March 2019 Auction

Convalmore 1962 Cadenhead's 31 Year Old 75cl / US Import

Distilled in November 1962 and bottled in February 1994 by Cadenhead's. 

Benrinnes 1962 Cadenhead's 27 Year Old

A very rare bottling from Cadenhead's, this Benrinnes was distilled in March 1962 and bottled in December 1989. 

Cadenhead's are Scotland's oldest independent bottler, operating for over 175 years, but perhaps none of their bottlings are as sought after as these 'dumpy' style bottles. All of these were produced with brown glass and an iconic black label, with each distillery given its own letterpress font in homage to William Cadenhead's early career in the printing business.

Chichibu 2010 SMWS 8 Year Old 130.2

'Tropical thunder'

The second Scotch Malt Whisky Society bottling from Japanese distillery, Chichibu.

Distilled in December 2011 and matured first in a first fill ex-bourbon barrel.

One of 191 bottled at 8 years old.

Chichibu 2010 Ichiro's Malt Single Cask #657 / Bar Barns

This single cask Chichibu was distilled in 2010 and bottled in 2014 from a single bourbon barrel #657.

Exclusively bottled for Bar Barns in Nagoya, Japan.

One of 227 bottles.

Caol Ila 1989 Coilltean Private Cask / Samaroli Import

An unusual single vintage bottling of Caol Ila, distilled in 1989 and bottled in 2000.

The whisky was drawn from the private casks of Maurizio Menichetti, numbers #3261 and #3262. They were bottled for him in Scotland by Coilltean International, and shipped in to Italy by parent company, the legendary Samaroli.

Coilltean was a name devised by Samaroli in the 1980s to disguise duplicate distilleries in his bottling series' and give the illusion of further variety after he over-bought casks of 1975 vintage Glen Garioch. It later becamew the name of the Scottish-based bottling arm of his company in the 1990s, when their long standing arrangement with R.W. Duthie came to an end.

Chichibu 2011 SMWS 6 Year Old 130.3

'Bamboo wood and cherry blossom'

The third Scotch Malt Whisky Society bottling from Japanese distillery, Chichibu.

Distilled in December 2011 and matured first in ex-bourbon wood before being finished in a single first fill ex-Pinot Noir barrique.

One of 200 bottled at 6 years old.

Bowmore 25 Year Old The Gulls 

One of the many legends of Bowmore.

Back in the day, When the Scots travelled from their Celtic lands to create the Kingdom of Dalriada-in-Alban, the Pictish and Brythonic tribes who already lived in the lands resisted fiercely. Legend says that the daughter of a Pictish King fell in love with a captured Scottish warrior and helped him escape. Together they fled westwards to Islay. Rowing towards the young warrior's home on the shores of Loch Indaal, a terrible storm assaulted their boat, sending it crashing into the rocky coast line.

The young Scot's clansmen found only debris and no sign of the lovers - but a pair of white gulls soared and swooped together across the Loch, settling neither on the western nor the eastern shore, as if torn between the two.

... on the whisky front, this is a 25 year old Bowmore presented in a stunning blue decanter with a stylish box.

Castarede 1893 Armagnac

A bottle of vintage Armagnac from the house of Castarede in Lavardac, France.

Distilled in 1893, these old Armagnacs are phenomenal windows into the past and outrageously under priced for what they are. 

Chichibu 2011 SMWS 6 Year Old 130.3

'Bamboo wood and cherry blossom'

The third Scotch Malt Whisky Society bottling from Japanese distillery, Chichibu.

Distilled in December 2011 and matured first in ex-bourbon wood before being finished in a single first fill ex-Pinot Noir barrique.

One of 200 bottled at 6 years old.

Clynelish 1972 Celtic Legends

A 1972 vintage bottling of Clynelish, bottled by Liquid Gold as part of their Celtic Legends series.

Hogshead #2254 was specially selected by John McDougall, renowned distiller and author of Wort, Worms and Washbacks.

