October 2018 Auction

Johnnie Walker Swing 1956 / Opening of Hill Street Premises

A very special bottling of Johnnie Walker Swing, produced in 1956 to celebrate the opening of famous Hill Street premises in Kilmarnock, which would become home to the brand for over 50 years. Who would have thought that this bottle would last longer than the facility itself.

Named \"Swing\", as the bottle is designed to rock gently back and forth if it so desires.

Please refer to images for condition, this bottle is very old. Whisky Auctioneer Ltd cannot be held liable for any leakage or damage caused whilst this bottle is in transit, including lots sent using Risk Free Shipping.

Ardbeg 1974 Samaroli 15 Year Old

One of two releases of a 1974 vintage Ardbeg bottled for Silvano Samaroli. At 240 bottles, this is the much rarer of the two.

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 1990, and is bottle number 127.

Ardbeg 1973 Samaroli / Fragments of Scotland

Distilled in 1973 and bottled in 1988 by Silvano Samaroli as part of the rare 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. The painting on this particular label belonged to Silvano, and also appears on the Glen Garioch and Glenugie bottlings.

Although the distillery is not mentioned on the label, it is well known as an Ardbeg.

Bottle number 103 of only 648.

Ardbeg 1975 Intertrade 13 Year Old 

A stunning vintage Ardbeg, distilled on 9th October 1975 and bottled at cask strength on 30th July 1989 for Intertrade Italia.

Intertrade was established in Italy in the early 1980s by Nadi Fiori, a contemporary of Silvano Samaroli and Moon Import's Pepi Mongiardino. His company is perhaps less well known than theirs, but bottled some of the most well-regarded and collectible whiskies on the market.

Bottle number 161 of 288. 

Ardbeg 1974 Single Cask 29 Year Old #2740

A single cask Ardbeg filled on 14th June 1974 and bottled at cask strength 29 years later, on the 11th August 2003

Cask #2740 yielded only 120 bottles. This is bottle number 17.

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.

Please note there will be a shipping charge for 5 bottles.

Ardbeg 1975 Single Cask #1375

This whisky was distilled on 28^th March 1975 and matured in a sherry butt before being bottled on 8^th November 2006.  This 31 year old has become a rarity as single cask Ardbeg has become beyond rare.

This is bottle number 191 of 522 bottles.

Ardbeg 1975 Douglas Laing 25 Year Old

A very rare independent bottling from Islay's famous Ardbeg distillery.

This was distilled in 1975 and bottled in October 2000 by Douglas Laing, part of their Old Malt Cask series.

This is one of 702 bottles.

Ardbeg 1965 Gordon and MacPhail 15 Year Old / Co. Pinerolo Import

A very old vintage of Ardbeg bottled by Gordon & MacPhail as part of their Connoisseurs Choice series.

Distilled in 1965, matured for 15 years and imported to Italy by Co. Import, Pinerolo.

Ardbeg 1964 Gordon and MacPhail

A very old bottling of Ardbeg by Gordon and MacPhail, distilled in 1964 and bottled in 1996, a fantastic, rare and old vintage.

Ardbeg 1973 Sestante 15 Year Old

One of two very rare Ardbeg's bottled by the famous Italian bottler, Sestante. 

Only very rarely will you find Ardbeg from this period these days, it is well worth investigating these older bottlings, even more so when they are from bottlers such as Sestante.

The Sestante import company was founded in the 1970s by Ernesto Mainardi, and he bottled his first single casks under the name in 1985. Alongside his contemporary, Silvano Samaroli, Mainardi pioneered giving his customers a choice of both standard 40-46% bottlings, and cask strength releases from the same casks. Along with his other brand, Silver Seal, Mainardi's bottlings are incredibly sought after.

Bottled in 1988.

Ardbeg 1973 Sestante 15 Year Old

One of two very rare Ardbeg's bottled by the famous Italian bottler, Sestante. 

Only very rarely will you find Ardbeg from this period these days, it is well worth investigating these older bottlings, even more so when they are from bottlers such as Sestante.

