November 2018 Auction

Springbank Millennium Collection 6 x 70cl

An incredible and very rare set of Springbank, bottled for the Millennium.

Each bottles comes with a wooden presentation case.

The range comprises of the following -

25 Year Old 46.7%
30 Year Old 46.7%
35 Year Old 46.7%
40 Year Old 40%
45 Year Old 40.1%
50 Year Old 40.5%

Please note there will be a shipping charge for 6 bottles.

Scapa 1958 Samaroli 46% / Handwritten Labels

In the words of Emmanuel Dron, owner of the Auld Alliance - \"The 1958 Samaroli is probably the best Scapa ever bottled.\"  It's certainly one of the oldest vintages known to exist. 

Bottled in 1985, two versions were produced, one at 52% and this one at 46%. Both are exceptionally hard to find.

It is part of the Handwritten Labels series. While Samaroli was famed for his keen eye for aesthetic in designing his own labels, this series simply features his own elegant calligraphy reproduced on them.

Bottle number 167 of 180.

Scapa 1958 Samaroli 46% / Handwritten Labels

In the words of Emmanuel Dron, owner of the Auld Alliance - \"The 1958 Samaroli is probably the best Scapa ever bottled.\"  It's certainly one of the oldest vintages known to exist. 

Bottled in 1985, two versions were produced, one at 52% and this one at 46%. Both are exceptionally hard to find.

It is part of the Handwritten Labels series. While Samaroli was famed for his keen eye for aesthetic in designing his own labels, this series simply features his own elegant calligraphy reproduced on them.

Bottle number 137.

Springbank 45 Year Old Millennium Limited Edition / US Import

An older expression from this Campbeltown classic. This was bottled in September 1999 for the Millennium as part of a range of 6 bottles. 

The set comprised whiskies bottled at 25, 30, 35, 40, 45 and 50 years. 

Springbank 1966 Samaroli 21 Year Old

A truly venerable expression from this Campbeltown classic. This was distilled in 1966 and is a vintage-mate to some of the most sought after Springbank on the market.

Bottled on behalf of Silvano Samaroli by R.W Duthie in 1987.

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 bottle 88 of 408.

Springbank 40 Year Old Millennium Limited Edition / US Import

An older expression from this Campbeltown classic. This was bottled in September 1999 for the Millennium as part of a range of 6 bottles. 

The set comprised whiskies bottled at 25, 30, 35, 40, 45 and 50 years. 

Springbank 1964 Private Bottling / Lateltin Lanz Ingold 100th Anniversary

An impressive 1964 vintage bottling of Springbank.

This was privately bottled by the Campbeltown distillery for Lateltin Lanz Ingold, a Swiss drinks importer. The bottle celebrates their 100th anniversary.

Springbank 1965 Samaroli 25 Year Old / Flowers 1990

A 1965 vintage Springbank, bottled by R.W. Duthie for 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.

The Flowers series was bottled in 1990, and is a revival of the aesthetic used on Samaroli's acclaimed (if cumbersomely named) 'The Never Bottled Top Quality Whisky Series' from 1981, his first independent series following the Cadenhead's collaboration a few years before. That, and this Flowers series, all feature labels with hand-drawn art nouveau illustrations by Silvano himself.

Bottle number 293 of 480. 

Ardbeg 1975 Samaroli

A 1975 vintage Ardbeg from Silvano 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 in pantheon of whisky greats.

This bottling was bottled for Samaroli in Scotland by R.W. Duthie & Co. in 1987, and is bottle number 594 of 648. Almost unbelievably, Samaroli reportedly had great difficulty selling the first release in this series, the 1974 vintage from 1983. It was not until a few years later that demand for the peaty flavours began to increase in Italy.

Ardbeg 1967 Signatory Vintage 30 Year Old / Dark Oloroso Butt #1138

A legendary Ardbeg, awarded an impressive 93 points by Serge Valentin at Whisky Fun.

Distilled on the 22nd March 1967 and matured in a single dark Oloroso sherry butt #1138 for 30 years before bottling on 24th March 1997 by Signatory Vintage.

Bottle number 441 of 580.