Bottled in 2002.

Chartreuse Tarragone Green Label 1978

Originally created in 1605 by monks using a recipe for an elixir of long life. 

This Chartreuse was made in the Tarragone production facility in Spain, and was bottled in 1978.

With stopper and certificate of authenticity. 

Balvenie 30 Year Old

A well respected 30 year old from Balvenie, which won a Gold Medal at the 2010 International Spirits Challenge.

Bruichladdich 1968 Bar Metro 16 Year Old

A spectacularly rare example of independently bottled Bruichladdich. This 16 year old comprises one of four in the first ever bottlings for the esteemed Bar Metro in Milan, which was founded by Giorgio d'Ambrosio in 1966.

The bar was a favourite of connoisseurs for its incredible selection, and Giorgio decided to bottle his very own whisky for the first time in 1984. All four of the first bottlings were Bruichladdich, which he purchased from the legendary Silvano Samaroli. The receipt for the transaction, dated 28th May 1984, lists the sale of five 16 year old (1968 vintage), ten 17 year old (1967 vintage) and ten 18 year old (1966) vintage casks.

The bottles were filled for Bar Metro by R.W. Duthie in Aberdeen.

Booker's Rye 13 Year Old Limited Edition

An award winning whiskey, Jim Murray named this as his World Whisk(e)y of the Year 2016.  

Booker's is produced by Jim Beam at their second distillery on Boston Road in Kentucky. Both the bourbon and that distillery are named after former Master Distiller, Booker Noe. It is believed Beam have designs on making Booker's a premium product within their range, so now is as good a time as any to snare one.

This limited, one-off release was created by Fred Noe, the current Master Distiller at Jim Beam, Fred is the son of Booker and the great grandson of the \"Jim Beam\", making him the seventh generation Beam family distiller.

Bottle number 6918.

\"Big Time Batch\"

Caroni 1983 22 Year Old Heavy Rum​

A high proof heavy Trinidad rum, distilled in 1983 at the now lost Caroni distillery.

Aged for 22 years, this was bottled from a stock of 78 casks, producing 20,986 bottles.

Botted by Velier in 2005.

Bowmore Blair Castle Horse Trials 2005

A special limited edition Bowmore bottled to celebrate the Blair Castle International Horse Trials which was held between the 25th and 28th August 2005.

Bowmore Blair Castle Horse Trials 2004

A special limited edition Bowmore bottled to celebrate the Blair Castle International Horse Trials which was held between the 26th and 29th August 2004.

Cragganmore 15 Year Old Sestante

A 1988 bottling of Cragganmore by Sestante.

The Sestante import company was founded in the 1970s by Ernesto Mainardi, and he bottled his first single casks under the name in 1985. Alongside his contemporary, Silvano Samaroli, Mainardi pioneered giving his customers a choice of both standard 40-46% bottlings, and cask strength releases from the same casks. Along with his other brand, Silver Seal, Mainardi's bottlings are incredibly sought after.

This was bottled at 15 years old and at cask strength. Mainardi also released a 14 year old with the same label bu at the lower 40% ABV.

Clynelish 1995 Samaroli Single Cask / Coilltean

A single cask Clynelish from the iconic bottler, Samaroli.

Samaroli is perhaps Italy's most revered independent bottler of Scotch whisky. With an impeccable taste in single cask whiskies, and an eye for aesthetics (if not English spelling at times!), he is regarded by many as a visionary. Many of his bottles now occupy deserved sports on the pantheon of whisky greats

Coilltean was originally a label devised by Samaroli to give more variety to his portfolio after over-purchasing cask of Glen Garioch. By the early 2000s he was using many distilleries to bottle Coilltean, and now disclosing their names. These are some of the first releases to bear the contentious \"refined in side the bottle since...\" text, that the Scotch Whisky Association abhored, but Silvano full believed in.

Distilled in 1995 and bottled from sherry butt cask #6083 in 2008.

