The Perfect Collection Part One

Strathisla 12 Year Old 75cl / US Import

Speyside's oldest operating distillery, Strathisla was founded in 1786 as Milltown, and later renamed Milton in 1890. The distillery was an early advocate of its single malt, which it sold under the brand name, Strathisla, after the river that runs past the site. Strathisla single malt was bottled as early as the late 19th century, and proved very popular. None-the-less, by the 1940s it was struggling, needing rescued by Canadian giants, Seagram, who bought it in 1950, renaming it Strathisla the following year, and tasking it as a key contributor to its Chivas blends. Despite this, the single malt brand remained a core part of the business, and remains so to this day.  

This is the 12 year old core-range expression, relaunched by Pernod-Ricard when they bought the distillery in 2001.

Convalmore 1976 Signatory Vintage 23 Year Old Miniature / Silent Stills

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. 

Distilled on 14th October 1976, this was bottled within Signatory Vintage's Silent Stills range, which at the time showcased Scotland's finest discontinued single malts (some, such as Glenglassaugh, have since returned).

Cask #4470 produced 314 full size and miniature bottles.

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.

St Magdalene-Linlithgow 1975 Signatory Vintage 22 Year Old Miniature / Silent Stills

St Magdalene, also known as Linlithgow (after its home town) was a large distillery who's output was almost entirely for the purposes of blending. It was built in the 18th century, but was acquired by DCL (now Diageo) in 1912, who operated it until its closure in 1983. Like many others, it was deemed surplus to requirements as the blended Scotch market hit a downturn, leaving DCL over-supplied. As a result of this, its single malt is particularly rare. It was only officially bottled three times by Diageo, but a number of increasingly sought after releases have been bottled by independent companies over the years. The collectability of which is likely only to increase, as unlike other members of the 1983 club, St Magdalene was demolished and is not in line for a resurrection. 

Distilled on 2nd June 1975, this was bottled within Signatory Vintage's Silent Stills range, which at the time showcased Scotland's finest discontinued single malts (some, such as Glenglassaugh, have since returned).

Cask #96/3/01 produced 335 full size and miniature bottles.

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.

Singleton of Auchroisk 1983 75cl / US Import

Auchroisk distillery was built by Justerini & Brooks in 1972 to provide malt for their blends. Despite this, there was an immediate focus on its single malt as well, and it was first bottled in 1986. These were vintage-dated releases, and some of the earliest to use cask finishing. This was never advertised though, and the distillery left Balvenie to take the credit for the innovation.

These bottlings were actually the first to be labelled under \"The Singleton of\" banner, however they were eventually discontinued in 2001, with Diageo re-introducing Auchroisk as part of the Flora & Fauna series instead. The company would later revive The Singleton brand in 2006, but Auchroisk was overlooked, giving way to the trio of Glendullan, Glen Ord and Dufftown instead.

These early Singleton of Auchroisk releases were matured for 8 years in bourbon wood before being finished for a further two in sherry.

Strathisla 12 Year Old 75cl / US Import

Speyside's oldest operating distillery, Strathisla was founded in 1786 as Milltown, and later renamed Milton in 1890. The distillery was an early advocate of its single malt, which it sold under the brand name, Strathisla, after the river that runs past the site. Strathisla single malt was bottled as early as the late 19th century, and proved very popular. None-the-less, by the 1940s it was struggling, needing rescued by Canadian giants, Seagram, who bought it in 1950, renaming it Strathisla the following year, and tasking it as a key contributor to its Chivas blends. Despite this, the single malt brand remained a core part of the business, and remains so to this day.  

This is the 12 year old core-range expression, relaunched by Pernod-Ricard when they bought the distillery in 2001.

Scottish Parliament 12 Year Old Single Malt

This single malt whisky was released to celebrate the vote on the 11th September 1997 when the people of Scotland voted for the reconstitution of the first Scottish Parliament since 1707.

A limited edition of only 5000 bottles.

Strathconon 12 Year Old Malt Whisky 1970s

Strathconon is a blended malt first produced by DCL in the 1970s through James Buchanan & Co. James Buchanan founded the blending company in 1884, merging it was John Dewar & Sons in 1915. It became part of the DCL family when they acquired Buchanan-Dewar ten years later. The Strathconon brand was aimed at the emerging single malt market in Italy, giving prominence to phrase on its label. It is believe the composition included Mortlach, Glenlossie, Aultmore and Glentauchers.

