The Perfect Collection Part One

Orkney Single Malt 1989 John Milroy

Milroy's 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.

This is a single cask Orkney single malt, distilled at either Highland Park or Scapa distillery in 1989, and bottled at cask strength in 1997.

Elijah Craig 12 Year Old 2003

Elijah Craig is one of the flagship brands produced by Heaven Hill, named after an 18th century pastor, often cited (although probably incorrectly) as the first man to distil bourbon in the US.

This was bottled in 2003 and will contain bourbon distilled at the old Heaven Hill distillery, which will have survived the fire there in 1996 that destroyed it and much of its stock. The company bought Bernheim from United Distillers in 1999, only then did they recommence distilling.

Old Man of Hoy 10 Year Old Blackadder Orcadian Single Malt 75cl / US Import

Named after the famous cliff on the Isle of Orkney, Blackadder's The Old Man of Hoy is a single malt from one of its two distilleries, Highland Park or Scapa.

Blackadder International were founded in 1995 by whisky writers, Robin Tucek and John Lamond, authors of the 1987 publication, The Malt Whisky File: The Essential Guide for the Malt Whisky Connoisseur. The company has gained great affection from whisky enthusiasts for its Raw Cask series, which is deliberately drawn un-filtered from the cask so as to retain all cask sediment along with any natural oils and fats. The company is credited with a key role in the popularisation of cask strength whiskies since its inception.

Old Grand-Dad Kentucky Straight Bourbon 2002

The stories behind America's bourbon brands are some of the greatest in whisky history, and no other traces the narrative of Kentucky distilling as closely as Old Grand-dad. Bourbon historian Chuck Cowdery describes the brand's story as \"one of the richest in bourbon country,\" with distilling dynasties such as the Beam, Dant, Hayden, Taylor, Medley and Wathen families all having a hand in its production over the years.

The original old Grand-dad was Basil Hayden, who's second generation descendents named their primary brand in his honour (he still features on the label today). They built the original Old Grand-dad distillery at Hobbs Station, not far from where Jim Beam's Clermont distillery now sits today. They bought the Hobbs Station distillery its brands in 1899, and developed a successful business out of it. Even with the Prohibition Act looming on the horizon, the Wathen family were shrewd, and re-organised their company as the American Medicinal Spirits Co. This allowed them to exploit a loophole in the Prohibition laws, which had banned the production and sale of alcohol, but permitted the continued bottling of whiskey for medicinal purposes and as a weekly baker's ration. Otto Wathen consolidated much of Kentucky's distilling, filling his warehouses with bonded stock and acquiring brands such as Hill & Hill, Bourbon de Luxe and Old Crow.

The AMS Co were eventually bout over by National Distillers, who went on to become one of the biggest post-repeal distilling companies in the US. The original Old Grand-dad distillery at Hobbs Station never re-opened after Prohibition however, with National Distillers buying what is the more familiar Old Grand-dad distillery in Frankfort in 1933. It and National Distillers were acquired by Jim Beam in 1987, who produced this at Clermont, a return (almost) to its spiritual home. The National Distillers era Old  Grand-dad distillery is now a Beam bottling plant. This was likely filled there in 2002.

Oriana 12 Year Old Single Malt Decanter

A mystery 12 year old single malt Scotch, elegantly packaged here under the Oriana brand in an ornate glass decanter.

These were produced for retail on P&O cruise ships.

Old Man of Hoy 10 Year Old Blackadder Orcadian Single Malt 75cl / US Import

Named after the famous cliff on the Isle of Orkney, Blackadder's The Old Man of Hoy is a single malt from one of its two distilleries, Highland Park or Scapa.

Blackadder International were founded in 1995 by whisky writers, Robin Tucek and John Lamond, authors of the 1987 publication, The Malt Whisky File: The Essential Guide for the Malt Whisky Connoisseur. The company has gained great affection from whisky enthusiasts for its Raw Cask series, which is deliberately drawn un-filtered from the cask so as to retain all cask sediment along with any natural oils and fats. The company is credited with a key role in the popularisation of cask strength whiskies since its inception.

Old Man of Hoy 10 Year Old Blackadder Orcadian Single Malt 75cl / US Import

Named after the famous cliff on the Isle of Orkney, Blackadder's The Old Man of Hoy is a single malt from one of its two distilleries, Highland Park or Scapa.

