April 2025 Auction

Richard Hennessy Cognac Third Edition

When the Irish Jacobite, Richard Hennessy, founded a distillery in 1765, he could not have possibly foreseen the scale to which his fledgling business would grow. Hennessy found himself in the right place at the right time as trade in alcoholic spirits was booming, extremely popular not only with the French but also with many people within the British Empire. In addition, Hennessy and the other cognac producers at the time also benefitted from rum shortages due to the Seven Years War. Fast forward to the 1970s and Kilian Hennessy, a fifth-generation descendant of Richard became the CEO of the family business. In 1971 she oversaw the merger of the business with French wine giant, Moët & Chandon, which created one of the biggest drinks companies in the world. The business was further strengthened in 1987 by the merger with fashion house, Louis Vuitton to create LVMH, however due to a managerial crisis the following year, Guinness (now Diageo) also came on board by securing a 34% share. Today Hennessy sell around 50 million bottles of cognac per year and account for more than 40% of the world’s supply.

Launched in 1996, Richard Hennessy is the pinnacle of 200 years of cognac producing experience, knowledge and passion of Maison Hennessy, with a special blend of exceptionally delicious and rare eaux-de-vie matured from 40 years to nearly 200 years.

This is the third edition of the Richard Hennessy, presented with this crystal stopper since 2008.

Please note due to the size of this lot, it will carry a two-bottle shipping fee.

Rosebank 1989 Gordon and MacPhail Rare Old Lot RO/13/03

Rosebank is a much-sought after Lowland single malt. The distillery was initially shortlisted by United Distillers as their Lowland entry to the Classic Malts series when it was slated for launch in 1988, but was eventually substituted for Glenkinchie on the belief that it provided better opportunities for tourism. Rosebank was then shut down in 1993. Seemingly closed for good, many were surprised in 2017 when Ian Macleod Distillers announced that they had acquired the distillery and brand with a view to resurrecting it. After a long at times difficult restoration project, the first casks were filled at on 18th July 2023.

This whisky was distilled in 1989 and bottled in 2013.

Discontinued in the spring of 2018 and replaced with the decadently revamped Private Collection range, Rare Old was the former premium range from Gordon & MacPhail. It was intended to showcase Scotland's legendary closed distilleries, as well as some of their oldest and finest stocks from those still in operation.

Rock Hill Farms Single Barrel Kentucky Bourbon 1990s

Rock Hill Farms 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 and Rock Hill Farms, named after a stretch of farmland in Kentucky was introduced in 1990.

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.

Penderyn Peated

The first Welsh whisky brand, Swn Y Mor, was devised in the 1970s by The Welsh Whisky Company. However, neither the firm nor the rest of the country actually had a distillery at the time. The product was a somewhat controversial blend of Scotch malt and grain whiskies, and an eventual court case with the Scotch whisky industry. Three of the company directors were then jailed for Duty fraud, but all was not lost. A development funding grant from the EU had been used to develop a new type of spirit still, a project led by David Faraday at the University of Surrey. The result of this was the installation of a Faraday still at The Welsh Whisky Company's new Gwalia distillery in the Brecon Beacons national park, where today this increasingly popular Penderyn single malt is distilled.

This core range single malt is finished in ex-Islay casks.

Royal Brackla 10 Year Old early 2000s

Founded in 1817, Brackla distillery was the first in Scotland to be granted a Royal Warrant, becoming Royal Brackla at the behest of King William IV in 1835. The distillery was primarily tasked with providing malt for blending, and became part of DCL (now Diageo) in 1943. It was one of the many distilleries that they were forced to close due to a production surplus in the 1980s however, mothballed between 1985 and 1991. Royal Brackla was sold along with the rest of those associated with the Dewar's brand to Bacardi in 1998. It was bottled by United Distillers as part of the Flora & Fauna range, within the Rare Malts Selection, but it was not until 1999 under Bacardi ownership it first would first appear under its own unique single malt brand. Even then, distribution was limited until it was eventually relaunched in 2014 as part of company’s Last Great Malts collection, alongside Aberfeldy, Aultmore and The Deveron.

Released in 2004, this is the earliest of the Bacardi distillery bottlings, and replaced Diageo's Flora & Fauna of the same age as the entry level release.

