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.

John Walker and Sons 30 Year Old Master Blenders Collection / Art Deco Era

This spectacular presentation is part of the John Walker and Sons premium releases from Johnnie Walker.

Part of the Master Blenders Collection, this 30 year old Scotch pays tribute to Sir Alexander Walker, former Master Blender and son of Johnnie himself.

This is the Art Deco Era release, and comes in an exquisite lock and key box with art deco detailing, and a crystal decanter.

One of 1438 bottles.

Released exclusively to Johnnie Walker House stores in the Asian 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.

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.

Old Weller Original 107 Barrel Proof 7 Year Old 1960s / Stitzel-Weller

W L Weller is the original wheated bourbon, produced at the famous Stitzel-Weller distillery by the legendary Julian 'Pappy' Van Winkle I.

Bottled in the late-1960s, likely sometime after the death of 'Pappy' as he is immortalised for the first time on a Weller label here, with William Larue Weller on the left hand side. pappy's son, Julian II is noted as the proprietor on the label and box, he assumed control in 1964.

Nowadays Weller is produced by the Sazerac company at Buffalo Trace, and these old Stitzel-Weller bottlings have become increasingly sought after.

Old Fitzgerald 1963 Bottled in Bond 6 Year Old 100 Proof / Stitzel-Weller

We don't see vintage Old Fitzgerald very often, so we are particularly excited about this bottle which was distilled in the 'Fall' of 1963 and bottled in 'Fall' 1969.

Distilled at the legendary Stitzel-Weller distillery while it was under the management of Julian 'Pappy' Van Winkle I, and bottled a few years after his death by his son, Julian Van Winkle II.

Stitzel-Weller was eventually sold in 1972, with the Van Winkle family departing the business in the process.

Johnnie Walker Blue Label Gods of Wealth Collection 5 x 1 Litre

The \"Five Gods of Wealth\" in Chinese culture represent wisdom, vision, integrity, fortune, and luck.

Each bottle in this collection depicts a different god, engraved in 18k gold.

Produced to celebrate Lunar New Year, one of only 1000 sets.

This lot has a 7 bottle shipping fee.

Old Rip Van Winkle 15 Year Old 1990s

From the Van Winkle range this is a 15 year old at 107 proof. Absolutely stonking!

This was bottled in the late 1990s by Julian Van Winkle III at Old Commonwealth distillery (formerly known as Hoffman). Van Winkle moved the bottling of the Old Rip Van Winkle brand there following the death of his father in 1981. He reached an agreement with Buffalo Trace in 2002 that saw production and the remaining Van Winkle stock transferred there. The Old Rip Van Winkle 15 year old was discontinued shortly after, in 2004, and replaced by the familiar Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve of the same age.

Bottle number K9737.

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.

Oban 1969 Cask Strength 32 Year Old

A well-aged and incredibly desirable Oban, distilled in 1969 and released as a 32 year old.

Bottled in 2002, this is number 0838 of 6000.

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.

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. 

Johnnie Walker Blue Label Greg Norman

A very limited bottling of Blue Label, rarely seen at auction.

This bottle was created to endorse the Australian Golfer Greg Norman, the bottle has been printed with Greg Norman's signature and text rear.

Bottle code: AG680.

Johnnie Walker Blue Label Casks Edition 75cl / Johnnie Walker House

A nicely illustrated bottling of Johnnie Walker Blue Label, bottled for the Asian market at 55.8%. 

John Jameson and Son 10 Year Old circa 1930s/40s / W A Scott

An old bottle of Jameson 10 year old Irish whiskey, bottled by W.A. Scott of O'Curry Street, Kilkee. There's a still a Scott's Bar in the same location today. 

The practice of merchant bottlings was common throughout Ireland and indeed, many of the most recognisable Irish whiskies today started out as such. Jameson in particular did not officially bottle their own whiskey until 1968, after the Irish Distillers merger with Powers and Cork Distillers. The then Dublin-based distillers offered their products only by the barrel, which is how this bottling came about.

Distilled at the closed Bow Street distillery which ceased production 1971 and now houses the Jameson visitor's centre. 

We estimate this bottle to be from around the 1950s, but it may be older.

No strength or capacity stated. 

Old Rip Van Winkle 7 Year Old Decanter 1975 / Bay Colony Bicentennial

This is an incredible piece of bourbon history. Following the forced sale of Stitzel-Weller distillery by the Van Winkle family in 1972, Julian II (son of the legendary 'Pappy') was granted an office and a license to continue procuring and bottling Stitzel-Weller stock on site, as a gesture of goodwill by new distillery owners, Somerset Imports.

Although Julian had sold the distillery and all of its brands, he retained one, the pre-prohibition Old Rip Van Winkle label, which he immediately revived. The earliest releases from the Old Rip Van Winkle brand were decanters like this. Bottled in 1975 at 7 years old, the Stitzel-Weller whiskey it contains would have been barrelled at the distillery while Julian II was still in charge. While Old Rip Van Winkle was generally always bottled using Stitzel-Weller stock procured form its new owners, there aren't many like this that contain Van Winkle era Stitzel-Weller whiskey.

Following the death of Julian II, his son, Julian III took over the family business, moving bottling to Old Commonwealth distillery in 1983. With Stitzel-Weller's closure by United distillers in 1992 causing his stocks to begin thinning out, Van Winkle reached an agreement with the Sazerac company to store and bottle his remaining stock. He also entrusted production of new Van Winkle whiskey to their Buffalo Trace distillery, who were already using the familiar recipe to produce W.L. Weller, another former Stitzel-Weller brand. The Pappy Van Winkle brand we are familiar with today has been produced at Buffalo Trace since 2002.

