November 2018 Auction

Clynelish 1965 Whyte and Whyte 28 Year Old 75cl / Spirits Library

An independently bottled Clynelish has become a very rare indeed.

A real gem for any Clynelish enthusiast, produced at the original Clynelish distillery, which has now become recognised as Brora.

Distilled in 1965, two years before the Clynelish distillery opened, and bottled at 28 years old.

This was bottled by Whyte and Whyte for the Spirits Library, a Scotch and Cognac retailer in the US.

Bottled at cask strength.

Dalmore 40 Year Old

The oldest release within Dalmore's Rare and Prestigious range, this 40 year old is matured in the classic Dalmore combination of American oak and Gonzalez Byass sherry casks.

One of only 1,000 bottles produced and released in a very elegant leather bound case.

Distilled on 21st March 1966.

Caol Ila 15 Year Old Manager's Dram 1990

The Manager’s Dram series of whiskies were bottled exclusively for employees of what is now known as Diageo. These whiskies were selected by the respective distillery managers within Diageo malt distilling and bottled at natural cask strength.

This Caol Ila is hands-down the most sought-after, and is becoming more and more difficult to find. 

Matured in sherry casks, this iconic malt was bottled in 1990 at 63%. 

Orkney Single Malt 1977 Samaroli / Fragments of Scotland

Distilled in 1977, this is a single malt from an undisclosed Orkney distillery, so either Highland Park or Scapa. Bottled by Samaroli in 1988 as part of the the Fragments of Scotland series.

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.

The Fragments of Scotland series was bottled in 1988, and each of them feature artworks depicting different elements of Scotland, all painted by Samaroli's friend, Agostino Perrnini.

Bottle number 186 of only 648 bottles.

Demerara Dark Rum 1975 Samaroli

A 1975 vintage Demerara dark rum from an unnamed distillery in Guyana. Although there is only one distillery left in operation nowadays, Diamond, back in the 70s there were several active and now collectible distilleries producing, including Uitvlugt and Enmore.

Bottled in 1997, this is part of a series of rums which incudes a 1948 West Indies that Samaroli described as his favourite spirit he ever bottled.

Bottle number 134 of only 936 produced.

Coleburn 1969 Samaroli 12 Year Old / Flowers 1981

A 1969 vintage bottling from closed Speyside distillery, Coleburn. Bottled at at 12 years of age.

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.

This is part of SIlvano's first ever solo series of bottlings, a follow up to his 1979/1980 collaboration with Cadenhead's. It is rather cumbersomely titled 'The Never Bottled Top Quality Whisky' series, however is better known as the Flowers range. The bottlings all have hand drawn labels by Samaroli himself, and a second series was released in 1990 as an homage to them.

Bottle number 27 of 300. 

Caol Ila 1978 Samaroli / 20th Anniversary

A 1978 vintage Caol Ila, bottled in 1988 by R.W. Duthie in 1988 for Samaroli as part of a series celebrating their 20th anniversary.

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.

The labels on this 20th anniversary series have been lovingly reappropriated from Samaroli's first ever series, his 1979/1980 collaboration with Cadenhead's. The image on this Caol Ila was first used on the 23 year old Mortlach from that set.

Bottle 139 of 540.

Old Mock 1916 A Ph Stitzel 18 Year Old Pint / Prohibition Era Bottling

A fantastic old Prohibition era bottling of Kentucky straight bourbon whisky. Although the Volstead Act of 1919 had banned the production and sale of alcohol throughout the US, a certain number of distilling companies were permitted to continue bottling existing stock, mostly for medicinal use, but also for weekly baking rations.

One such company was A. Ph. Stitzel Inc, who procured this particular barrel from the Davies County Distillery (registered distillery 2 in the 2nd district of KY). This distillery was one of the majority that were forced to close after prohibition was enacted. Records show that most of their stock was purchased by the American Medicinal Spirits Company, but some reached smaller companies like A. Ph. Stitzel as well, who bottled this using their Old Mock  brand.

A. Ph. Stitzel survived Prohibition, and was one of the few to emerge with a functioning distillery, refinancing themselves after the difficult 13 dry years by contract distilling for other companies as well, including the juggernaut Schenley corporation. They would of course would go on to merge with Julian 'Pappy' Van Winkle's W.L. Weller company to create the legendary Stitzel-Weller. The \"18 Summers Old \" phrase on this label was a persistent motif on Stitzel-Weller bottlings too, and can also be seen on some modern Van Winkle bottlings.

Bottled in 1933, shortly before repeal, this includes the standard \"medicinal purposes\" only label, guaranteeing a pre-January 1920 distillation date.

Clynelish 1972 Rare Malt 22 Year Old 75cl / 58.95%

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.