This is an early example of the product. DCL later packaged Strathconon in its Ascot Malt Cellar in 1982, a range generally believed to be a precursor to the Classic Malts six years later, but considered as a somewhat half-hearted attempt to compete on the single malt stage with Macallan and Glenfiddich. So half-hearted in fact, that out of the six releases, two were still blends, this and the Glenleven brand from Haig's.

Cardhu 12 Year Old 75cl / US Import

Cardhu is the Speyside home of Johnnie Walker, and the distillery contributes much of its production to the world famous blend. So much so in fact that the distillery bottling was changed to a vatted \"pure malt\" for a brief period in 2002 to ease pressure on its stock, but quickly reverted back to a single malt in 2004 following widespread criticism. The incident saw the rewriting of the rulebook for single malt whisky, and the birth of the term \"blended malt,\" adding some infamy to the Cardhu history books in the process.

This version contains malt whisky that was completely produced at Cardhu distillery, unlike the controversial 'Pure Malt' version which included whiskies from other distilleries. 

Cardhu 12 Year Old 75cl / US Import

Cardhu is the Speyside home of Johnnie Walker, and the distillery contributes much of its production to the world famous blend. So much so in fact that the distillery bottling was changed to a vatted \"pure malt\" for a brief period in 2002 to ease pressure on its stock, but quickly reverted back to a single malt in 2004 following widespread criticism. The incident saw the rewriting of the rulebook for single malt whisky, and the birth of the term \"blended malt,\" adding some infamy to the Cardhu history books in the process.

This version contains malt whisky that was completely produced at Cardhu distillery, unlike the controversial 'Pure Malt' version which included whiskies from other distilleries. 

Cardhu 8 Year Old Miniature 1970s

Cardhu is the Speyside home of Johnnie Walker, and the distillery contributes much of its production to the world-famous blend. So much so in fact that the Cardhu brand was turned into a vatted \"pure malt\" for a brief period in 2002 to ease pressure on its stock, but quickly reverted back to a single malt in 2004 following widespread criticism. The incident saw the rewriting of the rulebook for single malt whisky, and the birth of the term \"blended malt,\" adding some infamy to the Cardhu history books in the process. 

Despite the importance of Cardhu to the Johnnie Walker blends, there have long been distillery bottlings of its single malt. This is a 1970s example, predating the \"Pure Malt\" controversy by quite some time.

Speyside 1990 Millennium Miniature 

Speyside distillery was the second of those built by George Christie, his first being the North of Scotland grain plant in 1957. His malt distillery was not completed until 30 years later however, and only began production in 1990. In its short history it has appeared in several guises, including Drumguish, Spey, Cu Dhub, Glentromie and Black Burn. 

This is a 1990 vintage miniature of the single malt bottled for the distillery's Millennium decanter.

Drawn from sherry cask #1.

Caol Ila 1974 Signatory Vintage 17 Year Old Miniature 

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.

This is a 1974 vintage Caol Ila, bottled in 1991.

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.

Craignure 10 Year Old Island Single Malt

A 10 year old Island single malt bottled by Invergordon Distillers.

Craignure is a village on Mull, a potential clue as to which distillery this Whisky hails from. Having said that, the Island region distillery in the Whyte & Mackay portfolio is located due south of there.

Clontarf Classic Blend Irish Whiskey 75cl / US Import

The Classic Blend of Clontarf, filtered through Atlantic Irish oak charcoal and aged in bourbon casks. Named after the historic battle of 1014 that saw King Brian Boru fend off Viking invaders to the Emerald Isle.

Clontarf is produced for Castle Brands, who also market the Knappogue Castle whiskies. The latter is produced using whisky sourced from Cooley, so this is likely no different given there is also a single malt variant available. Unlike that and others, this the Classic Blend is exclusive to the US market.

Speyburn 10 Year Old 75cl / US Import

Speyburn distillery was built by John Hopkin & Co at the end of the 19th century, eventually passing into the hands of DCL (now Diageo) in 1916. With the exception of a 4 year silence in the 1930s, they operated the distillery until 1991 when it was sold to current owners, Inver House. Aside from the short-lived and rare Flora & Fauna release, there are no distillery bottlings of its single malt from the United Distillers era or earlier, and it was not until Inver House acquired it that its single malt brand was launched. Predominantly sold in the US, it is still something of a rarity (despite its sales volume).   

