The Perfect Collection Part One

Talisker 1934 Berry Brothers and Rudd

For a long time, Talisker was the sole distillery on Scotland’s iconic Isle of Skye. Renowned for the quality of its output, the distillery has rarely changed hands, joining DCL (now Diageo) back in 1916. Despite this, releases were not the most common. An 8 year old was bottled officially and Gordon & MacPhail produced what are now classic and sought after vintage bottlings under official license from the distillery. When a 10 year old expression became a founding pillar of United Distillers’ Classic Malts range, the popularity of the distillery exploded, and it is now one of the most revered and exported in Scotland. As such, independent bottlings like this are scarce, and particularly sought after when they appear. 

This is a spectacular old 1934 vintage from Berry Brothers and Rudd, bottled at some point in the 1950s.

Berry Brothers & Rudd is a firm steeped in history. They were established in the late 17th century, and received a Royal Warrant from King Edward VII in 1903. The company has been bottling single malt whisky from almost as early as that, and produced their first ever blend, Cutty Sark, in 1923.

Clynelish 1965 Whyte and Whyte 28 Year Old Cask Strength 75cl / Spirits Library

Clynelish distillery as it is recognised today, was built in 1967 to replace the smaller distillery next-door, which was the original site of that name. The first distillery was closed, but later re-opened, changing its name to Brora (but that’s another story). Clynelish is part of the Diageo stable, having been taken over by DCL in 1912. Despite being an important part of the Johnnie Walker blends, it has long been bottled as a single malt.  

This will contain pre-closure single malt from the original Clynelish. This distillery was closed in 1969, re-opening as Brora the following year to produce heavily peated whisky for blending, to make up for a shortfall after a drought on Islay. 

This was bottled for Whyte and Whyte, a Chicago-based independent spirits distributor in the US. The company had a UK arm that sourced casks of single malt from a variety of specialist firms, including Signatory Vintage and Wm. Cadenhead. This bottle is part of a sought after series the company imported for the Spirits Library, a Scotch and Cognac retailer in the US. Whyte and Whyte ceased trading in 1998, and these bottles are an increasing rarity.

Clynelish 1965 Whyte and Whyte 29 Year Old Cask Strength 75cl / Spirits Library

Clynelish distillery as it is recognised today, was built in 1967 to replace the smaller distillery next-door, which was the original site of that name. The first distillery was closed, but later re-opened, changing its name to Brora (and the rest is history). Clynelish is part of the Diageo stable, having been taken over by DCL in 1912. Despite being an important part of the Johnnie Walker blends, it has long been bottled as a single malt. 

This will contain pre-closure single malt from the original Clynelish. This distillery was closed in 1969, re-opening as Brora the following year to produce heavily peated whisky for blending, to make up for a shortfall after a drought on Islay. 

This was bottled for Whyte and Whyte, a Chicago-based independent spirits distributor in the US. The company had a UK arm that sourced casks of single malt from a variety of specialist firms, including Signatory Vintage and Wm. Cadenhead. This bottle is part of a sought after series the company imported for the Spirits Library, a Scotch and Cognac retailer in the US. Whyte and Whyte ceased trading in 1998, and these bottles are an increasing rarity.

Talisker 1956 Intertrade 31 Year Old

Intertrade was established in Italy in the early 1980s by Nadi Fiori, the owner of the Taverna degli Artisti bar in Rimini. The company was a collaboration with beer distributors, the Turatello Brothers, and the Intertrade name appears on Fiori's bottlings up to around 1989. Fiori selected his whiskies from the Gordon & MacPhail catalogue, but as a collector himself, and a contemporary of his fellow connoisseur countrymen, Silvano Samaroli and Ernesto Mainardi, he knew the importance striking label designs and requested many of his bottlings at cask strength. Whether under the Intertrade, Turatello or High Spirits banner, Fiori's bottlings are some of the most sought after on the market.

This is a very rare indepdent bottling of Talisker, distilled in 1956 and bottled in 1987.

