May 2019 Auction

Port Ellen That Boutique-y Whisky Company Batch #5

The fifth batch of That Boutique-y Whisky Company single malt from Islay's lost jewel, Port Ellen distillery. 

Bottle number 35 of 89. 

Pappy Van Winkle 15 Year Old Family Reserve

The teenager of this family of world-renowned American whiskies, now in incredibly high demand!

Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve 15 year old replaced the Old Rip Van Winkle of the same age in 2004. Van Winkle has been bottled at Buffalo Trace since 2002.

Bottled in 2016. 

Bottle code: B1618121:024

Port Ellen 1982 Malts of Scotland Sherry Hogshead

A single cask Port Ellen from German independent label, Malts of Scotland.

Distilled in 1982, a year before the distillery closed. This was bottled in 2012 from single sherry hogshead #12017.

Malts of Scotland were founded in 2005 by whisky enthusiast and connoisseur, Thomas Ewers.

Bottle number 275 of 298.

Pappy Van Winkle 15 Year Old Family Reserve

The teenager of this family of world-renowned American whiskies, now in incredibly high demand!

Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve 15 year old replaced the Old Rip Van Winkle of the same age in 2004. Van Winkle has been bottled at Buffalo Trace since 2002.

This is the 2017 bottling, affectionately known as the \"Santa Edition\" due to Buffalo Trace's accidental application of a red instead of the traditional black capsule.

Bottle code: L172560114:027

Pappy Van Winkle 15 Year Old Family Reserve

The teenager of this family of world renowned American whiskies, now in incredibly high demand!

This is a 2017 bottling. Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve 15 year old replaced the Old Rip Van Winkle of the same age in 2004. Van Winkle has been bottled at Buffalo Trace since 2002.

Port Ellen 1970 Gordon and MacPhail 17 Year Old

A bottling of Port Ellen by Gordon and MacPhail, distilled in 1970. At 17 years old, this would have been released just a few years after the distillery fell silent in 1983.

Presented in the classic brown livery of the Connoisseurs Choice series.

St Magdalene 1979 Rare Malt 19 Year Old / 63.80%​

The Rare Malt Selection is a historic selection of single malt whiskies from operational and lost distilleries that were released by Diageo between 1995 and 2005.

A spectacular bottling of St Magdalene, released as part of Diageo's famous 'Rare Malt Selection'.  

Distilled in 1979 and bottled as a 19 year old at a healthy 63.80%.

Italian Import.

Strathisla 1960 Gordon and MacPhail 

Distilled in 1960 and then bottled by Gordon and MacPhail in 2010. 

Gordon and MacPhail offer perhaps the most comprehensive range of aged whiskies, dating back as far as the 1930s.

This is part of the Gordon & MacPhail Distillery Labels series, which replicates the livery the Elgin-based bottlers used in the mid-20th century when they produced the only official bottlings (under license) for many distilleries like this.

Port Ellen 1978 Whisky Shop 24 Year Old / 10th Anniversary

This is an independent bottling of the incredibly popular Port Ellen. Distilled in 1978 and bottled 24 years later in 2002 by Douglas Laing for The Whisky Shop to celebrate their 10th anniversary.

Port Ellen is the lost jewel in the Islay crown. Closure in 1983 has enabled this distillery to receive a near mythical amount of love and respect. As stocks get thinner on the ground, these bottles become rarer and rarer.

Number 51 of 602 bottles. 

Port Ellen 1978 Rare Malt 22 Year Old / 60.50%

The Rare Malt Selection is an historic selection of single malt whiskies from operational and lost distilleries that was released by Diageo between 1995 and 2005.

This Port Ellen was distilled in 1978 and bottled in October 2000. The distillery has become a collector's favourite since its closure in 1983.

Bottle number 6033.

Port Ellen 1982 Silver Seal 20 Year Old / Manager Reserve

A slightly younger Port Ellen than you normally see from the long closed Islay legend. This was bottled by Silver Seal.

Silver Seal was founded by Ernesto Mainardi in 2000. This was Mainardi's second bottling company after the esteemed Sestane in 1979. Both companies were sold to Massimo Righi in 2010, with Ernesto's original releases becoming increasingly prized possessions by collectors.

Distilled in 1982 and bottled in September 2003. 

Bottle number 281 of 360. 