This then, a Van Winkle era Stitzel-Weller bourbon, bottled for the Old Rip Van Winkle brand is a true collector's item. The decanter itself is a celebration of the Bay Colony bicentennial in 1975, and was produced by Cumberland Porcelain.

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. 

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. 

John Jameson and Son 10 Year Old circa 1936 / A Millar & Co

An old bottle of Jameson 10 year old Irish whiskey, bottled by Adam Millar & Co. in what appears to have been around the 1930s, or possibly earlier. Adam Millar established a distillery at 10-13 Thomas Street in Dublin's Liberties in the 1890s, and despite competition from the much larger Roe distillery across the road, operated until the mid-20th century. The Dublin Civic Trust Thomas Street Study in 2001 however found that wine was being produced on the still these until the late 1970s. The Millars whiskey brand was revived by Cooley distillery in the 1980s.

The practice of merchant bottlings was common throughout Ireland and indeed, many of the most recognisable Irish whiskies today started out as such. Jameson in particular did not officially bottle their own whiskey until 1968, after the Irish Distillers merger with Powers and Cork Distillers. The then Dublin-based distillers offered their products only by the barrel, which is how this bottling came about.

Distilled at the closed Bow Street distillery which ceased production 1971 and now houses the Jameson visitor's centre. 

No strength or capacity stated. 

Old Rip Van Winkle 4 Year Old Handmade Bourbon 1980s

An interesting bottle of Old Rip Van Winkle, the pre-prohibition whisky brand retained by the Van Winkle family following the sale of Stitzel-Weller distillery and its associated products in 1972.

Julian Van Winkle III continued bottling Stizel-Weller produced bourbon at Hoffman distillery in Lawrenceburg in the early 1980s, renaming it Old Commonwealth. This 4 year old bourbon was bottled using Stitzel-Weller stock in the ate 1980s, some of the last before the distillery would close a few years later in 1992.

Japanese import.

Old W.L. Weller 7 Year Old Special Reserve 1 Litre 1980s / Stitzel-Weller

An older 'Special Reserve' release of the original wheated bourbon.

This was likely distilled in the mid-1970s. The Van Winkle family were no longer owners of Stitzel-Weller distillery at this point, but were still using its stock to bottler their own eponymous brands. As we all know, that stuff itsn't half bad.

Rosebank 1974 Signatory Vintage 18 Year Old

A very rare single vintage from closed Lowland distillery, Rosebank.

Distilled on 30th November 1974 and bottled by Signatory Vintage in June 1993 from three sherry butts. 

One of 2400 bottles. 

Jura 1976 Douglas Laing 40 Year Old / XOP

This is a Douglas Laing bottling of Jura, part of their Xtra Old Particular series. XOP is their ultra-premium range, launched in 2013 and reserved for casks considered the Laing \"family jewels.\"

Distilled in December 1976 and matured in refill barrel #11795.

Bottled in June 2017, this is bottle number 56 of 140. 

Old Forester 2006 Birthday Bourbon 12 Year Old

Released on 2nd September annually to mark the birthday of the distilleries founder George Garvin Brown.  This is the 17th.

This Old Forester Birthday Bourbon is a 12 year old vintage-dated expression, barrelled in 2006 and bottled in 2018.

Old Forester is produced by Brown-Forman and is one of bourbon's historic brands. It was ne of the first to ever be sold by the bottle in order to ensure quality control to capitalise on the medicinal whiskey trade in the 19th century. It was even named after local Louisville physician, Dr. William Forrester (they dropped the second 'R' fro the name when he retired).

Old Rip Van Winkle 10 Year Old

The 10 year old Handmade Bourbon is one of the original Old Rip Van Winkle brands bottled by Julian Van Winkle III at his facility in Lawrenceburg.

With stocks beginning to run thin in the early 2000s, Van Winkle came to an agreement with the Sazerac company to move bottling and future production to Buffalo Trace, who were already using the old Stitzel-Weller recipes for the Weller brand.

All Van Winkle products have been produced at Buffalo Trace since 2002. This is a 2017 bottling.

Bottling code is B1705510:407

Old Rip Van Winkle 10 Year Old

The 10 year old Handmade Bourbon is one of the original Old Rip Van Winkle brands bottled by Julian Van Winkle III at his facility in Lawrenceburg.

With stocks beginning to run thin in the early 2000s, Van Winkle came to an agreement with the Sazerac company to move bottling and future production to Buffalo Trace, who were already using the old Stitzel-Weller recipes for the Weller brand.

All Van Winkle products have been produced at Buffalo Trace since 2002. This is a 2018 bottling.

Bottling code is L181230206:457

John Walker & Sons Private Collection 28 Year Old Midnight Blend 2018 Edition

This is the fifth and final edition of the John Walker & Sons Private Collection.

Created by Master Blender Jim Beveidge, this 28 year old blend is said to contain some of the rarest casks that the company has offer. 

Very tastefully packaged, this is one of 3,888 to be released. 

Old Forester 2005 Birthday Bourbon 12 Year Old

Released on 2nd September annually to mark the birthday of the distilleries founder George Garvin Brown.  This is the 16th.

This Old Forester Birthday Bourbon is a 12 year old vintage-dated expression, barrelled in 2005 and bottled in 2017.

Old Forester is produced by Brown-Forman and is one of bourbon's historic brands. It was ne of the first to ever be sold by the bottle in order to ensure quality control to capitalise on the medicinal whiskey trade in the 19th century. It was even named after local Louisville physician, Dr. William Forrester (they dropped the second 'R' fro the name when he retired).