were permitted to rent stills at Jim Beam and Brown-Forman in order to maintain production. They eventually acquired the newly refurbished Bernheim distillery from Diageo in 1999, which has been their home ever since.

Old Overholt 1940 Bottled in Bond Straight Rye Whiskey Miniature

Old Overholt is one of America's oldest whiskey brands, tracing its roots back to 1810 when Abraham Overholt took over distilling operations at his family's farm in West Overton. A family business until the early 20th century, it was reorganised as A. Overholt & Co by Abraham's sons, Jacob and Henry, although it was not until 1888 that the Old Overholt brand was first introduced. Despite its historical links to West Overton, which is still a museum today , most Overholt whiskey was produced at the larger, more modern Broad Ford facility, built in 1859. Both were run in tandem until shut down by Prohibition. Fortunately, Broad Ford was able to survive America's decade of temperance. When Abraham's grandson, Henry Clay Frick died in 1919, he left the ownership of the company to Andrew Mellon, who would later become president Warren G. Harding's Secretary of the Treasury, a position which allowed him to grant Broad Ford a license to bottle \"medicinal\" whiskey. Considered a political liability, Mellon was under pressure to offload the company however, and he sold it first to New York grocers, Park & Tilford in 1925, who in turn sold it on to National Distillers in 1932. National Distillers were consolidating interests in as much of the industry as possible with the repeal of Prohibition expected the following year, most notable was their acquisition of the Wathen family's American Medicinal Spirits Co. National Distillers produced Old Overholt until 1987, bottling it with whiskey from Broad Ford and the neighbouring Large distillery until the 1950s, and at an unknown Pennsylvania plant in the intervening years until its acquisition by Jim Beam. Today they continue to make it at their distilleries in Kentucky.

This rare rye whiskey miniature was distilled in 1940 and matured for 64 months. It was bottled in 1946.