October 2018 Auction

Very Xtra Old Fitzgerald 1957 Bonded 10 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 1957 and bottled in 1967.

This was distilled at Stitzel-Weller while it was still under the management of the legendary Julian 'Pappy' Van Winkle, and bottled a few years after his death by his son, Julian II, in 1967.

These pure Van Winkle era Stitzel-Weller bottlings are rare gems and incredibly sought after.

Presented in a felt lined, lock-and-key leather box with two 1 oz. glasses.

Very Very Old Fitzgerald 1952 Bonded 12 Year Old 90 Proof / Stitzel-Weller

We don't see vintage Old Fitzgerald very often, so we are particularly excited about this bottle which was distilled in 1952 and bottled in 1965.

Distilled at the Stitzel-Weller distillery while it was still being run by the legendary Julian 'Pappy' Van Winkle, and bottled at the distillery by his son, Julian II in 1965. 'Pappy' died that same year.

These Van Winkle era bottlings from Stitzel-Weller are incredibly sought after, making the \"A Collector's Item\" shoulder label a particularly astute piece of foresight.

This is an export Bottled in Bond bourbon, allowing it to be filled at a lower 90 US proof, rather than the domestic requirement of 100 proof set out by the Bottled in Bond Act of 1897.

Very Old Fitzgerald 1958 Bonded 8 Year Old 100 Proof Half Pint / Stitzel-Weller

We don't see vintage Old Fitzgerald very often, so we are particularly excited about this bottle which was barreled in 1958 and bottled in 1966.

Distilled at the legendary Stitzel-Weller distillery while it was under the management of Julian 'Pappy' Van Winkle I, and bottled one year 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. The 'A Collectors Item' label affixed to the shoulder therefore representing an incredible piece of foresight.

Inverleven 1968 SMWS L20.5 / French Import

A May 1968 vintage from closed Lowland distillery Inverleven, bottled by SMWS in January 1994.

A rare bottling not often seen at auction, the L before the 20.5 designates that this particular bottling was for the French market.

Van Winkle 12 Year Old Special Reserve

The 12 year old Special Reserve 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 2012 bottling.

Serial code: B1214521:06M

Irish Single Malt 1988 Shinanoya 26 Year Old / The Chess

A mystery Irish single malt, bottled at 26 years old for the 10th anniversary of Shinanoya in Japan.

Distilled in 1988 and bottled in 2015, this is part of The Chess series, the label depicts the white king being placed in \"checkmate\" by the black rook.

Bottle 12 of 193 filled from single barrel #10510

Vega 1976 North Star 41 Year Old

A limited edition 41 year old blended malt whisky produced by North Star Spirits.

Produced using whiskies distilled in November 1976 and bottled in April 2018.

One of only 400 bottles, bottled at cask strength.

Invergordon 1974 Creative Whisky Co 43 Year Old​

Old Invergordon can be incredible. This Creative Whisky Co bottling is 43 years of age, and is part of the Exclusive Grains series.

Distilled on 12th March 1974 and matured in a refill barrel #41

One of 305 bottles.

Imperial 1976 Signatory Vintage 25 Year Old with Miniature 5cl / Silent Stills

Distilled in October 1976, matured in a single butt and bottled by Signatory Vintage in October 2001. 

Bottle number 382 of 488. 

Presented with cask bung and 5cl miniature. 

Inchgower 1974 Rare Malt 22 Year Old 75cl / 55.7%

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.

Distilled in 1974 and bottled as a 22 year old, there were only two releases of Inchgower under the Rare Malt Selection.

Bottle number 2789.

Vega 1977 North Star 40 Year Old

The second Vega limited edition, a 40 year old blended malt whisky produced by North Star Spirits.

Distilled in October 1977 and bottled in January 2018

One of only 400 bottles, bottled at cask strength.

Vega 1977 North Star 40 Year Old

A limited edition 40 year old blended malt whisky produced by North Star Spirits.

Distilled in October 1977 and bottled in January 2018

One of only 400 bottles, bottled at cask strength.