Blackadder International were founded in 1995 by whisky writers, Robin Tucek and John Lamond, authors of the 1987 publication, The Malt Whisky File: The Essential Guide for the Malt Whisky Connoisseur. The company has gained great affection from whisky enthusiasts for its Raw Cask series, which is deliberately drawn un-filtered from the cask so as to retain all cask sediment along with any natural oils and fats. The company is credited with a key role in the popularisation of cask strength whiskies since its inception.

Edradour 10 Year Old 75cl 1990s / US Import

For a long time Edradour was Scotland's smallest distillery. Owned by William Whitely for much of the 20th century, it contributed malt for their King's Ransom blend, which had developed a strong sales network in the US with dubious Mafia boss, Frank Costello, as its representative. The distillery was eventually sold to Campbell Distillers in 1982, who opened it up to visitors and bottled its first official single malt in 1986. Despite its small size, the distillery has always found itself interested parties, with independent bottlers-turned-distillers, Signatory Vintage, purchasing it in 2002 when it was deemed surplus to requirements by Campbell Distillers parent firm, Pernod-Ricard.  

This 10 year old was that first ever distillery bottling, introduced in the Campbell Distillers era in 1986.

Old Bushmills 9 Year Old Irish Whiskey 1960s / Sposetti Import

The Old Bushmills distillery in Northern Ireland is the world's oldest licensed whiskey producer, granted a license to distil whisky in 1608. The modern iteration of the distillery was built in 1885, following a fire. Old Bushmills was bought by the Irish Distillers group in 1971, giving them a full monopoly on the production of whiskey on the island, lasting until 1987 when Cooley was opened by the Teeling family. Diageo later bought the site in 2005, before trading it 9 years later with Casa Cuervo in exchange for a stake in one of their Tequila brands.  

This is an old 1960s bottling of 9 year old Irish whiskey, imported to Italy by Sposetti.

Orkney Single Malt 7 Year Old Signatory Vintage 75cl / US Import

A 7 year old single malt from the Orkney isles, the distillery of origin is undisclosed but this can only hail from Highland Park or Scapa.

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.

Edradour 10 Year Old 75cl 1990s / US Import

For a long time Edradour was Scotland's smallest distillery. Owned by William Whitely for much of the 20th century, it contributed malt for their King's Ransom blend, which had developed a strong sales network in the US with dubious Mafia boss, Frank Costello, as its representative. The distillery was eventually sold to Campbell Distillers in 1982, who opened it up to visitors and bottled its first official single malt in 1986. Despite its small size, the distillery has always found itself interested parties, with independent bottlers-turned-distillers, Signatory Vintage, purchasing it in 2002 when it was deemed surplus to requirements by Campbell Distillers parent firm, Pernod-Ricard.  

This 10 year old was that first ever distillery bottling, introduced in the Campbell Distillers era in 1986.

Old Fettercairn 10 Year Old 75cl / US Import

Fettercairn distillery was built in 1825 and aside from a brief period in mothballs in the 1930s, has been in operation ever since. It was re-opened from that closure in 1939 by Associated Scottish Distilleries, the Scotch arm of the post-Prohibition drinks giant in the US, National Distillers. When ASD ceased trading in 1954 the distillery passed through various hands before being bought by Whyte & Mackay in 1973. Despite being an important contributor to their blends, they also pushed Fettercairn as a single malt brand, known as \"Old Fettercairn\" until 2002 when the prefix was dropped. 

This is a 1990s bottling of the core range 10 year old, which was discontinued in the 2002 rebrand in favour of a 12 year old expression.

Old Overholt Straight Rye Whiskey

This brand of Rye whiskey is very old, established as the label suggests over 150 years ago. It was protected fro the fate of many brands during Prohibition by its owners association with Andrew Mellon, who owned a share in the Overholt distillery. Mellon was the US Secretary of the Treasure during the Prohibition era, and was eventually pressured into selling his controversial share in the business. It was picked up by the American Medicinal Spirits Co, who were later taken over by National Distillers (the new smiling face of the infamous Whiskey Trust). National Distillers produced the brand for the most of the 20th century, finally selling it on to Jim Beam in 1987.

This was distilled and bottled by Jim Beam in Clermont, Kentucky. They acquired the brand along with the other \"Olds,\" from National Distillers, Old Grand-dad and Old Crow.

Old Pulteney 12 Year Old 75cl / US Import

The Pulteney distillery in Wick was built in 1826, and for a long time was the northernmost distillery on the Scottish mainland. Acquired by John Dewar & Sons in 1924, the distillery was quickly forced to close down in 1930, as Prohibition in its hometown was enacted to attempt to curb drunkenness among its maritime society. When it re-opened in 1955, the majority of its output was reserved for blending, although Gordon & MacPhail were licensed to bottle a single malt by Allied Breweries (later Allied Domecq). Its single malt was known as \"Old Pulteney\" on their labels, and this tradition remained when Inver House, who acquired the distillery in 1995, released Pulteney's first distillery bottlings. 