The Sestante import company was founded in the 1970s by Ernesto Mainardi, and he bottled his first single casks under the name in 1985. Alongside his contemporary, Silvano Samaroli, Mainardi pioneered giving his customers a choice of both standard 40-46% bottlings, and cask strength releases from the same casks. Along with his other brand, Silver Seal, Mainardi's bottlings are incredibly sought after.

Bottled in 1988.

Ardbeg 1974 Signatory Vintage 24 Year Old

A single vintage Ardbeg from Signatory Vintage.

Distilled on Islay on the 22nd March 1974, and bottled in April 1998 from casks #622 and #1034.

Bottle number 78 of 362 filled at cask strength.

Ardbeg 1974 Signatory Vintage 23 Year Old

A single cask Ardbeg from Signatory Vintage.

Distilled on Islay on the 22nd March 1974, and bottled in December 1997 from cask #1042.

Bottle number 13 of 206 filled at cask strength.

Ardbeg Auriverdes Gold Edition

This shiny Ardbeg Auriverdes, launched on 31st May 2014 on 'Ardbeg Day' which coincides with the 'Ardbeg Day' with the Islay Festival.  

A very rare bottle, this Auriverdes was never made available to the public, it was only given to journalists, bloggers and distillery ambassadors before the official release at the end of May 2014.

The Auriverdes (Auri = Gold and Verdes = Green) is named after the Brazilian sports teams colours (Brazil hosted the World Cup in 2014) whilst also referring to Ardbeg's iconic green bottle and the 'golden' whisky inside.  

A.H. Hirsch Reserve 1974 16 Year Old Bourbon / 2003 Release

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 Michter's 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 ageing 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 1989, 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 the Buffalo Trace bottles, filled in 2003 for the new owners of the Hirsch Reserve, Preiss Imports, who purchased it from Gordon Hue that year.

Preiss Imports 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.

70cl UK bottle.

Johnnie Walker The Directors Blend 2013

Only ever given to very important Diageo types, meaning this was never available at retail. This means that very few bottles made it to the secondary market and collectors have fought to get hold of this essential part of Walker history.

There were six bottles in the Director's blend range, this is the final bottle and was designed by Claessens, a simple yet elegant and effective design.

In the flavour department the blend is focused on age and succeeds in creating deep rich character, causing whisky expert Dave Broom to claim that it was one of the best whiskies of 2013.

Bottle number 583 of 588.

Ardbeg Guaranteed 30 Year Old 

This 'Guaranteed' 30 year old Ardbeg was one of the last releases by Allied distillers before Glenmorangie's Takeover in 1997.This release of 30 year old Ardbeg was limited to only 29 casks.

The Ardbeg Distillery lies on the most Southernly part of Islay and on the rugged shores of the Atlantic Ocean.

Ardbeg is revered around the world as the peatiest, smokiest, most complex whisky of them all. Yet it does not flaunt the peat: rather the peat gives way to the malt, the natural sweetness of which subtly intrudes, producing perfect balance.

John Jameson and Son 10 Year Old circa 1930s / J McCabe

A fantastic old bottle of John Jameson & Son Dublin whiskey, distilled at the long closed Bow Street distillery. Amazingly, Jameson was not officially sold by the bottle until after Jameson were amalgamated into the Irish Distillers company in 1966. Under the new ownership, Bow Street then sold its first single bottle of Jameson in 1968, before production of the entire Irish Distillers portfolio was was moved to New Midleton in Cork in 1975, seeing the closure of Bow Street and fellow Dublin distillery, Power's John's Lane in the process.

Pre-Irish Distillers Jameson only sold their whiskey by the cask. Those who procured these casks were then welcome to bottle them using the official John Jameson & Son branding, as is the case with this bottle.

