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.

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%. 

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.

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.

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.

Very Old Fitzgerald 1945 Bonded 8 Year Old 100 Proof / Stitzel-Weller

An incredible old example of Very Old Fitzgerald, the 8 year old version of the brand. This was distilled in 1945, and was likely some of the first spirit to run from the still after operations resumed following the second world war.

Distilled and bottled at the Stitzel-Weller distillery while it was still being run by the legendary Julian 'Pappy' Van Winkle.

These bottled in bond Old Fitzgerald from the Van Winkle era at Stitzel-Weller are incredibly sought after.

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.

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!!!

Vintage Rye 21 Year Old

Vintage Rye is a boutique brand owned byAllied Lomar in California, who's other products include Rare Perfection, Wattie Boone and Very Olde St Nick. They have been sourcing whiskey and bottling it for several decades, and they are instantly recognisable from their uniform use of the same cursive script-style typeface. Allied Lomar president, Marci Palatella, was Julian Van Winkle III's agent in the Japanese market for many years, and their early bottlings were contracted to him at his Old Commonwealth distillery.

The Van Winkle partnership with the Sazerac company in the early 2000's ended this agreement however, with the production of bottles such as this moved to Willett distillery, where they were bottled by its owners, Evan Kulsveen's Kentucky Bourbon Distillers. The stills at Willett were silent at this point and most of the well-aged rye in the KBD warehouses was the unused Cream of Kentucky distilled by Schenley at Bernheim. This is the same rye that is a constituent in some of the Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve and was bottled as early versions of the Sazerac 18 year old at Buffalo Trace.

Allied Lomar opened their own Preservation distillery in Bardstown, Kentucky in 2018.

Van Winkle 13 Year Old Family Reserve Rye / 2008 Release

This is bottle A3185, and was released in 2008 (possibly early 2009) when the whiskey was actually now 19 years old, despite the label. The Van Winkle Family Reserve rye was distilled in 1985 and actually continued to age in cask until 2004 when it was eventually tanked at Buffalo Trace. They are all labelled as 13 years old regardless.

The Family Reserve Rye is presumed to have been distilled at Medley in Owensboro, with Cream of Kentucky rye from Bernheim blended through it after it was tanked in 2004. The rye was the last of the true Van Winkle family reserves to run out, in 2016. New batches have been maturing at Buffalo Trace however, and were bottled for the first time in 2018.

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. 

Van Winkle 13 Year Old Family Reserve Rye / 2008 Release

As sought after as the other members of this 'family'.

This is bottle A01205, and was released in 2008 when the whiskey was actually now 19 years old, despite the label. The Van Winkle Family Reserve rye actually continued to age in cask until 2004 when it was eventually tanked at Buffalo Trace. They are all labelled as 13 years old regardless.

The Family Reserve Rye is presumed to have been distilled at Medley in Owensboro, with Cream of Kentucky rye from Bernheim blended through it after it was tanked in 2004. The rye was the last of the true Van Winkle family reserves to run out, in 2016. New batches have been maturing at Buffalo Trace however, and were bottled for the first time in 2018.

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.

Craigellachie 31 Year Old

Originally released for Travel Retail in 2014, the 31 year old forms the high end of the now extensive range of Craigellachie.

In 2017 this whisky was awarded World's Best Single Malt at the World Whiskies Awards.

Limited batch number 04-6137.

Bottled at cask strength.

Chichibu 2011 Ichiro's Malt Single Madeira Cask #1371 / LMDW

Distilled 2011 and bottled 2015 from a Madeira hogshead.

Selected by La Maison du Whisky. The label features the artwork And the Clouds Parted by Tay Bak Chiang, 2009.

Cask #1371.

Chichibu Ichiro's Malt London Edition 2018

Ichiro Akuto's Chichibu distillery has be producing malts for a while now, this was released in 2018 and appears to be the first instalment in an annual London Edition series.

Bottle 127 of 929.

Chichibu 2009 Single Cask #641

This is from the relatively new Japanese distillery Chichibu.  Distilled in 2009 and matured in a single first fill bourbon barrel #641 until bottling in 2014.

Exclusively bottled for La Maison Du Whisky, Paris.

Caol Ila 20 Year Old 150th Anniversary

A stunning bottle of Caol Ila released in 1996 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Caol Ila, which opened in 1846.

A very rare bottling only ever originally released to employees within Diageo.

Chichibu Ichiro's Malt Paris Edition

Ichiro Akuto's Chichibu distillery has be producing malts for a while now, this was released in 2018 alongside a London Edition.

Bottle 177 of 1357.

Clynelish 1976 Murray McDavid 28 Year Old

Distilled in 1976 and matured for 28 years.

One of 600 bottles.

Chichibu 2013 Ichiro's Malt Single Cask #2588 / Velier 70th Anniversary​

A single cask Chichibu, distilled in 2013 and matured in a single first fill sherry hogshead. Bottled in 2017 for the 70th anniversary of Italian import company, Velier.

The label features artwork The Red Point by Jun Inoue.

Chichibu 2010 Ichiro's Malt / Whisky Talk 2015 Fukuoka

The now seemingly annual Ichiro's malt release for the Whisky Talk festival. This is the 2015 Fukuoka release, distilled in 2010 and matured first in a bourbon barrel before finishing in a third fill puncheon.

One of 593 bottles.

Caroni 1998 Wild Parrot Full Proof Single Cask Rum 2 x 70cl / #WP98626 & #WP98635

Two single cask rums distilled at the long lost Caroni distillery in 1998.

They were bottled from single casks #WP98626 (62.6%) and #WP98635 (63.5%) by Hidden Spirits and Stefano Cremaschi for their Wild Parrot brand in 2018. 

The casks produced 280 and 282 bottles, respectively.

This lot has a 2 bottle shipping fee.

Caperdonich 1965 Cadenhead's 12 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 Caperdonich was distilled in October 1965 and bottled in November 1977.

Caperdonich 1966 Signatory Vintage 30 Year Old

A single cask from closed Speyside distillery, Caperdonich.

Distilled in 1966 and bottled by Signatory Vintage in 1996 after 30 years in sherry cask #133.

Bottle 10 of 212.

Caol Ila 1981 Flora and Fauna Cask Strength

One of the nine Flora and Fauna releases at Cask Strength, this Caol Ila was distilled in 1981 and bottled in 1997 at 63.8%.

Bottle number 01821.