For a long time, Talisker was the sole distillery on Scotland’s iconic Isle of Skye. Renowned for the quality of its output, the distillery has rarely changed hands, joining DCL (now Diageo) back in 1916. Despite this, releases were not the most common. An 8 year old was bottled officially and Gordon & MacPhail produced what are now classic and sought after vintage bottlings under official license from the distillery. When a 10 year old expression became a founding pillar of United Distillers’ Classic Malts range, the popularity of the distillery exploded, and it is now one of the most revered and exported in Scotland. As such, independent bottlings like this are scarce, and particularly sought after when they appear. 

Tamnavulin 1966 R.W. Duthie for Europvin 22 Year Old

Tamnavulin distillery was opened in 1966 by Invergordon Distillers as a response to the increasing demands for their blends, and such provision has always been the distillery's focus. Despite this, Invergordon Distillers were always interested in bottling their single malts, and Tamnavulin was no different. They even boasted the legendary Moon Import are their Italian agents in the later 1980s. When Invergordon were bought over by Whyte & Mackay in 1995, the distillery was mothballed, but eventually re-opened in 2007. It now has a more prominent range for its single malt brand and earlier bottlings, even from independents are becoming something of a rarity. 

R.W. Duthie & Co of Aberdeen are a subsidiary company of Wm. Cadenhead, and handle the majority of the physical bottling operations for the company. In addition to this, they also provided casks to a number of international distributors, including the sought after portfolios of the Corti Brothers in the US, and early Samaroli releases.

This is part of a several bottle series produced for Europvin in 1989, a French wine and spirits company based in Bordeaux. In the end, Europvin actually exported these bottles to Japan and the US, and they are incredibly rare as a result.

Distilled in 1966 and bottled at 22 years old. The sought after series also incudes a Bowmore, Glenlivet and a Rosebank.

Talisker 1973 Single Cask 28 Year Old #4633 / Oddbins

For a long time, Talisker was the sole distillery on Scotland’s iconic Isle of Skye. Renowned for the quality of its output, the distillery has rarely changed hands, joining DCL (now Diageo) back in 1916. Despite this, releases were not the most common. An 8 year old was bottled officially and Gordon & MacPhail produced what are now classic and sought after vintage bottlings under official license from the distillery. When a 10 year old expression became a founding pillar of United Distillers’ Classic Malts range in 1988, the popularity of the distillery exploded, and it is now one of the most revered and exported in Scotland.

At the time of release, the 100 bottles of this were from the oldest casks at Talisker.  Exclusive to Oddbins, this very, very limited release sold out within hours and has been one of the rarest since.

Bottle 41 of the hundred drawn from cask number #4633.

Talisker 1973 Single Cask 28 Year Old #4633 / Oddbins

For a long time, Talisker was the sole distillery on Scotland’s iconic Isle of Skye. Renowned for the quality of its output, the distillery has rarely changed hands, joining DCL (now Diageo) back in 1916. Despite this, releases were not the most common. An 8 year old was bottled officially and Gordon & MacPhail produced what are now classic and sought after vintage bottlings under official license from the distillery. When a 10 year old expression became a founding pillar of United Distillers’ Classic Malts range in 1988, the popularity of the distillery exploded, and it is now one of the most revered and exported in Scotland.

At the time of release, the 100 bottles of this were from the oldest casks at Talisker.  Exclusive to Oddbins, this very, very limited release sold out within hours and has been one of the rarest since.

Bottle 67 of the hundred drawn from cask number #4633.

Clynelish 12 Year Old Ainslie and Heilbron Cask Strength 1973 / Edward and Edward

A fantastic old bottling of Clynelish, bottled by proprietors, Ainslie & Heilbron Distillers in the classic orange label used between 1977 and 1984 (Gordon & MacPhail also used it from 1984 onwards). Should the bottle have been filled prior to 1981, it will contain single malt from the original Clynelish distillery, nowadays referred to as Brora. This distillery was closed in 1969 when the current Clynelish was built nextdoor, re-opening the following year to produce heavily peated whisky to make up for a shortfall after a drought on Islay. 

This was bottled on behalf of the legendary Italian bar owner, Edoardo Giaccone.

Giaccone was something of a trailblazer, and was importing specially bottled official single malts for his bar from the late 1960s, this is one of his earliest. He opened the famous venue in 1958, and it has been called a few different things over the years, including Garten, Edward & Edward (during the period this was imported), and La Taverna del Comandante.

