May 2019 Auction

Rebel Yell Kentucky Straight Bourbon 12 x 70cl 1990s / Stitzel-Weller - Case

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 is a case of bottles likely to be from the 1990s.

The brand was later procured by Luxco who continue to produce it today using bourbon sourced from Heaven Hill.

This lot has a 12 bottle shipping fee.

The Peninsula 2014 / Suntory

​A mature and heavily sherried Japanese blend produced by Suntory for The Peninsula luxury hotel in Tokyo.

Rumoured to contain some very old Japanese single malt, which is exciting as Suntory own both Yamazaki and Hakushu.

Talisker 1957 Cadenhead's 21 Year Old / Rossi Import

A very rare Talisker released by Cadenhead's of Aberdeen. 

Distilled at Talisker in February 1957 and bottled in July 1978 in the classic brown dumpy bottle.

Imported by Mario Rossi Jr. for the Italian market. 

Richard Hennessy Cognac

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 aged from 40 years to nearly 200 years old.

Each carafe is numbered and crafted from pure hand-blown crystal.

Willett Family Estate 24 Year Old Single Barrel Bourbon #3709

A well-aged bourbon from Kentucky Bourbon Distillers' Willet Family Estate series.

Released in 2015 at the Willet distillery gift shop, specially for the Kentucky Bourbon Festival of that year. This was matured in barrel #3709.

Bottle number 29 of 95 bottles.

Tesseron Extreme Cognac

A truly stunning decanter of one of the finest expressions of the Tesseron Cognac range. It is made with eaux-de-vie from the Grande Champagne region using Ugni Blanc, Folles Blanche and Colombard grapes.

Please note that this bottle includes a two bottle shipping fee.

Rosebank 20 Year Old Full Proof 1980s / Zenith Import

Rosebank is a sorely missed Lowland single malt, now increasingly difficult to find.

This was specially bottled by The Distillers Agency, a subsidiary of The Distillers Company (now Diageo), for Zenith Italia, the company owned by importer G.P. Bonfanti.

Bottle number 110 of 2580.

Talisker 1981 Cask Strength 20 Year Old

Bottled in 2002 as part of Diageo's annual releases. This 1981 Talisker quickly became very desirable - no small thanks to Jim Murray who scored this 95 points and making the comment 'miss this and your life will be incomplete.' 

Matured in sherry casks and released as a 20 year old, this is bottle number 44 of 9000.

Rosebank 15 Year Old Full Proof 1980s / Zenith Import

Rosebank is a sorely missed Lowland single malt, now increasingly difficult to find.

This was specially bottled by The Distillers Agency, a subsidiary of The Distillers Company (now Diageo), for Zenith Italia, the company owned by importer G.P. Bonfanti.

13,596 bottles were filled at 50% ABV, but this is one of the remaining 2,400 which were bottled at a full proof of 61% ABV. 

Royal Lochnagar 1988 Single Cask 30 Year Old / The Prince's Foundation

A whisky fit for the (potential future) King! 

This single cask release of Royal Lochnagar was taken from American oak cask #1129, which was gifted to HRH Prince Charles and initially sold to raise funds for The Prince's Foundation. 

The whisky itself was distilled in 1988 to commemorate the 140th anniversary of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert visiting the distillery in 1848, and was bottled in 2018 to celebrate the 70th birthday of His Royal Highness. 

One of 206 bottles.

Remy Martin Louis XIII Cognac 1970s

Remy Martin is perhaps the most well known of all cognac producers and has established a reputation for quality that very few others can relate to.

This is a spectacular example of the Louis XIII Tres Vieille Cogna decanter which holds Grande Champagne cognac aged between 40 and 100 years.

Taketsuru 25 Year Old Pure Malt

A very rare bottling of Taketsuru, originally introduced in 2012 this blended malt contains casks from Yoichi and Miyagikyo distilleries.

It is extremely limited and only 120 bottles were available throughout Europe. 

Talisker 1991 Casks of Distinction 27 Year Old #2088 / The Whisky Big Nose

A single cask of Talisker that was distilled in 1991 and bottled 27 years later exclusively for The Whisky Big Nose.

