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.

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.

Old Oscar Pepper 1916 Bottled in Bond Whiskey Pint / Prohibition Era Bottling

A fantastic example of a Prohibition era bottling of American whiskey. Although the Volstead Act of 1920 had banned all production, sale an consumption of alcohol in the US, a few select companies were able to acquire medicinal licenses that allowed them to continue bottling their warehoused stock. These medicinal bottlings could be prescribed by medical professionals, and bakers were also entitled to a weekly ration to cook with.

One of these companies was the Frankfort distillery. Built in 1902, the distillery was one of 6 companies to be granted a medicinal license, and subsequently bought up the stocks from many of those who did not. This included Labrot & Graham and its Old Oscar Pepper brand. This distillery had a rich history; it was built by Elijah Pepper, as the Old Oscar Pepper distillery in the early 1800s and lists James Crow, of Old Crow fame amongst its former Master Distillers. Colonel E H Taylor Jr also managed it for a time. It was revived in 1935 by R A Baker under the Labrot & Graham name, eventually being acquired by Brown-Forman in 1940. Despite then laying idle for many years, it was revived again in the mid-1990s as what we now recognise as Woodford Reserve.

The Frankfort distillery on the other hand, did not re-open after Prohibition. The company had been procured by Paul Jones & Co. in order to allow them to continue bottling the Four Roses brand. With stock stretched thin by the expanded portfolio by the end of 1920s, they contracted A. Ph. Stitzel to supply them with more from their ageing stock. This partnership saw Frankfort distillery eventually acquire the Stitzel plant in 1933, with its former owners opening the legendary Stitzel-Weller in Louisville two years later. By the late 1940s, the Frankfort distillery company had been acquired by Seagram's.

This was distilled in 1916 bottled in 1926, likely from some of the last of the Labrot & Graham whiskey in the warehouses. It was bottled in bond at the legal requirement of 100 US proof.

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.

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. 

Oban 1961 Gordon & MacPhail 20 Year Old 1980s / Co. Import Pinerolo

A well aged and incredibly desirable Oban, distilled in 1961 and released as a 20 year old by Gordon & MacPhail in their Connoisseurs Choice range.

This was an Italian release for Co. Import, Pinerolo.

Old Parr Elizabethan

A very rare and stunning bottle of Old Parr Elizabethan, presented in a hand blown bottle, each side showing a different historical figure; Thomas Parr, James I, Elizabeth I and Henry VIII.

Bottled to commemorate the Elizabethan era of British history.

Only 252 bottles of this elegant decanter were produced.

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. 

Oban 13 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.

A 13 year old sherry matured Oban bottled in November 1990. 

Although not stated appears to be a 75cl bottle. 

Old Vandegrift 1917 Bottled in Bond Pure Whiskey Pint / Prohibition Era Bottling

This was distilled in the Fall of 1917 at Hammond Distillery in Indiana, and was presumably some of their last whiskey given they were forced to close down when Prohibition was enacted in April that year.

The Hammond Distilling Company was incorporated in 1901 and was run by none other than John E. Fitzgerald, after whom the Stitzel-Weller (and now Heaven Hill) classic, Old Fitzgerald is named.

Following its closure, Hammond Distillery has an infamous subsequent history of association with illicit bootlegging and smuggling, attributed to none other than Al Capone. 

The whiskey used for this was likely saved from the hands of prohibition gangland by the Pennsylvania Distillery Inc, who bonded it in New York and bottled it in 1934 under a special medicinal license, despite the fact prohibition had already been repealed a year earlier.

Oban 19 Year Old Manager’s Dram 1995

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 1995 from a refill cask, this Oban was bottled for United Distillers (Diageo) and chosen by John Williams.

Oban 1978 Signatory Vintage 18 Year Old

A vintage bottling of Oban, distilled in 1978 and bottled in 1996 by Signatory Vintage.

Aged 18 years in single cask #215, this is one of 272 bottles. 

Jefferson's Presidential Select 18 Year Old Single Barrel / Non-Chill Filtered

Inspired by Thomas Jefferson's curiosity, experimental spirit and good taste.

Jefferson's Presedential Select is produced by Castle Brands, historically from whisky sourced from various distilleries. The company now owns the Kentucky Artisan Distillery in Crestwood and is increasingly warehousing more of its own stock.

This is from barrel #D-51 and, unusually for a bourbon, is non-chill filtered.

Johnnie Walker Odyssey

The very high end of blending is based on the notes of Alexander Walker. 

Composed of three carefully selected single malts that have been married in European oak casks. The cleaver design of the crystal decanter moves along with the motion of the ocean and its 'swing' style box will ensure it cant fall over.

Johnnie Walker Excelsior 75cl

Johnnie Walker Excelsior is an incredibly hard to find Johnnie Walker distilled in 1947 and released at around 50 years old in 1997.

Old Pulteney World's Best Whiskies Pack 2 x 70cl / 21 Year Old & 1989 Vintage

A nicely presented twin pack containing 'the world's best whiskies'. 

Jim Murray named Old Pulteney 21 Year Old as his World Whisky of the Year in 2012, whilst the 1989 Vintage (bottled 2015) won the World's Best Single Malt award at the World Whiskies Awards in 2016. 

This is twin pack number 112 of 276. Both bottles are 46% ABV.

This lot has a 2 bottle shipping fee. 

Johnnie Walker Blue Label China to the World Limited Edition 75cl

A limited bottling of Johnnie Walker Blue Label with an exclusive Chinese style artwork depicting various world landmarks.

Octomore Orpheus 2.2 

Similar to the Comus, the Orpheus release was peated to the same degree as its counter-part Octomore 2.1, at 140ppm. The Orpheus was finished using Château Pétrus Bordeaux casks, recognised as one of the world’s top vineyards. Matured for only 5 years, this alongside the Comus have proven to be quite desirable bottlings.