Edoardo set the stage for later legendary bottlers such as Silvano Samaroli, Nadi Fiori and Ernesto Mainardi. Moon Import founder, Pepi Mongiardino said, \"he was the first person I visited\" when he became the distributor for Bruichladdich in 1981. Giaccone did not have any of his own labels or series, but was the first person in Italy to have official bottlings produced exclusively for him. Through his bar, Italy was treated to exclusive releases from Clynelish, Bowmore, Dalmore, Highland Park and even Jack Daniel's.

This 12 year old was bottle at a cask strength of 56.9%, at his request. Clynelish bottled three batches of this for Giaccone in 1969, 1971 and 1973. This particular release is the first outing for the new orange and brown label style, that would become the official Clynelish livery in 1977.

Tamdhu 1963 R.W. Duthie for Europvin 26 Year Old

Tamdhu is a historic Speyside producer, and for many years was alone with Springbank and Glen Ord as being the only fully self-sufficient distilleries in Scotland. It was the first in Scotland to install Saladin boxes for malting and today it is the last distillery to still use them, which in its years being owned by Edrington, also supplied malt to Glenrothes and Highland Park. Traditionally, Tamdhu was mostly used in blends such as Cutty Sark and The Famous Grouse, but it has always been regarded as a great single malt, and new owners, Ian Macleod Distillers, are now focussing on this. 

R.W. Duthie & Co of Aberdeen are a subsidiary company of Wm. Cadenhead, and handle the majority of the physical bottling operations for the company. In addition to this, they also provided casks to a number of international distributors, including the sought after portfolios of the Corti Brothers in the US, and early Samaroli releases.

This is part of a several bottle series produced for Europvin in 1989, a French wine and spirits company based in Bordeaux. In the end, Europvin actually exported these bottles to Japan and the US, and they are incredibly rare as a result.

Distilled in 1963 and bottled at 26 years old. The sought after series also incudes a Bowmore, Glenlivet and a Rosebank.

Clynelish 1972 Rare Malt 22 Year Old 75cl / 58.64% - US Import

The Rare Malt Selection was a historic selection of single malt whiskies from operational and lost distilleries that were released by Diageo between 1995 and 2005. As with the Flora & Fauna series, they were often from lesser-seen single malt distilleries.

This Clynelish was distilled in 1972 and bottled as a 22 year old.

Clynelish distillery as it is recognised today, was built in 1967 to replace the a smaller distillery next-door, which was the original site of that name. The original distillery was closed, but later re-opened, changing its name to Brora (and the rest is history). Clynelish is part of the Diageo stable, having been taken over by DCL in 1912. Despite being an important part of the Johnnie Walker blends, it has long been bottled as a single malt. 

Talisker 1955 Gordon and MacPhail 37 Year Old Cask Strength

For a long time, Talisker was the sole distillery on Scotland’s iconic Isle of Skye. Renowned for the quality of its output, the distillery has rarely changed hands, joining DCL (now Diageo) back in 1916. Despite this, releases were not the most common. An 8 year old was bottled officially and Gordon & MacPhail produced what are now classic and sought after vintage bottlings under official license from the distillery. When a 10 year old expression became a founding pillar of United Distillers’ Classic Malts range, the popularity of the distillery exploded, and it is now one of the most revered and exported in Scotland. As such, independent bottlings like this are scarce, and particularly sought after when they appear. 

This is a rare 1990s bottling of Talisker from Gordon & MacPhail. Despite their close association in the 1970s and 1980s, the Eglin bottlers access to casks from the Isle of Skye has dried up in recent years, meaning most releases are necessarily very old vintages like this.

This is part of the Cask Strength range, a more recent version of the Original 'Cask' series, which represented their first foray into cask strength bottlings in order to keep up with the market trend in preference for these in the late 1980s.

Coleraine 1959 Cask Strength 34 Year Old Irish Single Malt

A true piece of Irish whiskey 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 whiskey, the 20th century was not kind to Coleraine and it spent most of the 1920s silent before being acquired in 1933 by the Boyds of Bushmills.

A Patent still was installed after the second world war, but 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.