Released within the Rare Malt Selection. Distilled in 1972 and bottled as a 22 year old at 58.95%. 

Bottle 4873.

Overholt 1909 Rye Whiskey 1 Quart / Pre-Prohibition

More commonly known as 'Old' Overholt, this brand of Rye whiskey is very old, even more so than this particular bottle. Overholt Rye was first produced in the early 1800s, with this bottle appearing over a century later. Bottled just before Prohibition, this 1909 vintage was apparently a reserve of the Mellon family, who stockpiled it for fear of running out in the wake of the Prohibition legislation banning all production and consumption in 1920. The whiskey is believed to be aged around 10-14 years.

As it turns out, Overholt distillery owner, Andrew Mellon was a close friend of Warren G. Harding, then secretary of the Treasury, a connection that provided him with a license to continue selling \"medicinal\" whiskey during Prohibition. The original West Overton distillery however closed down, and with stocks running out, the brand was sold to National Distillers in 1932. National Distillers were consolidating interests in as much of the industry as possible with the repeal of Prohibition expected the following year, most notable was their acquisition of the Wathen family's American Medicinal Spirits Co.

Old Overholt still exists today, produced alongside Old-Grandad by Jim Beam, who acquired both of 'The Olds' from National Distillers in 1987.

This is a fascinating artefact from a long and storied whiskey history, and tastes fantastic too. Serge Valentin of Whiskyfun.com rated this 93 points.

Chichibu 2009 Ichiro's Malt Single Cask #2369 / Warrior Series No.1

An exciting release from Ichiro Akuto's Chichibu distillery. 

Distilled in 2009 and aged in French white wine cask #2369 until 2017.

This was the first in what looks to be an eagerly anticipated range of Whiskies.

Dalmore Ceti 30 Year Old

This 30 year old Dalmore is named after a star Kappa Ceti within the Cetus constellation. Kappa Ceti is approximately 30 light years from Earth, making it the perfect namesake for this 30 year old single malt.

This rare Dalmore has spent 23 years maturing in American white oak ex-bourbon barrels prior to a further 7 years within 30 year old Matusalem Oloroso sherry butts sourced from Gonzalez Byass. 

Only 1,000 bottles were produced.

Coleraine 1959 Limited Edition 34 Year Old Irish Single Malt

A true piece of Irish Whisky heritage. Established in 1820 in Coleraine, Ulster, it was one of only two distilleries on the isle of Ireland to produce malt.

Famously supplying whisky to the Houses of Commons the brand proudly bore \"H.C.\" on the label.

In a tale familiar to lovers of Irish whisk(e)y the 20th century was not kind to Colerane and it spent most of the 1920s silent before being acquired in 1933 by the Boyds of Bushmills.

A Patent still was installed after WWII, malt distillations ceased in 1964 with grain following suit in 1978 and now only a scant few pieces of masonry stand as testament to this once illustrious distillery.

Produced from very limited stocks laid down in 1959 and aged 34 years, only 400 bottles were produced in 1993.

Presented in an attractive wooden box and includes a numbered certificate of authenticity and 

Cardow 1962 Cadenhead's 16 Year Old / Cardhu

As Scotland’s oldest independent bottler, Cadenhead’s have long been known for releasing stunning whiskies but none more so than those from their famous ‘dumpy’ series, which features some incredible 1950s and 60s vintages. Whisky from this bygone era of production have become increasingly elusive in recent years, making them exceptionally desirable. 

This Cardhu was bottled under one of the distilleries lesser known names 'Cardow'.

Distilled in September 1962 and bottled in February 1985. 

Imported to the US by Vino Nobile, Illinois.

Old Overholt 1914 Bottled in Bond 14 Year Old Pint / Prohibition Era Bottling

The Old Overholt brand is a legend in the world of American whisky, established all the way back 1810. This bottle was distilled over 100 year later (and over 100 years ago!) in 1914 at West Overton distillery in Pennsylvania. The Rye whisky was then bonded at the distillery, where it was stored and, thankfully, protected from the Prohibition Act of 1920 which banned all production and consumption of the alcohol in the US for the next 13 years.

As it turns out, Overholt distillery owner, Andrew Mellon was a close friend of Warren G. Harding, then secretary of the Treasury, a connection that provided him with a license to continue selling \"medicinal\" whiskey during Prohibition. This whiskey was bottled in bond at the distillery warehouses in 1929.

Prohibition did however cause the original West Overton distillery to cease production, and with stocks running out, the brand was sold to National Distillers in 1932. National Distillers was the resurrection of the infamous pre-Prohibition Whiskey Trust, who resumed their aims of consolidating as many interests in the industry as possible, starting with the American Medicinal Spirits Co, with the repeal of Prohibition expected the following year.