Penderyn Icons of Wales #11 / Patagonia

The first Welsh whisky brand, Swn Y Mor, was devised in the 1970s by The Welsh Whisky Company. However, neither the firm nor the rest of the country actually had a distillery at the time. The product was a somewhat controversial blend of Scotch malt and grain whiskies, and an eventual court case with the Scotch whisky industry. Three of the company directors were then jailed for Duty fraud, but all was not lost. A development funding grant from the EU had been used to develop a new type of spirit still, a project led by David Faraday at the University of Surrey. The result of this was the installation of a Faraday still at The Welsh Whisky Company's new Gwalia distillery in the Brecon Beacons national park, where today this increasingly popular Penderyn single malt is distilled.

This is number 11 of 50 in the Icons of Wales series, each of which celebrates Wales and its people throughout the world.

This edition is the distillery's first blended malt, and celebrates the first group of Welsh emigrants that travelled from Liverpool to Patagonia, aboard the Mimosa in 1865. 

Penderyn Icons of Wales #9 / The Headliner - David Lloyd George

The first Welsh whisky brand, Swn Y Mor, was devised in the 1970s by The Welsh Whisky Company. The firm however, nor the rest of the country actually had a distillery at the time. The product was a somewhat controversial blend of Scotch malt and grain whiskies, and an eventual court case with the Scotch whisky industry. Three of the company directors were then jailed for Duty fraud, but all was not lost! A development funding grant from the EU had been used to develop a new type of spirit still, a project led by David Faraday at the University of Surrey. The result of this was the installation of a Faraday still at The Welsh Whisky Company's new Gwalia distillery in the Brecon Beacons national park, where today this increasingly popular Penderyn single malt is distilled.

This Jamaican Rum & Ruby port cask matured Welsh whisky is number 9 of 50 in the Icons of Wales series, each of which celebrates Wales and its people throughout the world. This particular edition, titled 'The Headliner', celebrates the only Welsh Prime Minister, David Lloyd George. Lloyd George's introduction of the '3 years and one day' rule which demanded whiskies be matured in a cask for this time frame as a minimum, contributed immensely to whisky's transition in to a premium product and shape the industry as we know it today.

Poit Dhubh 12 Year Old 1980s

Praban na Linne was founded in 1976 by Sir Iain Noble, a fierce proponent of the Gaelic language. He was the co-founder of the Edinburgh merchant bank, and believed Gaelic was the key to unlock economic regeneration in the Highlands and Islands. This was one of his projects, and the company is based on the Isle of Skye. They produce three whiskies, this Poit Dubh blended malt, and Te Bheag and Mac Na Mara blended Scotch whiskies. Noble was also the driving force behind the Gaelic speaking distillery on the Isle of Skye, Torabhaig, but did not live to see it completed.

Redbreast 21 Year Old pre-2019

Redbreast is a single pot still whiskey, for which a combination of malted and un-malted barley are triple distilled in copper pot stills. The brand was created by W.A. Gilbey & Co, and bottled using whiskey sourced from Jameson's Bow Street distillery in Dublin. When Jameson amalgamated with Powers and Cork Distillers to form the Irish Distillers group, the Dublin distilleries were closed down, with all production moved to New Midleton distillery in Cork in 1975. Gilbey's discontinued the brand ten years later, but agreed to sell it to Irish Distillers who relaunched it in 1991.

The 21 year old was launched in 2013 and is now a hugely popular part of the Redbreast core range. This version was bottled between then and 2019 when the Redbreast brand was given a makeover.

Rock Hill Farms Single Barrel Kentucky Bourbon

Named after a stretch of farmland in Kentucky, this is a single barrel Kentucky straight bourbon, produced at the Buffalo Trace distillery by the Sazerac company.

A historic distillery, Buffalo Trace was built by Edmund Haynes Jr (also known as the Colonel), and was known as Old Fire Copper distillery. Over the years it has been the place of work of many of the industry's great names, including Albert Blanton, Elmer T. Lee and George T. Stagg, all of whom are immortalised by products produced there today. In the 20th century it has been known as a number of things, mostly as George T. Stagg, briefly as the Blanton's distillery, and most recently, Ancient Age, before becoming Buffalo Trace in 1999.

Please note this bottle does not appear to have a laser code, therefore we are unable to determine the release year.

