October Whisky Auction Highlights 2024

October Whisky Auction Highlights 2024

Welcome to our October 2024 Whisky-Online Auction! We have some great highlights for you this month from the likes of Rosebank, Balvenie, Port Ellen and Balblair, so we'd best get started!

Official Bottlings

There are some absolutely fantastic official Distillery Bottlings in this month’s whisky auction. Most prominent in this month’s sale are two very contrasting distilleries: Jack Daniel’s and Balvenie.

Balvenie is one of the jewels of Speyside, with owners William Grant and Master Distiller Emeritus David Stewart creating one of Scotch whisky’s greatest prestige brands over the last thirty years. We’ve got a magnificent selection of Balvenie this month, with a collection of famous classics and some very rare and sought-after limited editions.

Balvenie highlights in this month’s sale include early gems like the long-necked 1980s edition of Balvenie 10-year-old Founder’s Reserve and the ground-breaking Balvenie 12-year-old DoubleWood rubbing shoulders with newer additions like Balvenie 17-year-old DoubleWood and several travel retail limited editions including Balvenie 15-year-old Madeira and Balvenie 18-year-old Pedro Ximenez. 

We also have a string of Balvenie Story bottlings and gems like the Balvenie 15-year-old Single Barrel Sherry Cask, the Australian shiraz-finished Balvenie 21-year-old Second Red Rose, a recent Balvenie 25-year-old Rare Marriages bottling and a Balvenie 25-year-old Single Cask edition distilled in 1994 and bottled in 2019.

Jack Daniel’s needs no introduction either, and this month sees one of the best collections of JD that we’ve seen for quite a while. Highlights from the 1990s include a bottle of the old school Jack Daniel’s No.7 in a special gift tin and the now very hard-to-find Jack Daniel’s Bicentennial special edition released in 1996 to celebrate the 200th Anniversary of Tennessee becoming a state.

More recent Jack Daniel’s special editions in this month’s sale, meanwhile, include several great examples from the Master DIstiller and Legacy Edition series, plus collector’s items and curios like the Jack Daniel’s Unaged Tennessee Rye Batch 1, the recent high strength Jack Daniel’s Bonded 100-Proof and the fascinating Jack Daniel’s 6-year-old American Single Malt, a travel retail special edition released last year at 45% after finishing in Oloroso sherry casks.

While we’re away from Scotch whisky, there are some real treasures this month, including some great old Rum and vintage Port, and there's also this fantastic half-bottle of Jameson’s Redbreast 12-year-old Irish whiskey - a lovely old bottle from the 1950s. There’s no size or strength stated on the label, but it’s approximately equivalent to a modern half-bottle size (37.5cl / 375ml). This bottle dates from when the Redbreast brand was exclusive to W & A Gilbey (better known nowadays for their gin) so it will contain 100% pot still whiskey from Jameson’s original Bow Street Distillery in Dublin, and is one of the most exciting bottles of Irish whiskey we’ve had this year.

Back in Scotland, and this month’s Macallans include a string of recent Macallan 18-year-old sherry cask releases (and an old one from the 1978 vintage), plus popular high end limited editions like Macallan Oscuro, Macallan Reflexion and the Macallan Rare Cask and Rare Cask Black editions. There’s also the 2018 release of Macallan 25-year-old Sherry and Macallan Enigma, a 100% sherry-matured travel retail edition released at the higher strength of 44.9% in 2017. 

Over on Islay, meanwhile, there’s some classic 1990s bottlings including Bowmore 1969 25-year-old, an old tall bottle Bruichladdich 21-year-old, the legendary white label Lagavulin 12-year-old White Horse from the 1970s and a pair of old school Laphroaig 15-year-olds bottled at either end of the 1990s.

We’ve also got famous bottlings like Ardbeg 17-year-old, Ardbeg 1977 and the Ardbeg 1990 Airigh nam Beist from 2007, plus a bottle of the recently-revived Ardbeg 25-year-old - this is the 2021 edition, so the whisky inside still pre-dates the Glenmorangie era and is likely comprised of the famously delicious spirit made at Ardbeg by Laphroaig workers during the distillery’s precarious pre-takeover period in the early to mid 1990s.

Miscellaneous official bottlings this month run the gamut from budget gems like Aberlour a’bunadh Batch 22 from 2007, through ancient blends like the Buchanan’s Black & White bottled in 1939, to lofty prestige editions such as Old Pulteney 1983 33-year-old, the delicious An Cnoc 1975 30-year-old and the glorious Balblair 1966 38-year-old bottled from refill sherry casks in 2004. 

Older OBs, meanwhile, include the magnificent Knockando 1968 Extra Old Reserve bottled in 1992, a mesmerising Glengoyne 1971 25-year-old bottled in 1996, a pair of Teaninich Rare Malt bottlings from the 1972 and 1973 vintages bottled in the mid-1990s, and the fantastic Special Release Talisker 25-year-old from 2007. The late 1960s Highland Park 12-year-old is an absolute show-stopper, though - an amazing old Magnus label edition in an unusual dark glass bottle. This was bottled at the old 75 UK proof (43%) and is so rare it doesn’t seem to have an entry on Whiskybase, so we expect fierce bidding on this gem.

Independent Bottlings

We’ve got some cracking Independent Bottlings for you this month. Gordon & MacPhail are, of course, very well represented - this month’s Connoisseurs Choice bottlings include one of the Elgin firm’s classic Rosebanks, distilled in 1990 and bottled in 2004, and some excellent 1990s Map Label editions of Caol Ila 1981, Craigellachie 1982 and Glenglassaugh 1983. Other great G&M bottlings from the 1990s include a rare Scapa 1979 and a very tempting old Glen Grant 21-year-old.