Ardbeg 1967 Signatory Vintage 30 Year Old / Dark Oloroso Butt #1140

A legendary Ardbeg and part of the same batch of single casks as one awarded an impressive 93 points by Serge Valentin at Whisky Fun.

Distilled on the 22nd March 1967 and matured in a single dark Oloroso sherry butt #1140 for 30 years before bottling on 15th December 1997 by Signatory Vintage.

Bottle number 495 of 536.

Springbank 35 Year Old Millennium Limited Edition / US Import

An older expression from this Campbeltown classic. This was bottled in September 1999 for the Millennium as part of a range of 6 bottles. 

The set comprised whiskies bottled at 25, 30, 35, 40, 45 and 50 years. 

Springbank 1962​

A fantastic old vintage Springbank, distilled in 1962 and bottled in the 1980s.

Ardbeg 1967 Signatory Vintage 30 Year Old / Dark Oloroso Butt #1140

A legendary Ardbeg and part of the same batch of single casks as one awarded an impressive 93 points by Serge Valentin at Whisky Fun.

Distilled on the 22nd March 1967 and matured in a single dark Oloroso sherry butt #1140 for 30 years before bottling on 15th December 1997 by Signatory Vintage.

Bottle number 165 of 536.

Ardbeg 1975 Samaroli

A 1975 vintage Ardbeg from Silvano 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 in pantheon of whisky greats.

This bottling was bottled for Samaroli in Scotland by R.W. Duthie & Co. in 1987, and is bottle number 451 of 648. Almost unbelievably, Samaroli reportedly had great difficulty selling the first release in this series, the 1974 vintage from 1983. It was not until a few years later that demand for the peaty flavours began to increase in Italy.

Ardbeg 1973 Samaroli / 20th Anniversary

A 1973 vintage Ardbeg, bottled by R.W. Duthie for Samaroli in 1988 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 Ardbeg was first used on the 14 year old Glen Elgin from that set.

Bottle 45 of 540.

Springbank 1953 Cadenhead's 25 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 Springbank was distilled in December 1953 and bottled in August 1979.

Ardbeg 1975 Single Cask 26 Year Old #4703

Vintage Ardbeg is a rare commodity these days and we are lucky to offer this 1975 vintage.

Sherry hogshead #4703 was filled on 26th December 1975 and bottled 26th March 2002. 

Bottled exclusively for Velier Italy, this is bottle number 5 of 240. 

Ardbeg 1974 Provenance 23 Year Old 2nd Release  / US Import

One of the legendary Ardbeg Provenance bottlings, distilled in 1974 and matured for 23 years until being released in 1998.

These whiskies are highly acclaimed and desirable, including certificate and tartan insert.

Bottled on 9th April 1998: number 1598 however the certificate is for the neighbouring bottle of 1599. 

The were roughly 1000 bottles produced. 

Aultmore 1973 Samaroli / Handwritten Labels

A 1973 vintage Aultmore, bottled in the 1980s by R.W. Duthie for Samaroli.

Samaroli is perhaps Italy's most revered independent bottler of Scotch whisky. With an impeccable taste in single cask whiskies, (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 the Handwritten Labels series. While Samaroli was famed for his keen eye for aesthetic in designing his own labels, this series simply features his own elegant calligraphy reproduced on them.

Bottle number 82 of 180.

Johnnie Walker The Directors Blend 2011

Never available at retail, the Johnnie Walker Directors Blends were only given to very important Diageo types. Very few bottles made it to the secondary market and collectors have fought to get hold of these essential parts of Johnnie Walker history.

The 2011 release celebrates the flavour profiles of the cask. Each year Diagio offer one of their design partners the opportunity to push the envelope and offer their vision for the Directors blend. In 2011, Raison Pure design agency chose to highlight the exceptional colour of the liquid.

The bottle an labeling was designed to maximise the light entering the bottle.

Bottle number 37 of 504. 

Ardbeg 1974 Single Cask 31 Year Old #2743

A single cask Ardbeg, distilled on 14th June 1974 and bottled at over 31 years of age on 20th September 2005.

Taken from bourbon hogshead #2743, this is bottle number 76 of 106.