Ronnie's 12 Year Old Scotch Whisky / Ronnie Scott's 60th Anniversary

This 12 year old Scotch whisky was produced by Iain Forteath of Tomintoul distillery, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of popular London jazz club, Ronnie Scott's.

One of 1,000 bottles.

Russell's Reserve Single Rickhouse Limited Release 2024

The Wild Turkey distillery, then known as Boulevard, was built in 1935 by the Ripy Brothers in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. The Wild Turkey brand name originated around 1941 when some, shared on a hunting trip, was referred to as \"some of that wild turkey whiskey.\" It is distilled at bottled by the Austin Nicholls company and for many years they had sourced the whiskey from the Ripy's, but eventually bought the distillery from them in 1972, renaming it in the process. Of almost equal importance, the purchase of the distillery included the contract of legendary master distillery, Jimmy Russell, who started working there in 1954. His name is synonymous with the brand, and his son succeeded him 2015. In 2011 a new Wild Turkey distillery was built on the same site, replacing the original Ripy plant after 76 years.

This is a barrel-proof expression from Wild Turkey bottled under the Russell's Reserve brand, named after their Master Distillers, Jimmy Russell and his son, Eddie.

This is the 2024 installation of the brand's Rickhouse Collection, this time matured on floor 6 of their Camp Nelson B rickhouse.

Pinwinnie 12 Year Old Royale Scotch Whisky 1980s

Increasingly harder and harder to find, Pinwinnie blended whisky was produced by the Pinwinnie Distillery of Airdrie, Scotland and was a popular brand of Inver House Distillers. Pinwinnie was discontinued before the turn of the millennium. 

This is a bottle of the 12 year old bottled during the 1980s featuring the plastic capsule. 

Port Ellen 1982 McGibbon's Provenance 18 Year Old

For decades Port Ellen was the lost jewel in the Islay crown, closed down by DCL (now Diageo) in 1983 due to an oversupply of peated whisky for blending and a perceived lack of interest in it as a single malt. However, it developed a legendary status over the years and in 2017 Diageo eventually announced plans to re-open it. The work was completed in 2024, and the first spirit was distilled in March that year. A very rare 12 year old bottled for attendees of the visit of Queen Elizabeth II in 1980 is believed to have been the only distillery bottling produced in its first years of operation. Diageo have bottled more since, but it is the independent companies that have given the whisky world the best chance to sample this sought-after single malt.

This Port Ellen was distilled in 1982 and matured for 18 years. It was bottled by Douglas McGibbon & Co. in 2001 under their McGibbon's Provenance label.

Douglas McGibbon & Co were established in 1947 becoming a subsidiary of independent bottler, Douglas Laing, in 1950. They are perhaps best known for their McGibbon's blend and its golf-themed decanters, but for many years produced this Provenance brand for single malts as well. When Douglas Laing was carved up between brothers Stewart and Fred in 2013, the McGibbon's and Provenance brands were retained by Fred as part of Douglas Laing firm, with other notable labels such as the Old Malt Cask going the other way, to Stewart's newly founded Hunter Laing. Nowadays the Provenance brand is part of the main Douglas Laing portfolio, with Douglas McGibbon the named bottler on Clan Denny releases.

Prince Hubert de Polignac Three Star Cognac 1.5 litre

A larger bottling of Three Star cognac, produced by Prince Hubert de Polignac.  

Please note: due to the size and weight of this lot, it will incur a 2 bottle shipping fee

Royal Brackla 1974 Gordon and MacPhail bottled 2001

Founded in 1817, Brackla distillery was the first in Scotland to be granted a Royal Warrant, becoming Royal Brackla at the behest of King William IV in 1835. The distillery was primarily tasked with providing malt for blending, and became part of DCL (now Diageo) in 1943. It was one of the many distilleries that they were forced to close due to a production surplus in the 1980s however, mothballed between 1985 and 1991. Royal Brackla was sold along with the rest of those associated with the Dewar's brand to Bacardi in 1998. Although Bacardi launched a single malt brand for the distillery in 1999, it was not widely distributed until it was repackaged as part of their Last Great Malts collection in 2014. Independent releases from all eras have become increasingly sought after.

This Royal Brackla was distilled in 1974 and bottled by Gordon & MacPhail in 2001, under their Connoisseurs Choice label.