Old Overholt still exists today, produced alongside Old Grand-dad by Jim Beam, who acquired both of 'The Olds' from National Distillers in 1987.

Dailuaine 1962 Cadenhead's 27 Year Old

Distilled in November 1962 and then bottled in December 1989, this is a 27 year old Dailuaine.

Bottled by Cadenhead's in their iconic 'dumpy bottle'

Caol Ila 1966 Gordon and MacPhail Centenary Reserve

Distilled in 1966, prior to the distillery's expansion and renovation in the early 1970s.

Bottled by Gordon and MacPhail in 1995 to Celebrate the company's centenary.

Compass Box The General

From Compass Box:

\"It’s been a good year for sourcing ridiculously rare parcels of extraordinary whisky.

Two different companies approached us recently with similar stories: they each had several casks of Blended Scotch that had been blended at quite young ages, then not required and put back into cask and left to age. One parcel was 33 years-old and the other was…well, I’m afraid I can’t tell you. (By telling you the age of the other parcel, some might argue we are in violation of the UK’s Scotch Whisky Regulations - citation 2009 No. 2890. But that’s another story.)

We know little of the component whiskies, only that, being Blended Scotch Whisky, they were blends of both single malt and single grain whiskies.

We could tell by tasting that some were aged in former American whisky casks and some in sherry casks. But the provenance wasn’t really important, because each parcel had matured into something extraordinary in flavour, and to us, as blenders, they each represented distinct and complementary flavour profiles.

And this is where things got interesting for us. While each parcel was compelling in its own right, we had the feeling that by combining them in the right proportions, we could make something even more interesting. So we experimented for many weeks, blending the two together at different proportions before landing on the recipe in this bottle.

The result is a whisky with the “antique” character lovers of old whiskies seek out.\"

We don't know about you, but we're intrigued!!!

Drop by Drop Velier 70th Anniversary Warren Khong Collection 6 x 70cl

A six bottle bottle collection of limited edition Rums produced for Velier's 70th anniversary.

• Chamarel 2011 Two Cask 6 Year Old Rum / Velier 70th Anniversary​
  A vatting of two casks produced at Chamarel in Mauritius.
  Fut #i27 and #i29 were both ex-French Oak casks distilled in 2011.
  Bottled in 2017 after 6 years aging in the tropics.
  55.5% ABV
   
• Nine Leaves 2014 Encrypted Single Cask 3 Year Old Rum / Velier 70th Anniversary
  ​​A special barrel proof release from Japan's Nine Leaves rum distillery.
  Entitled \"Encrypted,\" this rum was distilled in 2014 and bottled at 3 years old in 2017 from cask #3.
  64.8%
   
• Mount Gilboa 2008 Pure Single Rum 9 Year Old / Velier 70th Anniverary​
  A barrel proof 9 year old single rum, blended from 3 ex-French brandy casks.
  Distilled in 2008 at Mount Gay Distillery and bottled in 2017.
  66% ABV
   
• St Lucia 2010 Single Cask 7 Year Old Rum / Velier 70th Anniversary​
  Single ex-Bourbon cask #734-0908 JD2 was filled in 2010 and spent 7 years ageing in the tropics before bottling in 2017
  58.6% ABV
   
• Hampden 2010 Pure Single 7 Year Old Rum / Velier 70th Anniversary​
  100% pot distilled Molasses rum produced at Velier in 2010 aged 7 years in the tropics
  62% ABV
   
• Bielle 2007 Single Barrel 10 Year Old Rum / Velier 70th Anniversary​
  A transatlantic rum, distilled on Guadeloupe in the Caribbean, and bottled by Velier.
  This rum was aged 10 years in ex-bourbon cask #218.
  55% ABV

This lot has a 6 bottle shipping fee.

Old Kentucky 1913 Bottled in Bond Straight Whiskey Quart / Pre-Prohibition

A fine example of pre-Prohibition American whisky, distilled in 1913 and bottled in 1917, just three years before the production, sale and consumption of alcohol in the US was to be banned for the next 13 years.

Old Kentucky was a brand produced at the distillery of the same name. The site was built in the later 19th century, and was historically known as the Mayflower distillery before it was purchased by German immigrant, Dietrich Meschendorf in 1892, who changed the name to Old Kentucky. Meschendorf is an important figure in the history of American distilling, managing the historic Old Times plant in Louisville for 7 years prior to his ownership of Old Kentucky, and serving as an advisor to two Presidents, Roosevelt and Taft during the early 20th century discussions about the legal terminology of what constituted \"whiskey.\" He argued successfully for his blended products to retain their status as whiskey, against fierce opposition from the likes of Colonel E.H. Taylor who believed only straight whiskies deserved the title.

Taylor had campaigned successfully for the Bottled in Bond Act in 1897, and this is a product of that legislation. A straight whiskey with both the year of bottling and distillation stated, as well as the site of both. It is also the legally required 100 US proof.