This was bottled by J. McCabe of Main Street in Blackrock, a suburb of Dublin. There is little information about the company, however a wine and spirit merchant called JE McCabe still operates in Northern Ireland today, claiming to have a connection to a family-run business established in 1919; they are potentially the same. A firm called L&E Egan at Arran Quay were advertising this 10 year old Jameson as far back as 1917. The label style however is concurrent with many distributed to Irish merchants in the 1930s. Ireland was in the midst of a bitter trade war with the UK at this point so it is unsurprising that Jameson bearing these labels all have native bottling firms on them. Other examples of these include the persisting presence of L&E Egan, and a neighbouring firm on Dublin's Bachelor's Walk called TW Begge, who were advertising this Jameson 10 year old alongside Bishop-approved \"alter wine\" in publications through the 1930s and 40s.

No capacity or strength stated. 

Ardbeg 2005 Single Cask #1321

Distilled on 1st April 2005 and matured until being bottled on 3rd April 2018 as a 13 year old. 

Matured in Oloroso sherry butt #1321. 

Bottle number 388 of 543. 

Ardbeg 25 Year Old Lord of the Isles

A highly sought after and iconic Ardbeg, released between 2002 and 2007.

Named after the 'Lord of the Isles' who ruled the Western Isles and parts of Argyll between the 12th and 15th Centuries.

Ardbeg 25 Year Old Lord of the Isles

A highly sought after and iconic Ardbeg, released between 2002 and 2007.

Named after the 'Lord of the Isles' who ruled the Western Isles and parts of Argyll between the 12th and 15th Century. 

Batch L3. 

Ardbeg 2000 Lord Robertson Single Cask #1217

A very rare bottling of Ardbeg bottled to commemorate Lord Robertson of Islay, a former Nato Secretary General.  

Cask #1217 was filled on 27th April 2000 when Lord Robertson visited the legendary Islay distillery.

This cask was donated to his charity, Erskine, which provides nursing and medical care for former members of the British Armed Forces.

This is bottle number 74 of 202.

Johnnie Walker Blue Label Korea Sa Shin Do 75cl / The Casks Edition

A special edition bottle of Johnnie Blue label... the icon of whisky worldwide. 

This Blue Label is bottled in a porcelain decanter that was bottled for the South Korean market. On each of the four sides of the decanter is a depiction of a guardian god from Korean mythology. 

Hyunmu guards the north, The Blue Dragon guards the east, Jujak (a phoenix) guards the south and The White Tiger guards the East.  

Very unusually for Johnnie Walker, this has been bottled at cask strength. 

Ardbeg 1998 Feis Ile 2011

Drawn from two Spanish Pedro Ximenez sherry butts, this rare Ardbeg was distilled in 1998 and released to mark Feis Ile 2011.

Bottled at cask strength. 

Ardmore 1965 Cadenhead's 22 Year Old​

Distilled in October 1965 when Ardmore distillery was owned by Wm Teacher & Sons Ltd, this was bottled by Cadenhead's in their iconic dumpy style in November 1987. 

Ardbeg 2011 Single Cask #2198

A first fill bourbon barrel matured single cask release from Ardbeg.

Distilled on 15th August 2011 and bottled on 17th July 2018 from cask #2198.

This is bottle number 150 of only 256.

Ardbeg 2011 Single Cask #2198

A first fill bourbon barrel matured single cask release from Ardbeg.

Distilled on 15th August 2011 and bottled on 17th July 2018 from cask #2198.

This is bottle number 74 of only 256.

Ardbeg 2011 Single Cask #2198

A first fill bourbon barrel matured single cask release from Ardbeg.

Distilled on 15th August 2011 and bottled on 17th July 2018 from cask #2198.

This is bottle number 252 of only 256.

Aberfeldy 19 Year Old Manager's Dram 1991

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.

Released in 1991 from a sherry cask.

Ardbeg 1975 Bottled 1999

1970's vintage Ardbeg are becoming increasingly more and more difficult to find. This particular bottling is from the 1999 release, three years after the distillery's takeover by Glenmorangie PLC in 1997.

Aberlour 1964 25 Year Old

An old Aberlour, distilled in 1964 and bottled 25 years later in 1989. Presented in a lovely lockable wooden box.

One of 10,000 bottles.