Tamdhu 1970 Signatory Vintage 27 Year Old

Tamdhu is a historic Speyside producer, and for many years was alone with Springbank and Glen Ord as being the only fully self-sufficient distilleries in Scotland. It was the first in Scotland to install Saladin boxes for malting and today it is the last distillery to still use them, which in its years being owned by Edrington, also supplied malt to Glenrothes and Highland Park. Traditionally, Tamdhu was mostly used in blends such as Cutty Sark and The Famous Grouse, but it has always been regarded as a great single malt, and new owners, Ian Macleod Distillers, are now focussing on this. 

This 1970 vintage is an independent release from Signatory Vintage, bottled in 1997 from a single sherry butt.

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.

Talisker 1951 Gordon and MacPhail 21 Year Old / Edward and Edward

This Talisker was distilled on Skye in 1951 and bottled as 21 year old by Gordon and MacPhail ​​​​​​.

The black and red labelled Connoisseurs Choice labels were the very first. The range was devised for Edoardo Giaccone in Italy in the early 1970s, and became part of the main Gordon & MacPhail portfolio in 1979. It is now one of the most widely recognised independent whisky labels in the world.

Giaccone was something of a trailblazer, and was importing specially bottled official single malts for his bar from the late 1960s, this is one of his earliest. He opened the famous venue in 1958, and it has been called a few different things over the years, including Garten, Edward & Edward (during the period this was imported), and La Taverna del Comandante.

Edoardo set the stage for later legendary bottlers such as Silvano Samaroli, Nadi Fiori and Ernesto Mainardi. Moon Import founder, Pepi Mongiardino said, \"he was the first person I visited\" when he became the distributor for Bruichladdich in 1981. Giaccone did not have any of his own labels or series, but was the first person in Italy to have official bottlings produced exclusively for him. Through his bar, Italy was treated to exclusive releases from Clynelish, Bowmore, Dalmore, Highland Park and even Jack Daniel's.

These particular bottlings all scored between 90 and 94 points when reviewed by Serge Valentin for WhiskyFun. Very impressive indeed!

Clynelish 5 Year Old Ainslie and Heilbron 1970s / Di Chiano Import

Clynelish distillery as it is recognised today, was built in 1967 to replace the smaller distillery next-door, which was the original site of that name. The first distillery was closed, but later re-opened, changing its name to Brora. Clynelish is part of the Diageo stable, having been taken over by DCL in 1912. Despite being an important part of the Johnnie Walker blends, it has long been bottled as a single malt. 

These 5 year old bottlings were distributed in Italy by Di Chiano in the early 1970s.

This will contain pre-closure single malt from the original Clynelish. This distillery was closed in 1969, re-opening as Brora the following year to produce heavily peated whisky for blending, to make up for a shortfall after a drought on Islay. 

Tamdhu 1950 23 Year Old

Tamdhu is a historic Speyside producer, and for many years was alone with Springbank and Glen Ord as being the only fully self-sufficient distilleries in Scotland. It was the first in Scotland to install Saladin boxes for malting and today it is the last distillery to still use them, which in its years being owned by Edrington, also supplied malt to Glenrothes and Highland Park. Traditionally, Tamdhu was mostly used in blends such as Cutty Sark and The Famous Grouse, but it has always been regarded as a great single malt, and new owners, Ian Macleod Distillers, are now focussing on this. 

A 1950 vintage was bottled in 1973 by Highland Distillers, the owners of the distillery at the time. The company also bottled a similarly labelled Glenrothes around this time, as they were looking to capitalise on the emerging single malt market that was spreading out from Italy.

Tamdhu 1963 Cadenhead's 29 Year Old / 150th Anniversary

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 29 year old Tamdhu is one of the original 150th anniversary releases.

Tamdhu is a historic Speyside producer, and for many years was alone with Springbank and Glen Ord as being the only fully self-sufficient distilleries in Scotland. It was the first in Scotland to install Saladin boxes for malting and today it is the last distillery to still use them, which in its years being owned by Edrington, also supplied malt to Glenrothes and Highland Park. Traditionally, Tamdhu was mostly used in blends such as Cutty Sark and The Famous Grouse, but it has always been regarded as a great single malt, and new owners, Ian Macleod Distillers, are now focussing on this. 

