The 163rd Auction

Christmas is over and Hogmanay too but fear not we have just the thing to push away those post-festive blues, our 163rd auction is now live!  If you are anything like me then your drinks cabinet has become somewhat depleted in the last few weeks, so let’s see if we can fix that for you.  We have thousands of bottles of high-quality drams to choose from and here are a few which have caught our eye this month.

To begin with we have a bottle of Campbeltown’s finest, a rather marvellous Springbank 1965 Local Barley Cask #9.  The Local Barley series from Springbank is highly acclaimed and much sought after, and none more so than their 1960’s vintages.  Using wholly local ingredients this release really showcases the amazing resources in Kintyre which goes some way to explaining the sustained level of quality releases from Springbank, and Campbeltown more generally.

Our next highlight is a terrific example of the light Lowland style, this is the Rosebank 1967 26 Year Old Signatory.  Often overlooked in favour of their more northernly cousins Lowland whiskies often fly under the radar a little, Rosebank however bucks that trend and is rightfully regarded as one of Scotland’s finest malts.  Closed for almost thirty years it is now open again and distilling, but this beauty is from their earlier iteration.  Distilled in 1967 and aged for a hefty twenty-six years this is an impressive release from Signatory, who have gained a well-deserved good reputation for quality expressions.

Next up is a particularly delicious looking whisky if I don’t say so myself, this is the Ardbeg 1976 Douglas of Drumlanrig Selected by the Scotch Single Malt Circle.  Distilled at Islay heavyweight Ardbeg way back in 1976 this 55.5% dram was finally bottled in 2001 giving it more than two decades of ageing.  It was selected from the stocks of Langside Distillers for the German market by the Scotch Single Malt Circle and has received rave reviews ever since. Distilled during what is widely regarded as a golden period for Ardbeg this is dram with a whole lot going for it.

Last but by no means least we have the ever impressive Macallan 72 Year Old Lalique Genesis Decanter.  One of the oldest Macallan malts ever released by the distillery this release remains one of their finest to date, and that is saying something given the continuing quality of their output.  Distilled in the 1940’s this dram is supremely well-aged and comes in an elegant decanter designed by Lalique to mimic the style of the new distillery and visitor centre at Macallan, opened in 2018.  Housed in an exquisite case by esteemed cabinet makers NEJ Stevenson this really is a thing of beauty.

As always, we have a wide range of amazing drams available from modest tipples to bucket list bad boys and everything in between, 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.