This Talisker is part of Diageo's Casks of Distinction programme. Casks of Distinction is the private sale of individual casks of rare and exceptional Single Malt Scotch Whisky from Diageo’s extensive stocks in Scotland. Hand selected by a team of whisky experts under guidance from Master Blender Dr. Craig Wilson, each cask is entirely unique and incredibly rare. Each Cask of Distinction is chosen on the basis of their quality, representing the most exceptional and singular expression of the distillery’s character.

One of only 240 bottles.

W.L. Weller 7 Year Old Original 107 Proof 1980s / Stitzel-Weller

An old 1980's bottling of Old Weller from Stitzel-Weller distillery. The distillery at this point was owned and operated by United Distillers, who would eventually close it down in 1992.

Nowadays the brand is produced at Buffalo Trace by the Sazerac company, who acquired it from United Distillers in 1999.

Italian import.

Taketsuru 25 Year Old Pure Malt

A very rare bottling of Taketsuru, originally introduced in 2012 this blended malt contains casks from Yoichi and Miyagikyo distilleries.

It is extremely limited and only 120 bottles were available throughout Europe. 

Taketsuru 25 Year Old Pure Malt

A very rare bottling of Taketsuru, originally introduced in 2012 this blended malt contains casks from Yoichi and Miyagikyo distilleries.

It is extremely limited and only 120 bottles were available throughout Europe. 

Taketsuru 25 Year Old Pure Malt

A very rare bottling of Taketsuru, originally introduced in 2012 this blended malt contains casks from Yoichi and Miyagikyo distilleries.

It is extremely limited and only 120 bottles were available throughout Europe. 

Taketsuru 25 Year Old Pure Malt

A very rare bottling of Taketsuru, originally introduced in 2012 this blended malt contains casks from Yoichi and Miyagikyo distilleries.

It is extremely limited and only 120 bottles were available throughout Europe. 

Ayrshire 1968 Rare Cask Reserve 47 Year Old / Velier

A delicious-looking bottling of single cask Ayrshire, officially bottled by Wm. Grant & Sons exclusively for Velier.

Matured in cask #61669 for nearly half a century before bottling on the 5th January 2016

Rosebank 26 Year Old That Boutique-y Whisky Company Batch #1

TBWC strikes again. This is their first batch of Rosebank and postdates the announcement that the distillery would be reopened as demonstrated by the label.

With usual wit and intelligence the label is rife with 90s nostalgia, hearkening back to when the distillery was last operational.

One of 321 bottles.

Rosebank 26 Year Old That Boutique-y Whisky Company Batch #1

That Boutique-y Whisky Company strikes again. This is their first batch of Rosebank and postdates the announcement that the distillery would be reopened, as demonstrated by the label.

With usual wit and intelligence, the label is rife with 90s nostalgia, hearkening back to when the distillery was last operational.

One of 321 bottles.

Willett Family Estate 16 Year Old Single Barrel Bourbon #1597

A single White Oak barrel bourbon, bottled at the Willett distillery by Kentucky Bourbon Distillers. KBD have barrels from nearly every major distillery in their warehouses, but the majority were sourced from neighbours, Heaven Hill.

Cask #1597 was bottled at 16 years old and 123 US proof.

Rosebank 1990 Cask Strength 21 Year Old 

Part of Diageo's Special Release range, this Rosebank was triple-distilled and bottled in 2011.   

This is bottle number 2565 of 5886. 

William Larue Weller 2012 Release

The 2012 release within the famous and eagerly awaited Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, which celebrates historic bourbon brands and figures. Buffalo Trace's parent company, Sazerac, purchased the Weller brand from United Distillers in 1999, 7 years after distilling operations at the legendary Stitzel-Weller had been shut down.

William Larue Weller was a 19th century whiskey rectifier and distiller, who's W.L. Weller and Sons company was run by the legendary Julian 'Pappy' Van Winkle. The Weller and Van Winkle brands are both produced at Buffalo Trace distillery nowadays, distilled to very similar old Stitzel-Weller recipes, and are among the most sought after bourbons on the market.

This edition is a 12 year old whiskey.

Thomas H Handy Sazerac Rye 2017 Release

Part of Buffalo Trace's annual antique collection. Bottled at 63.6% alcohol, they do get higher ABV than this but it's still impressive!