Very Olde St Nick Lot 12 Ancient Cask Bourbon

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

The Van Winkle partnership with 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 KBD were sourcing most of their whiskey from Heaven Hill.

Although the source of the KBD bottling has never been confirmed, Van Winkle has strongly asserted that these Very Olde St Nick are bottled using Heaven Hill bourbon.

The Palatella's company has recently been rebranded as Preservation Distillers, and they opened their very own distillery in Bardstown Kentucky in 2018.

Japanese import.

Four Roses Single Barrel #6-1J / Al Young 50th Anniversary

A single barrel exclusive bottling from Four Roses. The barrel in question was selected by Whisky Magazine to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the brand's Senior Ambassador, Al Young. 

The Four Roses recipe they chose was OESQ.

O means distilled at Four Roses, E means mash bill was 75% corn, 20% Rye and 5% malted barley, S means Straight whiskey and Q refers to one of Four Roses five proprietary yeast strains. 

Matured for 8 Years, 5 Months in barrel # 6-1J which rested in warehouse MW.

Invergordon 1964 Adelphi 41 Year Old 

If you haven't heard, old grain whisky can be fantastic!  This very well aged single cask #57637 release from Invergordon distillery was distilled in 1964 and bottled in 2005. 

Only 105 bottles of this cask strength 41 year old whisky was released.

Very Olde St Nick Lot 12 Ancient Cask Bourbon

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

The Van Winkle partnership with 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 KBD were sourcing most of their whiskey from Heaven Hill.

Although the source of the KBD bottling has never been confirmed, Van Winkle has strongly asserted that these Very Olde St Nick are bottled using Heaven Hill bourbon.

The Palatella's company has recently been rebranded as Preservation Distillers, and they opened their very own distillery in Bardstown Kentucky in 2018.

Japanese import.

Very Olde St Nick Lot 12 Ancient Cask Bourbon

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

The Van Winkle partnership with 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 KBD were sourcing most of their whiskey from Heaven Hill.

Although the source of the KBD bottling has never been confirmed, Van Winkle has strongly asserted that these Very Olde St Nick are bottled using Heaven Hill bourbon.

The Palatella's company has recently been rebranded as Preservation Distillers, and they opened their very own distillery in Bardstown Kentucky in 2018.

Japanese import.

Inchgower 1975 Sansibar 38 Year Old

An independent single cask bottling of Inchgower, bottled for Sansibar in 2013.

Distilled in 1975, this is one of 186 bottles. 

Irish Single Malt 1991 Whisky Agency 24 Year Old / Formosa Whisky Society

This Irish single malt was distilled in 1991 and bottled by The Whisky Agency in 2015. 

Bottled exclusively for the 1st anniversary of the Formosa Whisky Society.

One of 143 bottles. 

Famous Grouse 30 Year Old Blended Malt

A 30 year old blended-malt from one of Scotland's favourite brands. Amongst the malt whiskies blended, the box states Macallan and Highland Park feature therein.

Russian Import

Irish Single Malt 1991 Whisky Agency 24 Year Old / Komplex

Distilled in 1991 and matured for 24 years before being bottled in 2015 for The Whisky Agency in collaboration with Komplex Whisky, Sweden.

One of only 157 bottles. 

Irish Single Malt 1991 Whisky Agency 24 Year Old

This Irish single malt was distilled in 1991 and bottled by The Whisky Agency in 2015. 

One of 157 bottles. 

I.W. Harper Carboy Bottle circa 1880s

The I.W. prefix in this whiskey's name derives from Isaac Wolfe Bernheim, who founded the brand. With his brother he helped establish Louisville in Kentucky as a centre for Bourbon production. Sadly, he felt Harper was a more marketable name than his own to apply to the bottles. 

