The Perfect Collection Part One

Yoichi 1984 Single Cask 15 Year Old #103440 75cl 

A very rare bottling from Nikka's flagship distillery in Hokkaido, Japan. Nikka was founded in 1934 by Masataka Taketsuru, a former Suntory employee who had studied at the University of Glasgow, and later trained as a blender at the now lost Hazelburn distillery in Campbeltown.  Taketsuru opened the Yoichi distillery in the same year as establishing the company, modelling its pot stills on the long-necked design of the Longmorn stills in Speyside.  

This is a 1984 vintage single cask, bottled in April 2000.

Killyloch 1972 Signatory Vintage 22 Year Old

A very rare bottling of whisky from Killyloch.  The distillery existed within the long lost Moffat distilling complex, which was constructed by Inver House Distillers between 1964 and 1965. Inver House was a subsidiary of US drinks giant, Publiker, and the Moffat complex was designed to provide both malt and grain for their blending operations. The primary malt was Glen Flagler, an unpeated spirit, although a separate set of stills were used to produce peated and heavily peated single malts, called Killyloch and Islebrae, respectively. These stills were set aside in their own distillery within the complex, which took its named from the lesser-peated, Killyloch (around 3ppm, according to Malt Maniacs). The stills at Killyloch were switched off in the 1970s, with Glen Flagler and the Garnheath grain distillery following suit in 1985 and 1986, leaving the whole complex in silence.   

This 22 year old independent release from Signatory Vintage was distilled on the 21st March 1972 and bottled in June 1994 from single sherry cask # 206413.

Signatory Vintage were established in 1988 by Andrew Symington and are one of Scotland's most prolific independent bottlers. Their offices and bottling facility are located next to Edradour distillery, which they have also owned since 2002.

Bottle number 183 of 230.

Knappogue Castle 1951 Single Cask 36 Year Old #9 75cl / US Import

A single malt Irish whiskey produced at the long-lost B. Daly distillery, former home of  theTullamore Dew brand before its 1960s transfer to Powers' distillery at John's Lane. The distillery closed 3 years later and this whiskey stock was discovered in the basement of Knappogue Castle by its new owner, Mark Edwin Andrews.

Distilled in 1951 and bottled in 1987 under the castle's name.

A single pot still, this was bottled at 36 years old from cask #9.

Imported into the US by Castle Brands, NY.

Knappogue Castle 1951 Single Cask 36 Year Old #15 75cl / US Import

A single malt Irish whiskey produced at the long-lost B. Daly distillery, former home of Tullamore Dew before it's 1960's transfer to Powers at John's Lane. The distillery closed 3 years later and this whiskey stock was discovered in the basement of Knappogue Castle by its new owner, Mark Edwin Andrews.

Distilled in 1951 and bottled in 1987 under the castle's name.

A single pot still, this was bottled at 36 years old from cask #15.

Imported into the US by Castle Brands, NY, who now own the Knappogue Castle brand, bottling it using sourced whiskey from Cooley.

Kinclaith 1966 Gordon and MacPhail 16 Year Old

Kinclaith is another of the short-lived malt distilleries that were built, mostly by American owners, within grain distilleries in the mid-20th century. On this occasion it was the Schenley company, who bought the parent firm of Strathclyde distillery, Seager Evans, in 1957. It built the Kinclaith malt distillery within the Strathclyde complex the same year, and they operated it until 1975 when Whitbread bought Strathclyde and ripped them back out again. Nearly all of the Kinclaith output was used for the Long John blends, and it was never officially bottled as a single malt. Some casks did make their way to the independent companies though, and an elusive batch of bottlings like this has been brought to market. 

This 1966 vintage is a Gordon & MacPhail bottling, aged 16 years.

The Connoisseurs Choice label is one of the most recognisable independent bottlings on the market. It was initially created for renowned Italian importer, Edoardo Giaccone in the early 1970s, but became a mainstay of the core Gordon & MacPhail portfolio in 1979.

Kinclaith 1967 Gordon and MacPhail

Kinclaith is another of the short-lived malt distilleries that were built, mostly by American owners, within grain distilleries in the mid-20th century. On this occasion it was the Schenley company, who bought the parent firm of Strathclyde distillery, Seager Evans, in 1957. It built the Kinclaith malt distillery within the Strathclyde complex the same year, and they operated it until 1975 when Whitbread bought Strathclyde and ripped them back out again. Nearly all of the Kinclaith output was used for the Long John blends, and it was never officially bottled as a single malt. Some casks did make their way to the independent companies though, and an elusive batch of bottlings like this has been brought to market. 