Ardbeg 1975 Single Cask 23 Year Old #4702

Vintage Ardbeg is a rare commodity these days and we are lucky to offer this 1975 vintage.

Sherry cask #4702 was filled 26th December 1975 and bottled 20th October 1999.

Bottle number 98 of 261.

Springbank 1966

A rare vintage official bottling from Campbeltown's famous Springbank distillery.

Distilled in 1966 and bottled in the 1990s.

Springbank 1967 Signatory Vintage 34 Year Old

A Springbank single cask bottling from Signatory Vintage.

Distilled 20th May 1967 and bottled in July 2001 at 34 years old.

Bottle 134 of 188 drawn from cask #1944.

Ardbeg 1975 Single Cask 23 Year Old #4702

Vintage Ardbeg is a rare commodity these days and we are lucky to offer this 1975 vintage.

Sherry cask #4702 was filled 26th December 1975 and bottled 20th October 1999.

Bottle number 74 of 261.

Springbank 30 Year Old Millennium Limited Edition US Import 75cl / US Import

An older expression from this Campbeltown classic.

This was bottled in March 1999 for the Millennium as part of a range of 6 bottles.

The set comprised whiskies bottled at 25, 30, 35, 40, 45 and 50 years.

Springbank 1966 Bourbon Cask #491 / Local Barley

Springbank distilled several 'Local Barley' bottlings from the mid 1960s, all of which have reached legendary status.

Distilled in February 1966 and bottled in April 1998 after being matured in bourbon cask number #1966-491. 

Bottle number 143.

A.H. Hirsch 1974 16 Year Old Reserve 1990s / Squat Black Wax​

A legendary bottle of bourbon that has had a whole book written about itself: The Best Bourbon You'll Never Taste by Charles K Cowdery.

Distilled in Spring 1974, this bourbon is bottled from a single 400 barrel batch commissioned by Adolph Hirsch and distilled under contract at Michters distillery (then known as Pennco), just outside Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania. Hirsch was a former Schenley executive who had briefly worked at Michter's during his time there, and it is believed he commissioned the whisky as financial favour to the distillery, and actually had little plans for its use. So, it lay aging in the warehouses for much longer than generally expected for a bourbon at the time. 

With the closure of Michter's distillery, the bourbon was sold by Hirsch to Gordon Hue in 1991, who set about bottling it immediately.

Responsibility for the early bottling was entrusted to Julian Van Winkle III at his Old Commonwealth site in Lawrenceburg. However, his partnership with the Sazerac Company and creation of the Pappy Van Winkle brand in 2002, also saw bottling of the Hirsch Reserve moved briefly to Buffalo Trace. This is one of Van Winkle's earlier 1990's bottlings. Van Winkle's ledgers show that he was drip-fed orders for the Hirsch Reserve, and only produced limited case numbers to order when requested by Hue. This has lead to a variety of different bottlings at different ages. This black wax topped \"squat\" bottle was filled at a slightly lower proof than others.

Gordon Hue, who had maintained exclusive distribution rights to the Hirsch product despite the Van Winkle and Sazerac connections, eventually sold the brand to Preiss Imports who moved the subsequent and final bottling (technically re-bottling) to Kentucky Bourbon Distillers' Willett facility.

In his book Cowdery refers to the bourbon as one of the \"best whiskeys I've ever tasted.\"

Mash bill contains 75% corn, 13% rye, and 12% malted barley.

Ardbeg 1975 Single Single Cask 23 Year Old #4718

Vintage Ardbeg is a rare commodity these days and we are lucky to offer this 1975 vintage.

Cask filled 26th December 1975 and bottled 20th October 1999

Cask No. 4718

Bottle No.7 of 238

Jura 1966 Duthie for Corti 20 Year Old 75cl / US Import

A 1966 vintage Jura, bottled by R.W. Duthie for the Corti Brothers of Sacramento, CA, which has become one of the rarest independent Jura around.

A real gem for any Jura enthusiast.

Bottled in 1986.

Strathisla 1949 Gordon and MacPhail

Distilled in 1949 and then bottled by Gordon and MacPhail after an undisclosed period of maturation.

Imported for the Italian market by Sestante Imports.

We estimate this to be bottled circa 1980s.