The Old Kentucky distillery was eventually shut down by Prohibition in 1920, with its stocks removed and warehouses razed. The distillery building itself was retained, although badly damaged in a fire in 1925. It then served as a riding school for many years before it was finally demolished in 1960.

Dalmore 1963 Cadenhead's 15 Year Old

As Scotland’s oldest independent bottler, Cadenhead’s have long been known for releasing stunning whiskies but none more so than those from their famous ‘dumpy’ series, which features some incredible 1950s and 60s vintages. Whisky from this bygone era of production have become increasingly elusive in recent years, making them exceptionally desirable. 

This Dalmore was distilled in November 1963 and bottled in November 1978 .

Old W L Weller 7 Year Old Special Reserve Quart 1971 / Stitzel-Weller

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

This was likely distilled in the early 1960s when Stitzel-Weller was still under the management of the legendary Julian 'Pappy' Van Winkle. It was bottled in 1971 by his son, Julian II, just a year before he was forced to sell the distillery to Somerset Imports, and the Van Winkle family departing the business.

Old Elgin 1939 Gordon and MacPhail

Named after Speyside's largest town, which is home to Gordon and MacPhail who produced this blended malt. 

Oban 16 Year Old Manager's Dram Bicentenary 1994

The Manager’s Dram series of whiskies were bottled exclusively for employees of what is now known as Diageo.  These whiskies were selected by the respective distillery managers within Diageo malt distilling and bottled at natural cask strength.

Bottled to celebrate Oban’s 200th anniversary 1794–1994  this 16 year old was released exclusively from sherry casks by distillery manager John William and his employees listed on the rear of the bottle.

Bottled July 1994.

Courvoisier L'Essence Cognac

This spectacularly decadent cognac is blended from over 100 ancient eaux-de-vies from Grande Champagne and Borderies, the vintages of which date back to the early 1900s. 

Presented in a teardrop Baccarat decanter, with a stopper inspired by the imperial signet rings bestowed by Napoleon Bonaparte to the most courageous commanders in his army.  

Caroni 1967 Moon Import 20 Year Old / The Birds I

Moon Import was founded by Pepi Mongiardino in 1980 and he bottled his first whisky in 1982. Always beautifully labelled, Pepi is acclaimed for designing the packaging for Moon Import bottles himself, often using images found in old books. These iconic designs, coupled with the quality of the liquid saw Moon Import steadily grow in popularity. The company is still going strong, and their early releases are some of the brightest gems in any whisky collection.

This is a very rare 1967 vintage Caroni rum from the now lost distillery, bottled in the 1987 as part of the first Moon Import Birds series in 1987. The whisky in that series is legendary, and this is a rum worthy of the company.

Bottle number 176 of only 900 bottles.

Clynelish 17 Year Old Manager's Dram 1998

The Manager’s Dram series of whiskies were bottled exclusively for employees of what is now known as Diageo.  These whiskies were selected by the respective distillery managers within Diageo malt distilling and bottled at natural cask strength.

This 17 year old Clynelish was matured in sherry casks and selected by the distillery manager.

Bottled 23rd November 1998, this is bottle number 1098. 

Demerara Dark Rum 1980 Samaroli

A 1980 vintage Demerara dark rum from an unnamed distillery in Guyana. Although there is only one distillery left in operation nowadays, Diamond, back in the 80s there were several active and now collectible distilleries producing, including Uitvlugt and Enmore.

Bottled in 2000, this is part of a series of rums which incudes a 1948 West Indies that Samaroli described as his favourite spirit he ever bottled.

Bottle number 85 of only 300 produced.

Dailuaine 1962 Cadenhead's 16 Year Old

Distilled in November 1962 and then bottled in December 1980, this is an 18 year old Dailuaine.

Bottled by Cadenhead's in their iconic 'dumpy' bottle.

Demerara Rum 1974 Samaroli 

A Guyanese rum, matured in Scotland and bottled from selected casks #1578, #1566 and #1567 in 2001.

Although Guyana has only had one distillery since 2000, Diamond, there were several in production in 1974 when this was distilled.

Bottle number 155 of 510.

Craigellachie 1962 Cadenhead's 16 Year Old

As Scotland’s oldest independent bottler, Cadenhead’s have long been known for releasing stunning whiskies but none more so than those from their famous ‘dumpy’ series, which features some incredible 1950s and 60s vintages. Whisky from this bygone era of production have become increasingly elusive in recent years, making them exceptionally desirable. 

This Craigellachie was distilled in December 1962 and bottled in June 1979. 

Cognac Napoleon 1811 Grand Fine Champagne

A particularly old bottling of 1811 vintage Napoleon Cognac.