Gordon & MacPhail are one of the largest and most recognisable whisky companies in the world. Although they began distilling at the newly refurbished Benromach distillery in 1998, for most of their history they were an independent bottler. Their labels are recognised by whisky lovers the world over, and their licensed bottlings from distillery's like Macallan and Talisker in the 1970s and 1980s, when the companies were not bottling themselves, are a huge part of the success of those distillers today.

The Connoisseurs Choice label is one of the most recognisable independent bottlings on the market. It was initially created for renowned Italian importer, Edoardo Giaccone in the early 1970s, but became a mainstay of the core Gordon & MacPhail portfolio in 1979.

Paul Giraud Grande Champagne Cognac 'Fleur et Fruit' / Shinanoya

A single cask Cognac from the Grande Champagne region. 

Paul Giraud Grande Champagne Cognac 'Fleur et Fruit' / Shinanoya

A single cask Cognac from the Grande Champagne region. 

Rhosdhu 1979 First Cask 26 Year Old #3240

Loch Lomond distillery was an innovative project when first conceived, intending to be fully self-reliant in its blending responsibilities by producing a variety of single malt and grain whiskies on the same site. The combination of swan-necked pot stills, Lomond stills and continuous stills, nowadays allow for the production of a staggering 11 distinct spirits. Within these are a number of single malts, including Inchmurrin, Inchmoan, Rhosdhu and Croftengea.

This Rhosdhu was distilled in October 1979 and matured in single cask #3240 for 26 years. It was bottled by Direct Wines as part of their First Cask series.

The First Cask range is a no-frills collection of independent releases, simplistically labelled but with a real focus on high quality cask selection. The brand was produced by Direct Wines, a firm established in Windsor in 1973 and the casks are provided by Signatory Vintage. Often sold in mixed cases through Direct Wines' global distribution network, these bottles can be found all over the world yet have retained the allure of being a relatively boutique label, with many examples incredibly sought after.

Prunier Lot 1961 59 Year Old Cognac / The Whisky Jury

The Maison of Prunier can trace its history back over eleven generations. They are renowned for their high quality bottlings, some of which carry lengthy age-statements. 

This incredible liquid was distilled in 1961 and matured for over 59 years. It was bottled in 2021 at cask strength, and selected by The Whisky Jury.

One of only 42 bottles.

Rebel Yell Kentucky Straight Bourbon 1996 70cl 

The Rebel Yell brand was created for Stitzel-Weller distillery in the late 1940s by Charles R. Farnsely, a former mayor of Louisville, KY. The brand was first bottled around the distillery's 100th anniversary, with the intention of producing and distributing it in small batches, exclusively in the Southern states.

Following the sale of Stitzel-Weller by the Van Winkle family 1972, it eventually came into the hands of United Distillers (now Diageo) who opted to make the brand available more widely. This bottle dates from that period, and was produced in the very early 1990s. The decision not to remove the Confederate flag from the packaging saw the brand struggle to sell in export markets however, and when United Distillers closed Stitzel-Weller in 1992, the decision was made to discontinue the brand. It was then sold to the David Sherman company (now known as Luxco), who did not make the same mistake. They continue to produce it today using bourbon sourced from Heaven Hill.

Bottled in 1996.

Penderyn Icons of Wales #8 / Hiraeth

The first Welsh whisky brand, Swn Y Mor, was devised in the 1970s by The Welsh Whisky Company. The firm however, nor the rest of the country actually had a distillery at the time. The product was a somewhat controversial blend of Scotch malt and grain whiskies, and an eventual court case with the Scotch whisky industry. Three of the company directors were then jailed for Duty fraud, but all was not lost! A development funding grant from the EU had been used to develop a new type of spirit still, a project led by David Faraday at the University of Surrey. The result of this was the installation of a Faraday still at The Welsh Whisky Company's new Gwalia distillery in the Brecon Beacons national park, where today this increasingly popular Penderyn single malt is distilled.

This is number 8 of 50 in the Icons of Wales series, each of which celebrates Wales and its people throughout the world. This particular edition lauds Hiraeth, a Welsh word that has no direct English translation, however means something akin to a nostalgic memory of Wales. As the bottle states, it is \"A longing for your homeland, your heritage and your very being\". 

