The 157th Auction

In a world of perpetual flux, it's nice to have something consistent and regular as clockwork to look forward to, such as a fantastic monthly auction packed to the brim with wonderful drams to buy, so without further ado welcome everyone to our now live 157th auction!  As always, we have thousands of really smashing drams to choose from, Japanese rarities to Scottish classics and everything in between, here are a few we've decided to shine a light on.

Japanese whisky has been steadily growing in popularity for years now with the trend showing little sign of abating, and with the high standard of bottles like this, the Karuizawa Noh 1981 31 Year Old Cask #348, the upward swing will continue a little longer.  Distilled in 1981 and aged for a mammoth thirty-one years in a single sherry butt this is a peerless expression of undoubted quality.  This bottle was released as part of the 'Noh Performers' series, but is a very, very rare Karuizawa indeed, bottled only for Sweden and Norway with a vanishingly small rum of only 207 bottles released.

Next up is an absolute peach of a bottling, this is the Bowmore White 1964 43 Year Old.  As whiskyheads we all have our own favourite Islay distillery, and for many of us the inimitable character of spirit produced by Bowmore is hard to beat.  This expression sits proudly alongside the coveted 'Gold' and 'Black' releases and is a highly sought after Bowmore which was filled into six bourbon casks then laid down to mature in the distillery's famous No. 1 Vaults.  Bottled in 2008 this bottling has seen a nothing short of remarkable rise in value since it first hit the market.

From the rugged beauty of Islay to the lush landscapes of Speyside this a bottling of remarkable vintage, the Macallan 1940 Pro Nobilitate Ebert, Hainzl & Co Import 75cl.  A tremendous example of an older Macallan, this wartime vintage has been sherry cask aged for over four decades and was released part of a series of vintage releases from the 1980's and is presented with a striking handwritten label.  This particular 1940 bottling was released to the German market for Pro Nobilitate Ebert, Hainzl & Co out of Hamburg.

Finally, we have a bottle from one of Scotland's oldest and most respected distilleries, this is the Mortlach 1957 Gordon & MacPhail Private Collection.  Distilled in January 1957 this delicious looking dram was aged solely in two first fill sherry casks, imparting it with a deep and dark richness of colour.  Bottled by Gordon & MacPhail as part of their esteemed Private Collection series this is one of only 514 bottles produced.  An absolute belter of a bottling this one, The Beast of Dufftown strikes again!

Don't fret if these special bottlings are outside your price range because we also have a wide range of drams to suit every palette or pocket, so now is the time to delve into this month's offerings and start building that watchlist.  Best of luck to everyone in the auction, and as always………..don’t lose your bottle.