One of 15,000 bottles.

Old Rip Van Winkle 10 Year Old

The 10 year old Handmade Bourbon 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 2016 bottling.

Bottling code is B1618319:424

Octomore 1695 Discovery / Feis Ile 2014 - Signed by Jim McEwan

This 2014 release was the first time Bruichladdich released an Octomore for Feis Ile and it was incredibly limited with only 1,695 bottles being released.

Distilled on the 18th February 2007 and bottled for the 2014 Bruichladdich Open Day at Feis Ile, with a very impressive ABV of 69.5%. 

One of 1695 bottles.

Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond Spring & Fall 2018 Releases 2 x 75cl

Currently distilled at Heaven Hill, this brand was once under the ownership of the legendary Pappy Van Winkle, who bought it for the princely sum of $10,000 from Old Judge distillery at the close of prohibition in 1933.

Heaven Hill procured the brand from United Distillers in 1999 along with the Bernheim distillery, who had been producing it until then using the remaining Stitzel-Weller stock.

This was lot comprises the two 2018 releases from the Spring and Fall seasons. Both were distilled at the Heaven Hill's Bernheim distillery.

• Spring 2018: Distilled in 2006 and bottled at 11 years old
• Fall 2018: Distilled in 2008 and bottled at 9 years old

This lot has a 2 bottle shipping fee.

Jameson Rarest Vintage Reserve 2007 Edition

A very well respected and rare Jameson, including some of their oldest and rarest vintages. Some of which is pot-still whisky matured in a Port Pipe. 

Russian Import

Otard 1917 Cognac

A very old bottle of Otard cognac. Sadly the label is missing which makes it difficult to discern too much about it.

What is left of the label is however in the style of the common 1917 vintage, bottled at some point in the 1960s or 70s by Threlfalls Ltd of Liverpool.

Jameson Rarest Vintage Reserve 2007 Edition

A very well respected and rare Jameson, including some of their oldest and rarest vintages. Some of which is pot-still whisky matured in a Port Pipe. 

Russian Import

Old Forester Kentucky Straight Bourbon 1970s

Old Forester is one of bourbon's historic brands. It was one of the first to ever be sold by the bottle in order to ensure quality control to capitalise on the medicinal whiskey trade in the 19th century. It was even named after local Louisville physician, Dr. William Forrester (they dropped the second 'R' fro the name when he retired). Produced by Brown-Forman at their distillery in Shively, Kentucky.

This particular Old Forester was bottled in the late 1970s in, unusually for the time, a 70cl bottle.

Oishii Wisukii 36 Year Old Highlander Inn Small Batch Blend II

A very high quality 36 year old blended whisky which has been matured in a single sherry cask.

Bottled exclusively for the whisky lover's paradise, The Highlander Inn in Craigellachie. Named Oishii Wisukii, which translates to \"Delicious Whisky\", this bottle has labels designed by Japanese artist and designer Takeshi Abe, whose previous work has included label design for the Ichiro's Malt 'Card' series.

This is the second batch, bottled in 2016 at 51.1%.

Orphan Barrel Lost Prophet 22 Year Old 

From the Orphan Barrel Website: 

 \"Lost Prophet speaks softly but carries a big stick. Eloquent and gentle, this Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey was unearthed after spending 22 long years resting in charred American white oak barrels, tucked away in a corner of the historic Stitzel-Weller rickhouses in Shively, Kentucky. Only a small amount of Lost Prophet exists and it will only be released once. After the last bottle has been sold, it's gone for good, its nomadic journey coming to an end.\"

Oishii Wisukii 36 Year Old Highlander Inn Small Batch Blend II

A very high quality 36 year old blended whisky which has been matured in a single sherry cask.

Bottled exclusively for the whisky lover's paradise, The Highlander Inn in Craigellachie. Named Oishii Wisukii, which translates to \"Delicious Whisky\", this bottle has labels designed by Japanese artist and designer Takeshi Abe, whose previous work has included label design for the Ichiro's Malt 'Card' series.

This is the second batch, bottled in 2016 at 51.1%.

Old Pulteney 30 Year Old

A 30 year old whisky matured in ex-bourbon casks and presented in a well-crafted walnut veneered presentation box. 

Jamaica Rum 1997 Whisky Agency 35 Year Old / The Nectar

A 1997 vintage rum from an unnamed Jamaican distillery, bottled for The Whisky Agency in Germany in collaboration with Belgium's The Nectar.

Bottled in 2012 from a single cask at 35 years old.

One of just 256 bottles.

Old Fitzgerald '1849' 8 Year Old 1970s / Stitzel-Weller

This is a 1970s bottling of the 8 year old '1849' expression of the Old Fitzgerald brand. This was produced at the Old Fitzgerald Distillery, previously known as Stitzel-Weller, by Somerset Imports who had acquired the distillery and its brands in 1972. Bottled in 1976, this bottle will contain some Stitzel-Weller bourbon from the much-lauded Van Winkle era, when it was run by 'Pappy's' son, Julian II.

The expression is named 1849 after the year in which the W.L. Weller company was formed.

United Distillers eventually closed Stitzel-Weller (the name had reverted back by this point) in 1992, and the Old Fitzgerald brand sold to Heaven Hill, who still produce the 1849 as a premium product today.

Oban 21 Year Old Cask Strength 2013 75cl / US Import

A 21 Year Old limited edition Oban, bottled as part of Diageo's 2013 Special Releases. Matured using rejuvenated American oak and second-fill Bodega casks, only 2,860 bottles were released.

Bottled number 1125 of 2860.