This is a 1967 vintage from Gordon & MacPhail, bottled in 1993.

The Connoisseurs Choice label is one of the most recognisable independent bottlings on the market. It was initially created for renowned Italian importer, Edoardo Giaccone in the early 1970s, but became a mainstay of the core Gordon & MacPhail portfolio in 1979.

Yoichi 1990 Single Cask 10 Year Old #223614 

A very rare bottling from Nikka's flagship distillery in Hokkaido, Japan. Nikka was founded in 1934 by Masataka Taketsuru, a former Suntory employee who had studied at the University of Glasgow, and later trained as a blender at the now lost Hazelburn distillery in Campbeltown.  Taketsuru opened the Yoichi distillery in the same year as establishing the company, modelling its pot stills on the long-necked design of the Longmorn stills in Speyside.  

This is a 1990 vintage single cask, bottled in July 2001.

Yoichi 1990 Single Cask 10 Year Old #223614 

A very rare bottling from Nikka's flagship distillery in Hokkaido, Japan. Nikka was founded in 1934 by Masataka Taketsuru, a former Suntory employee who had studied at the University of Glasgow, and later trained as a blender at the now lost Hazelburn distillery in Campbeltown.  Taketsuru opened the Yoichi distillery in the same year as establishing the company, modelling its pot stills on the long-necked design of the Longmorn stills in Speyside. 

This single cask was distilled in 1990 and bottled in July 2001 from single cask #223614.

Kinclaith 24 Year Old Cadenhead's 18.75cl

Kinclaith is another of the short-lived malt distilleries that were built, mostly by American owners, within grain distilleries in the mid-20th century. On this occasion it was the Schenley company, who bought the parent firm of Strathclyde distillery, Seager Evans, in 1957. It built the Kinclaith malt distillery within the Strathclyde complex the same year, and they operated it until 1975 when Whitbread bought Strathclyde and ripped them back out again. Nearly all of the Kinclaith output was used for the Long John blends, and it was never officially bottled as a single malt. Some casks did make their way to the independent companies though, and an elusive batch of bottlings like this has been brought to market. 

This is an unusual single cask bottling from Wm. Cadenhead, bottled as a 24 year old in the late 1980s or possibly very early 1990s.

Knockando 1965 Extra Old Reserve / US Import

Knockando is a late 19th century distillery, purchased by W & A Gilbery in 1904, alongside Strathmill and Glen Spey during its expansion into the whisky business. When Gilbey's became part of IDV in the 1960s, Knockando became the home of the Justerini & Brooks blends, and remains so to this day under the ownership of Diageo. Despite its importance to such a big-selling blended Scotch, Knockando has always been regarded as a fine single malt in its own right, and has a history of official distillery bottlings dating back to the 1970s, with very little ever spared for the independent bottlers. 

This premium distillery bottling was distilled in 1965 and bottled in 1990.

Imported to the US market by The Paddington Corp, NJ.

Yamazaki Suntory Pure Malt 12 Year Old 75cl / US Import

First introduced in 1984, the Yamazaki 12 year old was Japan's first seriously marketed single malt. With the introduction of the Distiller's Reserve in 2014, the 12 year old expression was elevated in the core range, and is becoming increasingly difficult to find.

Suntory’s flagship distillery, Yamazaki was founded by Shinjiro Torii in 1923. The town of Yamazaki was chosen to be the site of Japan’s first commercial distillery due to its very ‘Scottish’ climate, and with it being an area where three rivers converge. In its early days, Yamazaki produced both malt and grain for Suntory's blends, but the opening of the Chita distillery in 1972 allowed the company to focus on its single malt brand. It is now one of the world's most desirable. The first spirit ran from the stills in 1924, on 11th November at 11:11am.

Knockdhu 1978 Adelphi 18 Year Old 75cl / US Import

Adelphi has a rich history, operating as a distillery in the Gorbals district of Glasgow from 1825, producing spirit from the waters of Loch Katrine. The distillery ceased production in the early 20th century however and several changes in ownership culminating in a takeover by Distillers Company Ltd in 1902. The Adelphi name was revived in 1993 by Jamie Walker, great-grandson of former distillery owner Archibald. With a lineage of whisky expertise he operated Adelphi as private bottling company, which now in the hands of Keith Falconer and David Houston, continues the fine work he began of bottling top quality expressions from Scotland's finest distilleries. The company is now also distilling their own whisky at Ardnamurchan distillery in Glenbeg.