Despite having been taxed in the US at some point in the 1930s or 1940s, this is certainly much older than that. An I.W. Harper promotional poster used by then-owners of the brand, Schenley in 1963, dated the use of this bottle to the 1880s. It is known as a 'Carboy,' a type of wicker-clad demijohn which took its name from the Persian word qarābah, meaning \"big jug.\"

The Bernheim brothers were whisky \"rectifiers\" at this point in time. This means that they did not actually distil whisky themselves, but produced it by blending barrels they had procured with grain neutral spirits and often flavourings. The profitability of this provoked much ire from legitimate distillers, and the Bottled in Bond act of 1897, spearheaded by EH Taylor Jr eventually put an end to the practice. The Bernheim's and other rectifiers like WL Weller and Sons would go on to become some of Kentucky's greatest producers of bourbon, despite their opposition to the bill.

In the days of the rectifying business, the 'whiskey' was kept in barrel in shops, and customers could bring anything from a small cup, to a larger jug such as this to be filled. The Bernheim brothers were a professional outfit with an early eye for strong branding, and they likely produced these reusable bottles for their clients.

As a result of this, it is impossible to ascertain what is in this bottle, or if it is even whiskey. As such this is offered at auction as a collectible item only. We refer to I.W. Harper only by the inscription on the glass, and it should be recognised that we are in no way describing the contents as such.

Invergordon 1973 Whisky Broker 43 Year Old

An independent bottling of Invergordon grain whisky from Whisky Broker.

Distilled 1973 and bottled 2016 from a Bourbon barrel.

Very Old Fitzgerald 1951 Bonded 8 Year Old / Stitzel-Weller

This is an incredible old example of vintage Old Fitzgerald. Distilled in 1947, just two years after distilling resumed in the US at the close of the second world war (they had all either closed or been ordered to produced industrial alchohol for the war effort).

Distilled and bottled at the Stitzel-Weller distillery while it was still being run by the legendary Julian 'Pappy' Van Winkle. He bought the Old Fitzgerald brand for the princely sum of $10,000 from Old Judge distillery at the close of prohibition in 1933. It has since become a classic of the bourbon world.

A 2018 revival by new owners, Heaven Hill of the bottled in bond product faithfully reproduces this classic decanter bottle style.

Please note that due to the fragility of the stopper in this bottle, it is only available for collection from our office in Perth, Scotland, and cannot be shipped.

Invergordon 1972 Whisky Agency 43 Year Old / L'Atelier Fantasia

An independent single grain bottling from Invergordon distillery. Distilled in 1972 and matured for 43 years in a refill barrel.

Bottled in 2016 by the Whisky Agency on behalf of L'Atelier Fantasia.

One of 108 bottles.

Invergordon 1972 Grainman 45 Year Old

Old Invergordon can be incredible, this Grainman bottling is 45 years of age.

Distilled December 1972 and matured a single bourbon barrel #13000018 before bottling January 2018.

One of 267 bottles.

Invergordon 1973 Whisky Agency 42 Year Old / Birthdays United

An independent bottling of Invergordon grain whisky from Whisky Agency.

Distilled 1973 and bottled 2016 from a single hogshead.

Selected for Birthdays United

Vaughan Jones' Standard Pure Old Jamaica Rum 1960s

A prize winning Jamaica style rum produced by E. Vaughan-Jones of London.

Interestingly, the bottle asks you to \"please cut capsule...and destroy label,\" presumably to prevent counterfeiting operations.

Imported to the Italian market by Mario Carlo Tucci.

Four Roses 14 Year Old Single Barrel #53-2F / Elliott's Select

A single barrel exclusive bottling from Four Roses, bottled in 2016 to commemorate the installation of Brent Elliott as their new Master Distiller. He succeeded Jim Rutledge the year before.

Bottled from barrel #53-2F at 14 years old, which was matured in warehouse QN.

Four Roses recipe: OESK.

Four Roses Small Batch Limited Edition 2015

The 2015 limited edition from Four Roses bottled at a high strength of 54.3%, using whiskies aged 11-16 years old.

The blend contains Four Roses recipes OBSK, OESK and OBSV.

70cl bottle number 11,238 of 12,672.

Imperial 1996 Gordon and MacPhail

Distilled in 1996 and bottled by Gordon and MacPhail in 2015.

Mothballed in 1998, Imperial distillery has been completely demolished and is becoming increasingly sought after.