This 12 year old was the original core range product from the Inver House era.

Old Ezra 7 Year Old 101 Proof 2003

A 101 proof bourbon produced by Heaven Hill on behalf of Luxco. The brand takes its name from the Ezra Brooks label, historically produced by the Ripy brothers at Hoffman distillery before they sold it to Julian Van Winkle III.

Ezra Brooks from the Hoffman days was notorious for its copycat claims and subsequent court case after being sued by Jack Daniel's for, in their opinion, mimicking their branding. The current iteration of the brand is very well-regarded product however.

Luxco completed construction of their own distillery, Lux Row, in 2018.

This is a 2003 bottling, so at 7 years old will likely contian bourbon distilled by Heaven Hill on rented stills at Brown-Forman and Jim Beam after their distillery burned down in 1996.

Old Grand-Dad 114 Proof Bourbon / Lot No.1

The stories behind America's bourbon brands are some of the greatest in whisky history, and no other traces the narrative of Kentucky distilling as closely as Old Grand-dad. Bourbon historian Chuck Cowdery describes the brand's story as \"one of the richest in bourbon country,\" with distilling dynasties such as the Beam, Dant, Hayden, Taylor, Medley and Wathen families all having a hand in its production over the years.

The original old Grand-dad was Basil Hayden, who's second generation descendents named their primary brand in his honour (he still features on the label today). They built the original Old Grand-dad distillery at Hobbs Station, not far from where Jim Beam's Clermont distillery now sits today. They bought the Hobbs Station distillery its brands in 1899, and developed a successful business out of it. Even with the Prohibition Act looming on the horizon, the Wathen family were shrewd, and re-organised their company as the American Medicinal Spirits Co. This allowed them to exploit a loophole in the Prohibition laws, which had banned the production and sale of alcohol, but permitted the continued bottling of whiskey for medicinal purposes and as a weekly baker's ration. Otto Wathen consolidated much of Kentucky's distilling, filling his warehouses with bonded stock and acquiring brands such as Hill & Hill, Bourbon de Luxe and Old Crow.

The AMS Co were eventually bout over by National Distillers, who went on to become one of the biggest post-repeal distilling companies in the US. The original Old Grand-dad distillery at Hobbs Station never re-opened after Prohibition however, with National Distillers buying what is the more familiar Old Grand-dad distillery in Frankfort in 1933. It and National Distillers were acquired by Jim Beam in 1987, who produced this at Clermont, a return (almost) to its spiritual home. The National Distillers era Old  Grand-dad distillery is now a Beam bottling plant. This was likely filled there in 2002.

Old Rhosdhu 5 Year Old 75cl / US Import

First distilled in the 1960s, Rhosdhu was a style of single malt produced at Loch Lomond distillery. The brand was discontinued in the year 2000, but was later revived by the distillery as the name for an unusual single grain that they column distilled from 100% malted barley. 

Known as Old Rhosdhu when officially bottled, this is a 1990s distillery bottling of the 5 year old.

Old Glenn 12 Year Old Highland Single Malt

A mystery single malt from the Highland region, aged for 12 years and specially selected for the Asda supermarket chain by Douglas MacNiven & Co.

Douglas MacNiven were incorporated in 1935 as a subsidiary of the MacDonald & Muir (later the Glenmorangie Company). The specialised in blends, and also produced supermarket single malt brands such as this Old Glenn, and Glen Morven. Perhaps their most famous release (or infamous), was the Oddbin's exclusive 80:20 blended malt, produced when MacDonald & Muir accidentally tipped some younger single malt from Glen Moray into some 21 year old Glenmorangie. When LVMH took over the Glenmorangie Company in 2004, they opted to focus solely on their Ardbeg and Glenmorangie single malt brands, and the Douglas MacNiven branch has been shelved ever since.

The bottle shape here is the same used for Glen Moray at the time, a probable indication of the source of this whisky.

Old MacPhunn Highland Single Malt

A Highland single malt from an undisclosed distillery, bottled for The Creggans Inn in Strachur, Argyll.

It is named Old MacPhunn after a local legend, of a man who when hanged for stealing sheep, suddenly stirred when his wife was trasnporting his body home to be buried. She revived his body by mixing whisky with her own breast milk. Lovely stuff!