Port Ellen 1978 Whisky Shop 24 Year Old / 10th Anniversary

This is an independent bottling of the incredibly popular Port Ellen. Distilled in 1978 and bottled 24 years later in 2002 by Douglas Laing for The Whisky Shop to celebrate their 10th anniversary.

Port Ellen is the lost jewel in the Islay crown. Closure in 1983 has enabled this distillery to receive a near mythical amount of love and respect. As stocks get thinner on the ground, these bottles become rarer and rarer.

Number 524 of 602 bottles. 

Port Ellen 1982 The Bottlers 19 Year Old

A 1982 vintage Port Ellen, matured in refill sherry butt #570 and bottled in August 2001 at cask strength by Raeburn Fine Wines as part of their The Bottlers series.

Paul Jones USP Spiritus Frumenti 1916 Bottled in Bond Pint / Prohibition Era Bottling

An incredibly old and well-preserved bottle of whiskey from the Prohibition Era in America, bottled just a few months before the repeal of the Volstead Act in 1933.

Distilled in 1916 by H.S. Barton, head distiller at James Thompson's Glenmore distillery. Originally known as the Richard Monarch distillery, the facility was purchased by Thompson, along with its Glenmore and Kentucky Tavern brands. Thompson favoured the former as the new name for his distillery as it shared its name with a castle in his native Northern Ireland.

Despite the still at Glenmore being switched off by the enactment of Prohibition in 1920, the Thompson's secured a license to continue bottling and distributing their warehoused whiskey as a medicinal product, a legal loophole only a few distillers were able to take advantage of. Another such company was Paul Jones, who had purchased the Frankfort Distillery in 1922 in order to use their medicinal license to continue bottling their famous Four Roses brand. The barrels used for this whiskey were procured from Glenmore and bottled in bond at Frankfort.

Glenmore survived Prohibition, distilling for much of the 20th century before passing through various hands until its eventual closure in 1993 by the Sazerac company, who still use it as a bottling plant today. The Frankfort distillery never re-opened, instead purchasing the old A Ph. Stitzel plant (who's former owner would eventually merge with a certain Mr Van Winkle's W.L. Weller company), and building the Four Roses distillery in Shively. The company was then purchased by Canadian giants, Seagram, in the 1940s.

This medicinal pint has been sealed in its tamperproof carton since 1953, opened by us in order to authenticate and photograph the bottle.

Port Ellen 1982 Scotch Single Malt Circle 20 Year Old

Distilled in 1982 and matured for 20 years until 2003, this was bottled by Scotch Single Malt Circle. 

1982 was the penultimate years of production at Port Ellen, which closed its doors the following year.

St Magdalene 1979 Rare Malt 19 Year Old / 63.80%​

The Rare Malt Selection is a historic selection of single malt whiskies from operational and lost distilleries that were released by Diageo between 1995 and 2005.

A spectacular bottling of St Magdalene, released as part of Diageo's famous 'Rare Malt Selection'.  

Distilled in 1979 and bottled as a 19 year old at a healthy 63.80%.

Suntory Wedgwood Decanter

A blended Japanese whisky produced by Suntory and presented beautiful decanter by the legendary Stoke-on-Trent porcelain producers Wedgwood.

Widely rumoured to contain 25 year old Yamazaki. 

Port Ellen 1971 Gordon and MacPhail

A bottling of Port Ellen by Gordon and MacPhail as part of their Connoisseurs Choice range, distilled in 1971.

Port Ellen 1982 Douglas Laing 31 Year Old

The very highly acclaimed Port Ellen, Independently bottled by Douglas Laing.

Distilled in May 1982 and bottled in August 2013 from a single refill hogshead which yielded 286 bottles.

Cask ref #DL9964.

Sazerac 18 Year Old Rye / Summer 2017

Distilled at Buffalo Trace distillery and bottled in the Summer of 2017.

Sazerac 18 year old is widely regarded as one of the best rye whiskies in the world. It is named after the Sazerac Coffee House, a bar owned by Sazerac company founder, Thomas H. Handy. The Sazerac Company bought what is now the Buffalo Trace distillery in 1992 (known as the George T. Stagg and then Ancient Age distillery until 1999).

Sazerac 18 Year Old Rye / Summer 2017

Distilled at Buffalo Trace distillery and bottled in the Summer of 2017.

