Welcome to the 33rd auction, the last of 2013 and the first of 2014! We'd like to thank everyone for their support over the past 12 months and wish you all the very best for the new year.

We end the year with yet another cracking auction, with a jaw-dropping range of very rare and exclusive bottles and a plethora of very drinkable drams to suit every pocket. Stars include a magnificent 1965 Ardbeg 40 year old. Only 261 bottles were released for sale. There is a mini version of it as a separate lot. Another Ardbeg is a 1978 which, following an error in the bottling process, resulted in the whisky being cut to 42.4% instead of the standard 43%. There were approximately 200 bottles released in 1999. Definitely one for the Ardbegophile.

Balblair features with a 1965 34 year old, and a 1966 38 year old. Dalmore is to the fore with a 40 year old Astrum. There's a 40 year old Dufftown-Glenlvet, a 41 year old GlenDronach and a 44 year Recherché single cask from the same distillery.

The Roaring Forties theme continues with Caledonian 45 year old from 1965 and a 40 year old Clan Denny from the same year. Glenfarclas pitches in with a 1966 42 year old, a 1966 46 year old, and a simply stunning Glenfarclas from 1953, bottled at 58 years of age. There is also a 50 year old 1955 'farclas, celebrating the bicentenary of John Grant. Master of Malt chips in with a 50 year old Speysider and a 50 year old North British from Douglas Laing's Director Cut. There is also a 1958 Bladnoch bottled by R W Duthies as a 32 year old.

Three Glenfiddich Spirit of a Nation bottles make their début. Only 250 bottles were produced to raise funds for service personnel wounded in conflicts. Four servicemen and women who had been wounded took two of the bottles in a trek to the South Pole, accompanied by Prince Harry. We also have the début of Balvenie Tun 140 Batch #9, released in very limited numbers in the US only. And finally, from its sister distillery Kininvie, which almost never produces a single malt for the market, comes a 23 year old, released exclusively for Taiwan, and making a special guest appearance on Scotch Whisky Auctions!