Caol Ila 1974 Whyte and Whyte 19 Year Old Cask Strength 75cl / Spirits Library

Caol Ila distillery was built in 1846 by Hector Henderson, who was bought out from the venture a little over 10 year later by Bulloch Lade. The blending firm merged with DCL (now Diageo) in 1927, who still run the distillery today. In 1972 the original site was demolished and replaced by a new one. When distilling resumed in 1974, Caol Ila was the largest producer of single malt on the Isle of Islay. Despite this, due to its importance in popular blends such as Johnnie Walker, its single malt brand disappeared under United Distillers, and it was not until 2002 that it would return, when the 12 year old was revived by Diageo. The Flora & Fauna release was well-regarded in the meantime, but it was independent releases like this that gave the best opportunity to sample this much-loved single malt. 

This was bottled for Whyte and Whyte, a Chicago-based independent spirits distributor in the US. The company had a UK arm that sourced casks of single malt from a variety of specialist firms, including Signatory Vintage and Wm. Cadenhead. This bottle is part of a sought after series the company imported for the Spirits Library, a Scotch and Cognac retailer in the US. Whyte and Whyte ceased trading in 1998, and these bottles are an increasing rarity.

Tomatin 1958 Cadenhead's 23 Year Old

Wm. Cadenhead are Scotland's oldest independent bottler, operating for over 175 years, but perhaps none of their bottlings are as sought after as these 'dumpy' style bottles. These were produced with brown glass and an iconic black label (white for the occasional grain whisky), with each distillery given its own letterpress font in homage to William Cadenhead's early career in the printing business.

This is a 1958 vintage from Tomatin, bottled in September 1982.

Tomatin was once the largest distillery in Scotland, with an expansion in 1976 bringing its still count to a whopping 23 (with a capacity for 10 million litres). An over-stretch at the time, it was forced into liquidation in 1985, never having run at full capacity. The following year it became Scotland's first ever Japanese-owned distillery after it was saved by a consortium of long-term customers. Nowadays it provides the heart to the popular Antiquary blend in addition to continuing to produce a highly regarded single malt. 

Caledonian 1963 Cadenhead's 21 Year Old Sherry Wood

Wm. Cadenhead are Scotland's oldest independent bottler, operating for over 175 years, but perhaps none of their bottlings are as sought after as these 'dumpy' style bottles. These were produced with brown glass and an iconic black label (white for the occasional grain whisky), with each distillery given its own letterpress font in homage to William Cadenhead's early career in the printing business.

This is one of several rare single grain bottlings which all feature labels with the standard black and white colours inverted.

Caledonian is a lost grain distillery, built in Edinburgh by Graham Menzies & Co. It operated a single column still, once described by James Grant as the \"greatest in Scotland,\" and later two pot stills which produced an Irish-style grain whisky. It became the seventh member of DCL in 1884. When DCL merged with Guinness in 1986 to form United Distillers, the company's enormous portfolio of distilleries required streamlining, and Caledonian was one of those that did not survive the cull, shut down for good in 1988. It has only twice been officially bottled as a single grain, once in its lifetime as a commemorative bottling for the 1986 Commonwealth games in its home city, and later under The Cally brand by Diageo. Thankfully, releases like this have appeared over the decades under independent labels.

Convalmore 1962 Cadenhead's 31 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 1962 vintage Convalmore was bottled for the US market in February 1994.

Convalmore was fourth of the \"Seven Stills\" of Dufftown, built in the late 19th century and later acquired by the blender, James Buchanan. After the merger of Buchanan's with DCL (now Diageo) in 1925, Convalmore continued to supply blends, and as a result was never officially bottled as a single malt in its own time. The distillery was shut down in 1985, and while there have been occasional Diageo special releases over the years, its single malt output is mostly limited to very sought after independent bottlings like this. 

Clynelish 1972 Caledonian Selection 27 Year Old 75cl / US Import

An elegant decanter from the Caledonian Selection series, a range of independently bottled single malts for various export markets.

Clynelish distillery as it is recognised today, was built in 1967 to replace the smaller distillery next-door, which was the original site of that name. The first distillery was closed, but later re-opened, changing its name to Brora (but that’s another story). Clynelish is part of the Diageo stable, having been taken over by DCL in 1912. Despite being an important part of the Johnnie Walker blends, it has long been bottled as a single malt.  

Distilled in 1973, this was bottled in 2000 from a single hogshead.

Tamdhu 1963 Cadenheads 30 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 1963 vintage Tamdhu was bottled in October 1993.