Sazerac 18 year old is widely regarded as one of the best rye whiskies in the world. It is named after the Sazerac Coffee House, a bar owned by Sazerac company founder, Thomas H. Handy. The Sazerac Company bought what is now the Buffalo Trace distillery in 1992 (known as the George T. Stagg and then Ancient Age distillery until 1999).

Port Ellen 1982 Douglas Laing 21 Year Old Sherry Cask

A single cask bottling of Port Ellen from its penultimate year of production. This is a Doulgas Laing era Old Malt Cask release. 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.

Distilled in 1982 and aged 21 years in a sherry cask.

One of 198 bottles drawn from cask #494.

Port Ellen 1978 Douglas Laing 27 Year Old Sherry Cask / Old and Rare

A single cask bottling from Islay's famous silent distillery, Port Ellen, which has been closed since 1983.

This was distilled in 1978 and bottled in 2006 by Douglas Laing as part of the Old & Rare range.

One of only 396 bottles from a sherry cask.

Springbank 1995 Single Cask / Fresh Port

A 20 year old bottling from Campbeltown's famous Springbank distillery.

Distilled December 1995 and matured in fresh port cask #15/286-11. 

Bottled in October 2016, this is bottle number 108 of 216. 

Springbank 21 Year Old

The oldest offering from Springbank, the 21 year old is incredibly popular for drinkers and collectors, usually selling out in shops very quickly!

This is the older style release in a tall bottle. 

Springbank 1980 Cadenhead's 18 Year Old

A single cask bottling from Campbeltown's Springbank distillery, distilled in 1980.

Bottled at cask strength by Scotland oldest independent bottlers, Cadenhead's, after 18 years in sherry wood.

One of 582 bottles filled in 1999.

Sazerac 18 Year Old Rye / Spring 2016

Distilled at Buffalo Trace distillery and bottled in the Summer of 2017.

Sazerac 18 year old is widely regarded as one of the best rye whiskies in the world. It is named after the Sazerac Coffee House, a bar owned by Sazerac company founder, Thomas H. Handy. The Sazerac Company bought what is now the Buffalo Trace distillery in 1992 (known as George T. Stagg and then Ancient Age until 1999).

Springbank 25 Year Old Hunter Laing Kinship / Feis Ile 2018

To celebrate the coming completion of their Ardnahoe distillery on Islay, Hunter Laing released a second selection of 6 bottlings, following on from the original Kinship collection in 2017.

The 2018 Kinship collection was released exclusively to visitors of Islay's Feis Ile festival, and were available to buy at the Ardnahoe gift shop.

The other five featured distilleries are Islay's Bowmore, Bunnahabhain and Laphroaig, and islander's Jura and Highland Park. Casks were hand selected by Jim McEwan.

This Springbank is one of 519 bottles drawn from a sherry butt.

Scapa 1977 Duncan Taylor 27 Year Old

An independent bottling of Scapa from Duncan Taylor. Distilled in October 1977, this was matured in single cask #2830 for 27 years.

Duncan Taylor was founded in Glasgow in 1938 as a cask broker and trading company. Its modern history began in 2001 when a former Glendronach employee, Euan Shand, purchased the firm and moved it to Huntly in Aberdeenshire, using the impressive cask portfolio it has amassed over the 20th century to become one of the premier independent bottlers in Scotland.

Bottle number 6 of 197. 

Port Charlotte 2001 Blood Tub 4 Year Old Cask #R23

A privately owned cask of Port Charlotte, filled on 12th of June 2001 and bottled on 25th November 2005 at 4 years old.

Port Charlotte is the heavily peated expression produced at Bruichladdich distillery, and is named after a former distillery that once stood in the eponymous town.

This is bottle 30 of 39. 

Port Ellen 1979 Signatory Vintage 24 Year Old Single Cask #6771

A very rare Signatory Vintage release, distilled at the Port Ellen distillery on 16th November 1979.

Matured in sherry butt #6771 for 24 years.

Bottle number 51 of 572.

Springbank 1994 Single Cask 24 Year Old / Fresh Sherry Hogshead

A single cask bottling from Springbank distillery.

Distilled in December 1994 and bottled in April 2019 after maturing in a fresh sherry butt.

One of 294 bottles.