October Auction Highlights 2020
Welcome to our October 2020 Auction Preview! Amazing bottles this month, let’s crack on…
MILESTONE MACALLANS
As ever there’s plenty of Macallan up for grabs. We’ll start with the bang-up-to-date Macallan 50-Year-Old Red. This extremely limited bottling is part of Macallan’s newest luxury range of long-aged whiskies, comprising an ongoing series of 40-year-old, 50-year-old and 60-year-old Macallans and a trio of extraordinarily scarce editions at 71, 74 and 78 years old.
Other recent releases include Macallan Folio Archival Series 5, Macallan Coronation, Macallan 30-Year-Old Sherry Cask, Macallan 30-Year-Old Fine Oak, Macallan Edition No.3, Macallan Edition No.5, Macallan New Home 2017, Macallan Genesis 2018, Macallan 1824 Collection MMXII, Macallan Double Cask 2020 and Macallan Rare Cask.
Older Macallans include the glorious Macallan 1946 52-Year-Old, Macallan 1950 Handwritten Label,the magnificent Macallan 1948 51-Year-Old Select Reserve, Macallan 1957 25-Year-Old, Macallan 1958 25-Year-Old, Macallan 1965 25-Year-Old Decanter, Macallan 1967 18-Year-Old, Macallan 1968 25-Year-Old and Macallan Royal Marriage.
Indie Macallans include several Speymalts: Macallan 1950 55-Year-Old, Macallan 1966-1998, Macallan 1973-2015 plus Macallan 1976 23-Year-Old from Cadenhead’s and Hart Brothers’ Macallan 1989 28-Year-Old.
1990 GIRVAN CASK
We’re delighted to have another cask up for sale in this month’s auction. Girvan Cask 166871 was filled with Girvan single grain whisky in 1990 and was regauged in July, showing 62.05 litres of alcohol. The strength when tested was 57.9%, impressive for a whisky in its 30th year. We expect plenty of interest in this cracking long-aged grain.
ISLAY LEGENDS
Some epic heavyweights this month, with very famous bottles such as Signatory’s dark sherried Ardbeg 1967 30-Year-old, Ardbeg 1965 Museum Case, Ardbeg 1975-1999, the NAS Bowmore Bicentenary, Bowmore 1973 Vintage Label, both Black Bowmore 1964 First Edition and the 2007 Black Bowmore 1964 42-Year-Old, Celtic Heartlands’ Bowmore 1968 35-Year-Old, Caol Ila 15-Year-Old Managers Dram and Bruichladdich 1964 40 Year Old.
It’s a good month for lovers of The Syndicate’s Lagavulins! We’ve got Lagavulin 1979 40-Year-Old, Lagavulin 1979 38-Year-Old, Lagavulin 1979 35-Year-Old, Lagavulin 1979 25-Year-Old, Lagavulin 1990 20-Year-Old, Lagavulin 1990 25-Year-Old and Lagavulin 15-Year-Old. 
We’re spoiled for Lagavulin this month, with recent OBs Lagavulin Jazz Festival 2017, Lagavulin Distillery Only 2018, Lagavulin Jazz Festival 2018 and Lagavulin 21-Year-Old Jazz Festival 2019.
There’s also an array of Special Release Port Ellens: Port Ellen 1979 1st Release, Port Ellen 1978 2nd Release, Port Ellen 1979 3rd Release, Port Ellen 1978 4th Release, Port Ellen 1979 5th Release, Port Ellen 1978 6th Release, Port Ellen 1979 7th Release, Port Ellen 1978 8th Release, Port Ellen 1979 9th Release and Port Ellen 1979 12th Release. Lovely stuff!
OLD SCHOOL SPEYSIDE
Old school Glen Grant is always exciting, and this is a wonderful specimen: Glen Grant 10-Year-Old Moray Bond, bottled in the 1960s. This is in fantastic condition for its age and the screwcap closure has kept a very good level in the neck, so the whisky should be in pristine condition.
There’s also some splendid golden age G&M Glen Grants: Glen Grant 1967 5-Year-Old, Glen Grant 1969 5-Year-Old, 1970s Glen Grant 38-Year-Old, Glen Grant 1948-2006, Glen Grant 1952-2012, Glen Grant 1957-2011 and Glen Grant 1963-2014.
CADENHEAD’S & DIAGEO RARITIES
There’s some tremendous stuff this month from one of our favourite bottlers, Cadenhead’s. Top picks include the rare and highly sought-after white label Cadenhead’s Cask Strength Glenugie 1980, Springbank 1965 and Clynelish 1972, all amazing drams. Other Cadenhead’s bottlings to look out for include the Benromach 1976 18-Year-Old, Banff 1976 20-Year-Old, Convalmore 1977 17-Year-Old and Dallas Dhu 1977 18-Year-Old.
These latter lead us nicely to Diageo rarities, and there’s some real belters this month: how about this rare cask strength 1980s Lagavulin 11-Year-Old? There’s also the wooden-box edition of Rosebank 12-Years-Old Flora & Fauna, plus Rare Malts bottlings from Hillside (Glenesk) 1969 25-Year-Old, St. Magdalene 1970 23-Year-Old, Glen Ord 1974 23-Year-Old, Millburn 1975 18-Year-Old, North Port 1971 23-Year-Old, and, best of all, the fabled Glenury Royal 1971 23-Year-Old and Brora 1972 22-Year-Old, two of the best ever bottlings from these legendary lost distilleries.