Royal Lochnagar 12 Year Old 1990s

Royal Lochnagar is so-called after it was bestowed with a Royal Warrant by Prince Albert and Queen Victoria following a visit in 1848. The popularity of the distillery’s Begg’s blend saw it acquired by John Dewar & Sons in 1916, who later became part of DCL, upping the demand for its whisky from other brands in their portfolio, including Johnnie Walker. Today it is part of Diageo, their smallest distillery by some margin, making the modest amount of its single malt spared for bottling increasingly sought after. 

Prior to the formation of United Distillers in 1988, the distilleries within the DCL portfolio were often licensed out to its blending companies, and in the case of Royal Lochnagar it was former owners, John Begg Ltd. Their 12 year old bottling replaced the Haig's Glenleven blended malt within the Ascot Malt Cellar range, an early DCL precursor to the Classic Malts range launched later that decade.

When the classic malts was launched, Royal Lochnagar was not included, but United Distillers continued to market the distillery's brand, re-launching this 12 year old alongside the Selected Reserve. For many years they were the most expensive permanent product in the Diageo portfolio.

Petite Champagne Cognac 1973 Whisky Agency 42 Year Old

A 1973 vintage very fine old cognac from the Whisky Agency, bottled in 2016 at 42 years old.

The Whisky Agency was founded in Germany by Carsten Ehrlich, who is also the driving force behind The Whisky Fair in Limburg, one of the world's most renowned annual whisky gatherings. Their passion is unquestionable, and they have a regular release schedule of high quality single casks, often in collaboration with some of the most respected whisky bars and retailers. The Whisky Agency's labels include The Perfect Dram, Liquid Library, Private Stock, and Liquid Sun.

One of 483 bottles.

Paul Giraud Heritage Grande Champagne Cognac

A single cask Cognac from the Grand Champagne region. 

Port Ellen 1979 28 Year Old 7th Release 20cl

For decades Port Ellen was the lost jewel in the Islay crown, closed down by DCL (now Diageo) in 1983 due to an oversupply of peated whisky for blending and a perceived lack of interest in it as a single malt. However, it developed a legendary status over the years and in 2017 Diageo eventually announced plans to re-open it. The work was completed in 2024, and the first spirit was distilled in March that year. A very rare 12 year old bottled for attendees of the visit of Queen Elizabeth II in 1980 is believed to have been the only distillery bottling produced in its first years of operation. Diageo then bottled the first publicly available distillery bottlings as part of the Rare Malts Selection, followed by the annual special releases.

The seventh edition of the incredibly popular Port Ellen annual releases. This was distilled in 1979 and matured for 28 years. It was bottled at cask strength in 2007.

Redbreast 30 Year Old Dream Cask Double Cask Edition 50cl

Redbreast is a single pot still whiskey, for which a combination of malted and un-malted barley are triple distilled in copper pot stills. The brand was created by W.A. Gilbey & Co, and bottled using whiskey sourced from Jameson's Bow Street distillery in Dublin. When Jameson amalgamated with Powers and Cork Distillers to form the Irish Distillers group, the Dublin distilleries were closed down, with all production moved to New Midleton distillery in Cork in 1975. Gilbey's discontinued the brand ten years later, but agreed to sell it to Irish Distillers who relaunched it in 1991.

This highly sought-after expression was matured in ex-bourbon and Oloroso sherry casks, #33794 and #48656. 

One of only 714 bottles.

Port Ellen 1974 Intertrade 14 Year Old Cask Strength / Nadi Fiori Collection - Signed

Intertrade was established in Italy in the early 1980s by Nadi Fiori, the owner of the Taverna degli Artisti bar in Rimini. The company was a collaboration with beer distributors, the Turatello Brothers, and the Intertrade name appears on Fiori's bottlings up to around 1989. Fiori selected his whiskies from the Gordon & MacPhail catalogue, but as a collector himself, and a contemporary of his fellow connoisseur countrymen, Silvano Samaroli and Ernesto Mainardi, he knew the importance striking label designs and requested many of his bottlings at cask strength. Whether under the Intertrade, Turatello or High Spirits banner, Fiori's bottlings are some of the most sought after on the market.

A 14 year old Port Ellen, this was distilled in May 1974 and bottled by Gordon & MacPhail in July 1988. This is one of many vintage Port Ellen bottled by Nadi Fiori with this label style.