The 2011 release won Jim Murray's Whisky of the Year! 

Buffalo Trace's Antique Collection celebrates various historic bourbon brands and figures. The Thomas H. Handy rye is named after the company's founder, and features an image of the eponymous Sazerac Coffee House where everything started on the bottle.

Rosebank 1990 Douglas Laing 21 Year Old

Rosebank is a sorely missed lowland malt.

This Douglas Laing bottling was distilled in June 1990 and bottled March 2012. Matured in refill butt #8227

One of 136 bottles. 

Tomatin 1981 Single Cask 32 Year Old #001

The very first cask distilled at Tomatin in 1981 this was aged 32 years in Oloroso sherry wood and bottled in 2014 in this stunning decanter.

Cask #001 was an Oloroso sherry butt.

One of 405 bottles.

William Larue Weller 2015 Release

The 2015 release within the famous and eagerly awaited Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, which celebrates historic bourbon brands and figures. Buffalo Trace's parent company, Sazerac, purchased the Weller brand from United Distillers in 1999, 7 years after distilling operations at the legendary Stitzel-Weller had been shut down.

William Larue Weller was a 19th century whiskey rectifier and distiller, who's W.L. Weller and Sons company was run by the legendary Julian 'Pappy' Van Winkle. The Weller and Van Winkle brands are both produced at Buffalo Trace distillery nowadays, distilled to very similar old Stitzel-Weller recipes, and are among the most sought after bourbons on the market.

The 2015 release is aged 12 years.

Rosebank 12 Year Old 1980s /  Zenith Import

A very rare bottling of this iconic closed Lowland distillery from Falkirk. 

This official bottling was produced for The Distillers Agency Ltd., and imported to Italy by Zenith. 

William Larue Weller 2015 Release

The 2015 release within the famous and eagerly awaited Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, which celebrates historic bourbon brands and figures. Buffalo Trace's parent company, Sazerac, purchased the Weller brand from United Distillers in 1999, 7 years after distilling operations at the legendary Stitzel-Weller had been shut down.

William Larue Weller was a 19th century whiskey rectifier and distiller, who's W.L. Weller and Sons company was run by the legendary Julian 'Pappy' Van Winkle. The Weller and Van Winkle brands are both produced at Buffalo Trace distillery nowadays, distilled to very similar old Stitzel-Weller recipes, and are among the most sought after bourbons on the market.

The 2015 release is aged 12 years.

William Larue Weller 2016 Release

The 2016 release within the famous and eagerly awaited Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, which celebrates historic bourbon brands and figures. Buffalo Trace's parent company, Sazerac, purchased the Weller brand from United Distillers in 1999, 7 years after distilling operations at the legendary Stitzel-Weller had been shut down.

William Larue Weller was a 19th century whiskey rectifier and distiller, who's W.L. Weller and Sons company was run by the legendary Julian 'Pappy' Van Winkle. The Weller and Van Winkle brands are both produced at Buffalo Trace distillery nowadays, distilled to very similar old Stitzel-Weller recipes, and are among the most sought after bourbons on the market.

The 2016 bottling features 145 barrels which were filled in the winter of 2003 at 114 Proof (57%), with the whiskey drawn in autumn 2016 after 12 years and 7 months of aging at 135.4 Proof (67.7%) and bottled unfiltered.  The malt bill features Grade #1 and #2 Kentucky corn, North Dakota wheat and North Dakota malted barley.

William Larue Weller 2018 Release

Released within the famous and eagerly awaited Buffalo Trace Antique Collection which celebrates historic bourbon brands and figures.

William Larue Weller was a 19th century whiskey rectifier and distiller, who's W.L. Weller and Sons company was run by the legendary Julian 'Pappy' Van Winkle. The Weller and Van Winkle brands are both produced at Buffalo Trace distillery nowadays, distilled to very similar old Stitzel-Weller recipes, and are among the most sought after bourbons on the market.

One of approximately 17,179 bottles from 149 handpicked barrels.

The 2018 release of the William Larue Weller is aged 12 years and was named World Whisky of the Year 2019 by Jim Murray in his Whisky Bible.