There’s also some great Special Releases including Glenury Royal 1953 50-Year-Old from 2003, Linkwood 1978 37-Year-Old from 2016, 2005’s Convalmore 1977 28-Year-Old, Brora 30-Year-Old Special Release 2010 and Dalwhinnie 1987 25-Year-Old from 2012.
Top-end indie bottlings from Diageo distilleries include the mind-blowing Talisker 1955-2005 Secret Stills from G&M, the Wealth Solutions Clynelish 41-Year-Old, G&M’s Rare Old Clynelish 1972-2016, St. Magdalene 1982-2015 and Glenury Royal 1984-2007, Private Collection Caol Ila 1968-2018, Connoisseurs Choice Coleburn 1972-1995, Port Ellen 1979-1994 and St. Magdalene 1966-1996, Dead Whisky Society’s Banff 1971 37-Year-Old, Signatory’s Rosebank 1974 17-Year-Old, the private cask Oban 1989 24-Year-Old, Blackadder’s cask strength Pittyvaich 18-Year-Old and Hart Bros’ Port Ellen 1976 19-Year-Old.
SHERRIED TREASURE
Fans of the fortified will be beating a path to Glendronach 1968 25-Year-Old, Glendronach 1972 43-Year-Old, Glendronach Grandeur 24-Year-Old, the incredible Glenfarclas 1953-2012, Glenlivet 1974-2010 Private Collection, Aberlour A’Bunadh Batch 45, Ben Nevis 1998-2014 Cask 587, the private cask Springbank 1997 22-Year-Old, the gorgeous SMWS Springbank 1967-1994 and Glen Grant 1965 32-Year-Old, G&M Strathisla 40-Year-Old, Hunter Laing’s Probably Speyside’s Finest 1966 50-Year-Old and perhaps best of all the legendary Glenugie 1966-1996 by The Bottlers at a remarkable 62.4%.
STANDOUT BLENDS
Familiar faces such as 1950s Haig Gold Label and 1950s Dimple are joined by some rather special bottles like the Lagavulin-containing 1950s Logan’s King’s Special in almost immaculate condition, plus spring capped 1950s McCallum More, and the fascinating 1960s Famous Grouse 6-Year-Old, we don’t see too many of these and the colour is a tantalising chestnut brown. Later blended gems include (among many others) a bottle of 1980s Ballantine’s 17-Year-Old and the staff-only Johnnie Walker 50 Years at Kilmarnock.
FAVOURITES, BARGAINS AND CURIOS
Old favourites returning this month include the sumptuously fruity Longmorn 25-Year-Old Centenary, the ne-plus-ultra Springbank 1966 Local Barley Cask 503, Glen Moray 1959-1999, 1970s Glenfarclas 8-Year-Old 105 Proof, Strathisla 35-Year-Old Bicentenary and the magnificent G&M Mortlach 1936 50-Year-Old.
Value picks this month include the Bunnahabhain 1989 15-Year-Old from Douglas Laing, 1980s Dalmore 12-Year-Old, the mid-’90s post-warrant Laphroaig 15-Year-Old and a tantalisingly dark 1980s edition of Berry’s All Malt 12-Year-Old.
Irish whiskey is enjoying a well-deserved surge of attention, and we’ve got some great ones this month, including the recent Redbreast 28-Year-Old and older bottlings such as the 1980s Jameson 1780 12-Year-Old, Jameson Special Reserve Marconi and cask strength Bushmills Distillers Reserve Single Cask 2328. Pride of place, though, goes to this fabulous John Jameson 1950 33-Year-Old bottled from two butts in 1983 by merchants Avery’s of Bristol. This exceptionally rare bottle of long-aged whiskey from the silent Bow St. Distillery will attract fierce bidding.
Curios to watch include this highly-rated Ledaig 1972 18-Year-Old from James MacArthur, and a clutch of unicorn malts: Signatory’s Glen Flagler 1972 23-Year-Old, the ‘OB’ Glen Flagler 1973-2003 and Glen Flagler All Malt 8-Year-Old (all from the long lost pot stills at Moffat), plus Duncan Taylor’s Glencraig 1974 31-Year-Old and G&M’s Glencraig 1970-1994 from the Lomond stills at Glenburgie, Mosstowie 1978 17-Year-Old and Mosstowie 1979-2012 from the Lomond stills at Milton Duff and the rarer than rare Ladyburn 1973 27-Year-Old from the short-lived pot still operation at Girvan.
For grain fans who aren’t in the market for the Full Cask of Girvan 1990, Duncan Taylor’s ancient Invergordon 1965 42-Year-Old, Dead Whisky Soc’s Cambus 1983 27-Year-Old or Caledonian 1976 34-Year-Old and the remarkable 60.5% Lochside 27-Year-Old grain by James MacArthur should suffice.
Away from whisky, our Rum fans will be keeping tabs on the Alfred Lamb 1949 Jamaican Rum, 1950s Four Bells Navy Rum and this fascinating 1960s Governor General Jamaican Rum, and finally – for the truly adventurous – how about this bottle of Thomas Hardy’s 1979 Ale?
That’s it for this month – Good Luck and Happy Bidding!