Tamdhu is a historic Speyside producer, and for many years was alone with Springbank and Glen Ord as being the only fully self-sufficient distilleries in Scotland. It was the first in Scotland to install Saladin boxes for malting and today it is the last distillery to still use them, which in its years being owned by Edrington, also supplied malt to Glenrothes and Highland Park. Traditionally, Tamdhu was mostly used in blends such as Cutty Sark and The Famous Grouse, but it has always been regarded as a great single malt, and new owners, Ian Macleod Distillers, are now focussing on this. 

Convalmore 1962 Cadenhead's 23 Year Old

Wm. Cadenhead are Scotland's oldest independent bottler, operating for over 175 years, but perhaps none of their bottlings are as sought after as these 'dumpy' style bottles. These were produced with brown glass and an iconic black label (white for the occasional grain whisky), with each distillery given its own letterpress font in homage to William Cadenhead's early career in the printing business.

This Convalmore was distilled in January 1962 and bottled in August 1985. 

Convalmore was fourth of the \"Seven Stills\" of Dufftown, built in the late 19th century and later acquired by the blender, James Buchanan. After the merger of Buchanan's with DCL (now Diageo) in 1925, Convalmore continued to supply blends, and as a result was never officially bottled as a single malt in its own time. The distillery was shut down in 1985, and while there have been occasional Diageo special releases over the years, its single malt output is mostly limited to very sought after independent bottlings like this. 

Tomintoul 1966 John Milroy 34 Year Old

Tomintoul distillery was built in Speyside in 1965 by two whisky brokering companies. It was later acquired by the parent firm of Whyte & Mackay, and folded in to their portfolio in 1973. While its main function was the provision of its blends, as with all of its distilleries, Whyte & Mackay also had faith in its appeal as a single malt. It was introduced in the iconic \"perfume bottles\" at the end of the 1970s. The single malt brand was given more of a focus when the distillery was bought by Angus Dundee in 2000, who also introduced a peated variant called Old Ballantruan in 2005.

This is an independent bottling from MIlroys of Soho, named after one of its founders. A 1966 vintage, it was bottled in May 2000.

Milroys of Soho is a legendary bottle shop located on Greek Street in London. The store was foundered by John & Mary Milroy in 1964, but it was not until John's brother Wallace joined the company four years later that their focus on whisky was to catch up with their interest in wine. In that year alone, their single malt catalogue increased from just three to well over 30. Their dedication to this unfashionable style of whisky (at the time) continues to be rewarded today, with the Greek Street store still a cornerstone of London's whisky world.

Clynelish 1972 Rare Malt 24 Year Old / 61.3%

The Rare Malt Selection was a historic selection of single malt whiskies from operational and lost distilleries that were released by Diageo between 1995 and 2005. As with the Flora & Fauna series, they were often from lesser-seen single malt distilleries.

This Clynelish was distilled in 1972 and bottled as a 24 year old in 1997.

Clynelish distillery as it is recognised today, was built in 1967 to replace the a smaller distillery next-door, which was the original site of that name. The original distillery was closed, but later re-opened, changing its name to Brora (and the rest is history). Clynelish is part of the Diageo stable, having been taken over by DCL in 1912. Despite being an important part of the Johnnie Walker blends, it has long been bottled as a single malt. 

Clynelish 12 Year Old Ainslie and Heilbron 1980s

Clynelish distillery as it is recognised today, was built in 1967 to replace the smaller distillery next-door, which was the original site of that name. The first distillery was closed, but later re-opened, changing its name to Brora (but that’s another story). Clynelish is part of the Diageo stable, having been taken over by DCL in 1912. Despite being an important part of the Johnnie Walker blends, it has long been bottled as a single malt.

This 12 year old is presented here with the classic brown and orange label, first used on a special Edward & Edward bottling for the legendary Edoardo Giaccone in 1973, before becoming the official livery in 1977.

Gordon & MacPhail became the official licensed bottlers for Clynelish in 1984. This arrangement remained in place until 1991 when the Clynelish became part of the Flora & Fauna range, and bottling responsibility was returned to the distillery, and this age-statement replaced with a 14 year old as the standard expression. Clynelish would not be bottled as its own single malt brand again until it was relaunched in 2002.