This 10 year old was the sole permanent release for a long time, before the distillery's core range portfolio was expanded in the 2000s.

Clontarf Reserve Irish Whiskey 75cl / US Import

The Reserve expression of Clontarf, filtered through Atlantic Irish oak charcoal and aged in bourbon casks. Named after the historic battle of 1014 that saw King Brian Boru fend off Viking invaders to the Emerald Isle.

Clontarf is produced for Castle Brands, who also market the Knappogue Castle whiskies. The latter is produced using whisky sourced from Cooley, so this is likely no different given there is also a single malt variant available.

Convalmore 1969 Gordon and MacPhail Miniature 

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. 

This is a 1969 vintage from Gordon & MacPhail.

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.

Cardhu 12 Year Old 75cl / US Import

Cardhu is the Speyside home of Johnnie Walker, and the distillery contributes much of its production to the world famous blend. So much so in fact that the distillery bottling was changed to a vatted \"pure malt\" for a brief period in 2002 to ease pressure on its stock, but quickly reverted back to a single malt in 2004 following widespread criticism. The incident saw the rewriting of the rulebook for single malt whisky, and the birth of the term \"blended malt,\" adding some infamy to the Cardhu history books in the process.

This version contains malt whisky that was completely produced at Cardhu distillery, unlike the controversial 'Pure Malt' version which included whiskies from other distilleries. 

Cardhu 12 Year Old 75cl / US Import

Cardhu is the Speyside home of Johnnie Walker, and the distillery contributes much of its production to the world famous blend. So much so in fact that the distillery bottling was changed to a vatted \"pure malt\" for a brief period in 2002 to ease pressure on its stock, but quickly reverted back to a single malt in 2004 following widespread criticism. The incident saw the rewriting of the rulebook for single malt whisky, and the birth of the term \"blended malt,\" adding some infamy to the Cardhu history books in the process.

This version contains malt whisky that was completely produced at Cardhu distillery, unlike the controversial 'Pure Malt' version which included whiskies from other distilleries. 

Cardhu 12 Year Old 75cl / US Import

Cardhu is the Speyside home of Johnnie Walker, and the distillery contributes much of its production to the world famous blend. So much so in fact that the distillery bottling was changed to a vatted \"pure malt\" for a brief period in 2002 to ease pressure on its stock, but quickly reverted back to a single malt in 2004 following widespread criticism. The incident saw the rewriting of the rulebook for single malt whisky, and the birth of the term \"blended malt,\" adding some infamy to the Cardhu history books in the process.

This version contains malt whisky that was completely produced at Cardhu distillery, unlike the controversial 'Pure Malt' version which included whiskies from other distilleries. 

Caol Ila 1972 Gordon and MacPhail Miniature 

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 is a 1972 vintage from Gordon & MacPhail.

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.

Caol Ila 1980 Gordon and MacPhail Cask Strength Miniature 

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

Caol Ila 1972 Gordon and MacPhail Miniature 

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 is a 1972 vintage from Gordon & MacPhail.

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.

Clynelish 12 Year Old Ainslie and Heilbron Miniature 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.

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, but appear to have been producing official miniatures prior to this.

Speyside Dew Single Malt 75cl / US Import

A Speyside region single malt from an undisclosed distillery. This was bottled by Ewen & Company for their Highland Dew brand, part of their wider Dew Collection.

Cragganmore 1976 Gordon and MacPhail Cask Strength Miniature 

Cragganmore distillery was built by John Smith at the end of the 19th century. An astute businessman, he selected the location of his distillery to facilitate easy trade with his customers, and produced spirit geared fully towards the needs of the blending companies. It was not long before it was considered one of the finest for such a purpose, and the distillery was eventually acquired by White Horse Distillers. When White Horse were bought by DCL, its subsequent iteration, United Distillers, selected it as part of their Classic Malts series in 1988, officially launching its single malt brand. Despite this, its importance to Diageo's blends means that other distillery bottlings are scarce, and it remains somewhat of a hidden gem. Thankfully, the occasional casks have been made available to independent bottlers over the years. 

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

Colonel's Special 75cl / US Import

This is a whisky-style spirit drink from India, produced using various spices and coloured with caramel.

It was distilled and bottled by Mohan Meakin, who were founded in 1855 with the establishment of the country's first brewery.