For decades Port Ellen was the lost jewel in the Islay crown, closed down by DCL (now Diageo) in 1983 due to an oversupply of peated whisky for blending and a perceived lack of interest in it as a single malt. However, it developed a legendary status over the years and in 2017 Diageo eventually announced plans to re-open it. The work was completed in 2024, and the first spirit was distilled in March that year. A very rare 12 year old bottled for attendees of the visit of Queen Elizabeth II in 1980 is believed to have been the only distillery bottling produced in its first years of operation. Diageo have bottled more since, but it is the independent companies that have given the whisky world the best chance to sample this sought-after single malt.

One of only 570 bottles.

This particular bottle has been signed by Nadi Fiori.

Pappy Van Winkle 20 Year Old Family Reserve 2024

The Old Rip Van Winkle brand was a pre-prohibition bourbon label, revived by the Van Winkle family after they were forced to sell their Stitzel-Weller distillery by its board of directors. New owners, Somerset Imports, granted Julian Van Winkle II (son of the famous 'Pappy') the continued use of an office at the distillery, and first option on purchasing casks to bottle his new brand with. When he died and the business passed to his son, Julian III, this courtesy was no longer extended, and he moved bottling to the old Hoffman distillery in Lawrenceburg in 1983, renaming it Old Commonwealth. He was still able to buy Stitzel-Weller stock though, and introduced the famous Pappy Van Winkle range in homage to his grandfather, using well-aged barrels from the distillery the now-legendary figure once so lovingly ran. When Stitzel-Weller was closed down by United Distillers in 1992, it was only a matter of time before stock would run out. This necessitated a partnership between Julian Van Winkle III and Buffalo Trace distillery in 2002, seeing all bottling move there, initially using the remaining Stitzel-Weller barrels, with these eventually replaced by Buffalo Trace distilled stock. The product from all eras is revered, and the brand is considered to be the first premium bourbon line to have been produced in the US.

The 20 year old has become quite legendary, particularly after the theft of 65 three-bottle cases in 2013. It is also the expression which first brought the Van Winkle brand to prominence after being awarded an unprecedented score of 99 at the Beverage Testing Institute in 1996. This bottle is the 2024 release.

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.

Laser code: L2424901 19:40M

Proof and Wood 2001 Blame Canada! 22 Year Old Canadian Rye Whiskey 70cl

This rye whiskey was distilled in 2001 from a mashbill of 91% rye and 9% corn. It was matured in single barrel #1 for 22 years.

Titled Blame Canada!, it was bottled by Proof and Wood Ventures, the second start-up from the people that brought us Redemption Whiskey.

Penderyn Icons of Wales #5 / Bryn Terfel

The first Welsh whisky brand, Swn Y Mor, was devised in the 1970s by The Welsh Whisky Company. The firm however, nor the rest of the country actually had a distillery at the time. The product was a somewhat controversial blend of Scotch malt and grain whiskies, and an eventual court case with the Scotch whisky industry. Three of the company directors were then jailed for Duty fraud, but all was not lost! A development funding grant from the EU had been used to develop a new type of spirit still, a project led by David Faraday at the University of Surrey. The result of this was the installation of a Faraday still at The Welsh Whisky Company's new Gwalia distillery in the Brecon Beacons national park, where today this increasingly popular Penderyn single malt is distilled.

This is number 5 of 50 in the Icons of Wales series, each of which celebrates Wales and its people throughout the world. This particular edition lauds opera singer, Bryn Terfel.

Port Ellen 1978 37 Year Old 16th Release

For decades Port Ellen was the lost jewel in the Islay crown, closed down by DCL (now Diageo) in 1983 due to an oversupply of peated whisky for blending and a perceived lack of interest in it as a single malt. However, it developed a legendary status over the years and in 2017 Diageo eventually announced plans to re-open it. The work was completed in 2024, and the first spirit was distilled in March that year. A very rare 12 year old bottled for attendees of the visit of Queen Elizabeth II in 1980 is believed to have been the only distillery bottling produced in its first years of operation. Diageo then bottled the first publicly available distillery bottlings as part of the Rare Malts Selection, followed by the annual special releases.

This is the sixteenth edition of the incredibly popular Port Ellen annual releases. It was distilled in 1978 and bottled 37 years later in 2016.

Limited to 2,940 bottles.