This is a 1978 vintage Knockdhu, bottled for their US customers as an 18 year old.

Knockdhu could be considered by many to be the genesis of what is now the whisky giant, Diageo. Then known as DCL, a consortium of Lowland grain distillers, they built Knockdhu distillery in their first foray into malt whisky distilling in 1893. They operated the distillery until 1983 when, like much of their portfolio, they closed it down due to an oversupply resulting from the Scotch market downturn of the period. The distillery was bought and re-opened by Inver House in 1988, who quickly turned out the first official single malt bottlings. The product was swiftly rebranded as AnCnoc in 1993 however, purportedly to avoid confusion with the similarly named Knockando. Independent releases like this are still labelled with the distillery name however. 

Knockando 1965 Extra Old Reserve

Knockando is a late 19th century distillery, purchased by W & A Gilbery in 1904, alongside Strathmill and Glen Spey during its expansion into the whisky business. When Gilbey's became part of IDV in the 1960s, Knockando became the home of the Justerini & Brooks blends, and remains so to this day under the ownership of Diageo. Despite its importance to such a big-selling blended Scotch, Knockando has always been regarded as a fine single malt in its own right, and has a history of official distillery bottlings dating back to the 1970s, with very little ever spared for the independent bottlers. 

This premium distillery bottling was distilled in 1965 and bottled in 1990.

Knockando 1964 Extra Old Reserve 75cl / US Import

Knockando is a late 19th century distillery, purchased by W & A Gilbery in 1904, alongside Strathmill and Glen Spey during its expansion into the whisky business. When Gilbey's became part of IDV in the 1960s, Knockando became the home of the Justerini & Brooks blends, and remains so to this day under the ownership of Diageo. Despite its importance to such a big-selling blended Scotch, Knockando has always been regarded as a fine single malt in its own right, and has a history of official distillery bottlings dating back to the 1970s, with very little ever spared for the independent bottlers. 

This is an 1964 vintage of the Extra Old Reserve release, bottled in 1989.

The label appears to erroneously state this as a 21 year old.

Knockando 1970 Extra Old Reserve 23 Year Old 75cl / US Import

Knockando is a late 19th century distillery, purchased by W & A Gilbery in 1904, alongside Strathmill and Glen Spey during its expansion into the whisky business. When Gilbey's became part of IDV in the 1960s, Knockando became the home of the Justerini & Brooks blends, and remains so to this day under the ownership of Diageo. Despite its importance to such a big-selling blended Scotch, Knockando has always been regarded as a fine single malt in its own right, and has a history of official distillery bottlings dating back to the 1970s, with very little ever spared for the independent bottlers. 

This Extra Old Reserve release was distilled in 1970 and bottled for the US market in 1994.

Kinclaith 1968 Gordon and MacPhail

Kinclaith is another of the short-lived malt distilleries that were built, mostly by American owners, within grain distilleries in the mid-20th century. On this occasion it was the Schenley company, who bought the parent firm of Strathclyde distillery, Seager Evans, in 1957. It built the Kinclaith malt distillery within the Strathclyde complex the same year, and they operated it until 1975 when Whitbread bought Strathclyde and ripped them back out again. Nearly all of the Kinclaith output was used for the Long John blends, and it was never officially bottled as a single malt. Some casks did make their way to the independent companies though, and an elusive batch of bottlings like this has been brought to market. 

This is a 1968 vintage from Gordon & MacPhail, bottled in the early 1990s.

The Connoisseurs Choice label is one of the most recognisable independent bottlings on the market. It was initially created for renowned Italian importer, Edoardo Giaccone in the early 1970s, but became a mainstay of the core Gordon & MacPhail portfolio in 1979.

Knockando 1979

Knockando is a late 19th century distillery, purchased by W & A Gilbery in 1904, alongside Strathmill and Glen Spey during its expansion into the whisky business. When Gilbey's became part of IDV in the 1960s, Knockando became the home of the Justerini & Brooks blends, and remains so to this day under the ownership of Diageo. Despite its importance to such a big-selling blended Scotch, Knockando has always been regarded as a fine single malt in its own right, and has a history of official distillery bottlings dating back to the 1970s, with very little ever spared for the independent bottlers. 