Talisker 1953 Gordon and MacPhail 24 Year Old / Edward and Edward

This Talisker was distilled on Skye in 1953 and bottled as 24 year old by Gordon and MacPhail ​​​​​​.

The black and red labelled Connoisseurs Choice labels were the very first. The range was devised for Edoardo Giaccone in Italy in the early 1970s, and became part of the main Gordon & MacPhail portfolio in 1979. It is now one of the most widely recognised independent whisky labels in the world.

Giaccone was something of a trailblazer, and was importing specially bottled official single malts for his bar from the late 1960s, this is one of his earliest. He opened the famous venue in 1958, and it has been called a few different things over the years, including Garten, Edward & Edward (during the period this was imported), and La Taverna del Comandante.

Edoardo set the stage for later legendary bottlers such as Silvano Samaroli, Nadi Fiori and Ernesto Mainardi. Moon Import founder, Pepi Mongiardino said, \"he was the first person I visited\" when he became the distributor for Bruichladdich in 1981. Giaccone did not have any of his own labels or series, but was the first person in Italy to have official bottlings produced exclusively for him. Through his bar, Italy was treated to exclusive releases from Clynelish, Bowmore, Dalmore, Highland Park and even Jack Daniel's.

These particular bottlings all scored between 90 and 94 points when reviewed by Serge Valentin for WhiskyFun. Very impressive indeed!

Compass Box Hedonism 75cl / US Import

Compass Box is a blending company founded in 2000 by John Glaser, a former marketing director for the Johnnie Walker brand. Their core range consists of The Spice Tree, The Peat Monster, Oak Cross, Asyla and Hedonism blends, and they regularly produce limited editions as well. The company prides itself on its boundary-pushing approach to its creations, and on occasion, boundary-crossing creations, such as the original Spice Tree in 2005 which was banned for its use of suspended staves in casks. 

The Hedonism is a \"vatted\" grain whisky, or a blended grain. The term vatted has been outlawed since the production of this bottle.

The blend is comprised of 8 to 15 casks of single grain, from distilleries such as Cameronbridge and the closed Cambus. Most of the whiskies come from first fill American oak.

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. The selections were taken very seriously by each distillery, a point of principle, and the result has become a series of rare, sought after and highly regarded single malts.

1998 was the turn of Clynelish, and their distillery manager selected this 17 year old, matured in sherry casks.

Clynelish distillery as it is recognised today, was built in 1967 to replace the smaller distillery next-door, which was the original site of that name. The first distillery was closed, but later re-opened, changing its name to Brora (but that’s another story). Clynelish is part of the Diageo stable, having been taken over by DCL in 1912. Despite being an important part of the Johnnie Walker blends, it has long been bottled as a single malt.  

Talisker 1947 Gordon and MacPhail

For a long time, Talisker was the sole distillery on Scotland’s iconic Isle of Skye. Renowned for the quality of its output, the distillery has rarely changed hands, joining DCL (now Diageo) back in 1916. Despite this, releases were not the most common. An 8 year old was bottled officially and Gordon & MacPhail produced what are now classic and sought after vintage bottlings under official license from the distillery. When a 10 year old expression became a founding pillar of United Distillers’ Classic Malts range, the popularity of the distillery exploded, and it is now one of the most revered and exported in Scotland. As such, independent bottlings like this are scarce, and particularly sought after when they appear. 

Although their access to casks of Talisker has dried up in recent years, Gordon & MacPhail regularly bottled these \"eagle label\" releases through the 1970s and 1980s. These are regarded as being of exceptional quality, and are highly sought after.  

This is a 1947 vintage, bottled in the 1980s.

Tomatin 1968 Sestante 21 Year Old / Antica Casa Marchesi Spinola

Tomatin was once the largest distillery in Scotland, with an expansion in 1976 bringing its still count to a whopping 23 (with a capacity for 10 million litres). An over-stretch at the time, it was forced into liquidation in 1985, never having run at full capacity. The following year it became Scotland's first ever Japanese-owned distillery after it was saved by a consortium of long-term customers. Nowadays it provides the heart to the popular Antiquary blend in addition to continuing to produce a highly regarded single malt. 

This 21 year old single malt was distilled in 1968 and is part of a Sestante series, bottled in 1990 for the Antica Casa Marchesi Spinola.

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.