One of 590 bottles.

Balvenie 30 Year Old

A well respected 30 year old from Balvenie, which won a Gold Medal at the 2010 International Spirits Challenge.

Caol Ila 1984 Gordon and MacPhail 33 Year Old Batch #18/062

Distilled in 1984 at Caol Ila distillery on Islay, bottled at 33 years old from a refill sherry hogshead.

The Connoisseurs Choice label is one of the most recognisable independent bottlings on the market, and this release follows the 2018 rejuvenation of the brand, which saw it reimagined as a premium single casks range.

One of 216 bottles in batch #18/062.

Benrinnes 1971 Cadenhead's 26 Year Old

Distilled in 1971 and bottled in February 1998 by Cadenhead's.

Matured 26 years in sherrywood.

Compass Box Tobias and the Angel

A resurrection of sorts for the old favourite, and Compass Box's first Whisky Eleuthera. Produced using the same pairing of Clynelish and Caol Ila but both at significantly greater age than was used in Eleuthera.

50.9% Clynelish aged 24 years in American oak hogshead and 49.1% Caol Ila of a \"considerably older age\" and again matured in American oak hogshead.

Brora 1982 Douglas Laing 22 Year Old / Advance Sample

An independent bottling of Brora, distilled in their penultimate year of production in 1982. The distillery has been closed since the following year.

The Old Malt Cask series is one of the most established independent labels on the market. It was launched by Douglas Laing in 1998 and bottled by them until 2013 when the brand became part of the Hunter Laing portfolio instead.

This is a pre-release Advance Sample bottle, aged 22 years in a sherry hogshead and set for exclusive bottling for the Alambic Classique in Germany.

Convalmore 1977 Cadenhead's 40 Year Old

A single cask bottling by Cadenhead's from closed Speyside distillery, Convalmore.

Distilled in 1977 and matured in a single butt for 40 years. Bottled as part of Cadenhead's 175th anniversary celebrations in 2017.

One of 522 bottles. 

Bowmore 1989 SMWS 28 Year Old 3.305

'The scents of perfection'

This Bowmore was distilled on 11th March 1989 and bottled 28 years later by the Scotch Malt Whisky Society.

One of 209 bottles drawn from a first fill Pedo Ximenez hogshead.

Please note that the title of this lot was updated to reflect that this was in fact a 1989 vintage 28 year old on 04/03/19. Whisky Auctioneer apologies for any inconvenience caused.

Balvenie Tun 1858 Batch #5

A marriage of 6 Traditional whisky casks and 4 Sherry Butts created the sixth limited edition Balvenie Tun 1858, for the Taiwanese market. 

As with the Balvenie Tun 1401, these whiskies are hand-selected by Malt Master David Stewart. Six traditional whisky casks and four sherry butts are combined and rested for several months in Tun 1858. 

Bowmore 25 Year Old 

A fairly recent bottling of 25 year old Bowmore, Islay's oldest distillery. 

Chichibu Ichiro's Malt Travel Exclusive 2018

A cask strength bottling of Chichibu, bottled for Travel Retail in 2018.

Caol Ila 1972 Gordon and MacPhail 16 Year Old

An independent bottling of Caol Ila from Gordon and MacPhail, distilled in 1972 and bottled 16 years later.

This is part of the Connoisseurs Choice series, and is presented in the classic 1980s packaging.

Bowmore Fly Fishing Championships 2003

A very limited bottle of Bowmore that was released for the European Fly Fishing Championships on Islay in 2003.

Any avid Bowmore collector would be mad to miss out on this highly sought after release!

Banff 1975 Celtic Heartlands 33 Year Old / Signed by Jim McEwan

A single malt from the increasingly sought after closed Highland distillery, Banff. 

Distilled in 1975 and bottled 2008 as part of the Jim McEwan's Celtic Heartlands range from Murray McDavid.

Bottle number 403 of 449.