This was distilled in 1979 bottled around 21 years later in 2000.

Knockdhu 21 Year Old Cask Strength

Knockdhu could be considered by many to be the genesis of what is now the whisky giant, Diageo. Then known as DCL, a consortium of Lowland grain distillers, they built Knockdhu distillery in their first foray into malt whisky distilling in 1893. They operated the distillery until 1983 when, like much of their portfolio, they closed it down due to an oversupply resulting from the Scotch market downturn of the period. The distillery was bought and re-opened by Inver House in 1988, who quickly turned out the first official single malt bottlings. The product was swiftly rebranded as AnCnoc in 1993 however, purportedly to avoid confusion with the similarly named Knockando.

This 1999 distillery bottling is a a cask strength 21 year old. This is particulalrly rare in that it bears the traditional distillery name on the label.

Knockando 1973 Single Cask 21 Year Old #51 75cl / US Import

Knockando is a late 19th century distillery, purchased by W & A Gilbery in 1904, alongside Strathmill and Glen Spey during its expansion into the whisky business. When Gilbey's became part of IDV in the 1960s, Knockando became the home of the Justerini & Brooks blends, and remains so to this day under the ownership of Diageo. Despite its importance to such a big-selling blended Scotch, Knockando has always been regarded as a fine single malt in its own right, and has a history of official distillery bottlings dating back to the 1970s, with very little ever spared for the independent bottlers. 

This is a single cask bottling, distilled back in 1973 and aged for 21 years in cask #51.

Bottled in 1996.

Knockdhu 1974 Gordon and MacPhail

Knockdhu could be considered by many to be the genesis of what is now the whisky giant, Diageo. Then known as DCL, a consortium of Lowland grain distillers, they built Knockdhu distillery in their first foray into malt whisky distilling in 1893. They operated the distillery until 1983 when, like much of their portfolio, they closed it down due to an oversupply resulting from the Scotch market downturn of the period. The distillery was bought and re-opened by Inver House in 1988, who quickly turned out the first official single malt bottlings. The product was swiftly rebranded as AnCnoc in 1993 however, purportedly to avoid confusion with the similarly named Knockando. 

Distilled in 1974, this was bottled by Gordon & MacPhail in the 1980s.

The Connoisseurs Choice label is one of the most recognisable independent bottlings on the market. It was initially created for renowned Italian importer, Edoardo Giaccone in the early 1970s, but became a mainstay of the core Gordon & MacPhail portfolio in 1979.

Knockando 1979 Master Reserve

Knockando is a late 19th century distillery, purchased by W & A Gilbery in 1904, alongside Strathmill and Glen Spey during its expansion into the whisky business. When Gilbey's became part of IDV in the 1960s, Knockando became the home of the Justerini & Brooks blends, and remains so to this day under the ownership of Diageo. Despite its importance to such a big-selling blended Scotch, Knockando has always been regarded as a fine single malt in its own right, and has a history of official distillery bottlings dating back to the 1970s, with very little ever spared for the independent bottlers. 

This is a 1979 vintage release of the sought-after Master Reserve expression, bottled in 2000.

Knockdhu 1989 Cadenhead's 10 Year Old 75cl / US Import

The Authentic Collection was launched by Wm. Cadenhead in 1991, and included whiskies from several rare closed Scottish and Irish distilleries, bottled for the company's 150th anniversary. It would later go on to become a mainstay of their portfolio, as the cask strength alternative to the Original Collection, which replaced their famous \"dumpy\" bottlings in the early 1990s. The Authentic Collection is now the flagship Cadenhead brand, and one of the most recognisable independent labels on the market.

This is a 1989 vintage Knockdhu, bottled for the US market from a bourbon hogshead in January 2000.

Knockdhu could be considered by many to be the genesis of what is now the whisky giant, Diageo. Then known as DCL, a consortium of Lowland grain distillers, they built Knockdhu distillery in their first foray into malt whisky distilling in 1893. They operated the distillery until 1983 when, like much of their portfolio, they closed it down due to an oversupply resulting from the Scotch market downturn of the period. The distillery was bought and re-opened by Inver House in 1988, who quickly turned out the first official single malt bottlings. The product was swiftly rebranded as AnCnoc in 1993 however, purportedly to avoid confusion with the similarly named Knockando. Independent releases like this are still labelled with the distillery name however.