Older G&M bottlings in this month’s auction include a marvellous Glenlivet 15-year-old 100-Proof bottled in the 1970s, while more recent bottlings include some great everyday drinking Connoisseurs Choice bottlings of 1990s vintages from Glenallachie, Benrinnes, Caol Ila and Glen Elgin, and Macallan Speymalts from the 2003 and 2005 vintages. Best of all from G&M this month, though, are the Glen Grant 1956, a 51-year-old behemoth bottled under licence in 2008 from a pair of sister first fill sherry butts for what is now known as the Distillery Labels series, and the stunning black label Talisker 1957 100 Proof bottled in the 1970s. These glorious G&M sherried Taliskers from the ‘70s always deliver and the 100 proof versions are naturally the most highly sought after.

Miscellaneous indie bottlings in this month’s whisky auction include a 33-year-old Teaninich 1983 , a 15-year-old Bunnahabhain 2008 from First Editions and an old Glenlivet 1974 28-year-old bottled by Murray McDavid back in 2003 - this is a rare Cask Ends edition of this bottling, one of only 60 bottles released, and was signed by Jim McEwan himself.

Closed Distilleries

Once again, Gordon & MacPhail are flying the flag for Scotland’s Closed Distilleries in this month’s whisky auction. G&M highlights from lost malt whisky distilleries include Connoisseurs Choice bottlings of Glenugie 1966, Kinclaith 1967, Glen Albyn 1972, Mosstowie 1975 and Glenesk 1982 among many others. 

There’s also some great Gordon & MacPhail licensed bottlings (nowadays known as the Distillery Labels range) from other lost distilleries including Imperial 1979, Dallas Dhu 1982 and Inverleven 1984, and special editions including the famous St. Magdalene 1980 Centenary Reserve bottled in 1995 and a half-bottle of Port Ellen 1978 Cask Strength released in 1994.

Douglas Laing, meanwhile, have a full-size Port Ellen and it’s a belter - a Port Ellen 1982 18-year-old bottled in 2001 from a single sherry cask at 50%. This is one of several superb sherried Port Ellens released by Douglas Laing in the early years of this century, and they are all absolutely brilliant whiskies.

Over on Speyside, it’s a great month to be a Caperdonich fan, as we have some excellent examples from this cult lost distillery. Highlights include Caperdonich 1972 and Caperdonich 1968 by Duncan Taylor, a pair of single casks released in 2010, with the latter being a 41-year-old and one of only 64 bottles, and there’s also a more recent Caperdonich 1991, a 28-year-old bottled by Ian MacLeod for their Dun Bheagan series in 2019.

We’ll finish with Rosebank, and there are some beauties. Highlights include the magnificent Rosebank 1979 20-year-old Rare Malts edition released in 1999, and a later Chieftain’s Choice bottling from Ian Macleod - a sherry-finished Rosebank 1991 11-year-old released in 2002. Best of all, though, are Signatory Vintage’s incredible Rosebank 1967 25-year-old bottled back in 1993, and the legendary Rosebank 34-year-old bottled by George Strachan Ltd in Aberdeenshire. 

The Strachan 34-year-old Rosebank is a very famous whisky, the most celebrated of a handful of epic Rosebanks from this bottler, and was originally bottled in two versions at 70 UK proof (40%) and at 88 UK proof (50.3%). This higher strength 88 proof version of the 34-year-old was labelled, incorrectly, as a Highland malt and dates from the early part of the 1970s, so it must contain whisky distilled at the Lowlands’ greatest distillery in the late 1930s or very early ‘40s, and is a luxuriously fat, grassy whisky, with an unusual Highland-style minerality, lots of fruit and even a hint of smoke. This war-era Rosebank is an unforgettable dram.

Single Casks

We’ve got some really splendid single casks to show you, as ever. Officially-bottled single cask whiskies in this month’s online auction sale include a phenomenal Balblair 1965 43-year-old released at an impressive cask strength of 52.3% in 2008, and Arran 1995-2019 23-year-old, a great prestige bottling of one of the first single casks filled at the Lochranza distillery.

Sherry fans, meanwhile, will be keeping tabs on some splendid 1990s Glendronach single casks from vintages including 1990, 1992 and 1994, and we also have some Glenfarclas vintages including a 1994 Family Cask, plus private bottlings of Ben Nevis 2005 and various Springbank vintage single casks from the 1980s and 1990s.

Other great official single cask bottlings include a Balvenie 1994-2019 25-year-old Single Barrel and a pair of casks from newer Scottish distilleries: Arran 2006-2019, a private sherry hogshead cask bottled at 54.3%, and a ‘one of one’ bottle of Ardnamurchan 2016 5-year-old Paul Launois, originally bottled and sold in aid of The Ben charity. Going further afield, there’s even some amazing early single barrel American whiskeys in the form of Elijah Craig Single Barrel 1981 18-year-old and Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel 2-0516, both bottled way back around the turn of the millennium.

Indie single cask bottlings this month include a 16-year-old Rosebank 1991 bottled by Cadenhead’s in 2008, a 1989 Bunnahabhain 22-year-old bottled by the legendary Bladnoch Forum back in 2012, and several excellent Lagavulins from The Syndicate. We also have a 35-year-old Cameronbridge 1984 bottled by Artful Dodger, a 30-year-old Speyside 1991 from Douglas Laing’s XOP range and a pair of fantastic Macallans in the form of Macallan 1989 21-year-old by Mackillop’s Choice and a Macallan 1985 30-year-old bottled in 2015 by Hunter Laing, who also chip in with a 21-year-old Glen Garioch 1992.

That's it for this month's Whisky-Online Auction Highlights - check out the full sale list here, Good Luck, and Happy Bidding!


Leave a comment

Please note, comments must be approved before they are published

You are successfully subscribed.
You are successfully subscribed.