Knockdhu 1982 Adelphi 11 Year Old 75cl / US Import

Adelphi has a rich history, operating as a distillery in the Gorbals district of Glasgow from 1825, producing spirit from the waters of Loch Katrine. The distillery ceased production in the early 20th century however and several changes in ownership culminating in a takeover by Distillers Company Ltd in 1902. The Adelphi name was revived in 1993 by Jamie Walker, great-grandson of former distillery owner Archibald. With a lineage of whisky expertise he operated Adelphi as private bottling company, which now in the hands of Keith Falconer and David Houston, continues the fine work he began of bottling top quality expressions from Scotland's finest distilleries. The company is now also distilling their own whisky at Ardnamurchan distillery in Glenbeg.

This is a 1982 vintage Knockdhu, bottled for their US customers as an 11 year old. This is one of the earliest Adelphi releases.

Knockdhu could be considered by many to be the genesis of what is now the whisky giant, Diageo. Then known as DCL, a consortium of Lowland grain distillers, they built Knockdhu distillery in their first foray into malt whisky distilling in 1893. They operated the distillery until 1983 when, like much of their portfolio, they closed it down due to an oversupply resulting from the Scotch market downturn of the period. The distillery was bought and re-opened by Inver House in 1988, who quickly turned out the first official single malt bottlings. The product was swiftly rebranded as AnCnoc in 1993 however, purportedly to avoid confusion with the similarly named Knockando. 

Knockdhu 12 Year Old 1990s

Knockdhu could be considered by many to be the genesis of what is now the whisky giant, Diageo. Then known as DCL, a consortium of Lowland grain distillers, they built Knockdhu distillery in their first foray into malt whisky distilling in 1893. They operated the distillery until 1983 when, like much of their portfolio, they closed it down due to an oversupply resulting from the Scotch market downturn of the period. The distillery was bought and re-opened by Inver House in 1988, who quickly turned out the first official single malt bottlings. The product was swiftly rebranded as AnCnoc in 1993 however, purportedly to avoid confusion with the similarly named Knockando.

This is a rare example of the first Knockdhu distillery bottling, a 12 year old launched in 1990 and produced for only three years before the AnCnoc rebrand.

Knockando 1986 Centenary Edition

Knockando is a late 19th century distillery, purchased by W & A Gilbery in 1904, alongside Strathmill and Glen Spey during its expansion into the whisky business. When Gilbey's became part of IDV in the 1960s, Knockando became the home of the Justerini & Brooks blends, and remains so to this day under the ownership of Diageo. Despite its importance to such a big-selling blended Scotch, Knockando has always been regarded as a fine single malt in its own right, and has a history of official distillery bottlings dating back to the 1970s, with very little ever spared for the independent bottlers. 

This is a 1986 vintage, bottled to mark the 100 year anniversary of Knockando distillery in 1998.

Knockando 1982 12 Year Old 75cl / US Import

Knockando is a late 19th century distillery, purchased by W & A Gilbery in 1904, alongside Strathmill and Glen Spey during its expansion into the whisky business. When Gilbey's became part of IDV in the 1960s, Knockando became the home of the Justerini & Brooks blends, and remains so to this day under the ownership of Diageo. Despite its importance to such a big-selling blended Scotch, Knockando has always been regarded as a fine single malt in its own right, and has a history of official distillery bottlings dating back to the 1970s, with very little ever spared for the independent bottlers. 

Knockando in its approach to bottling is core range, preferring to vintage-date rather than release age-statements. This is a 1982 vintage bottling of their standard 12 year old.

Knappogue Castle 1993 Irish Single Malt 75cl / US Import

A single malt Irish whiskey produced at Cooley distillery for the US market. The original Knappogue Castle bottlings were of old Daly's Tullamore whiskey, discovered in the basement of the eponymous castle by Mark Andrews. Nowadays the label is produced using sourced whiskey by Castle Brands.

Distilled in 1993 at Cooley and bottled by Terra Ltd on behalf of Mark Andrews and Great Spirits.

Cooley distillery was opened in 1987 after it was converted from a pototo alcohol plant by John Teeling. It now operates two pot and three column stills, generally double distilling as opposed the more familiar triple distillation that most Irish producers favour. It was bought by Beam Inc. in 2011, with its former owners now operating the Teeling distillery in Dublin. Cooley's core range includes the Kilbeggan blends and a peated and unpeated single malt, called Connemara and Tyrconnell, respectively. In additon to this, they have a massive contract distilling operation, providing whisky to a number of independent labels like this.