{"product_id":"balblair-1967-1989-bertie-cummings-private-cask-lot-id-0526-178","title":"Balblair 1967-1989 - Bertie Cummings Private Cask Lot Id: 0526-178","description":"\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cp\u003eBalblair 1967 - 1989. 22 Year Old. Private Cask owned by Bertie Cumming who owned the distillery from 1948 to 1970. 26 2\/3 Fl Ozs. Cask strength despite stating 70 Proof. No box. (The shake test and beading would confirm this is a higher ABV)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA remarkable bottling of Balblair 1967, drawn from a privately owned cask laid down by the distillery's owner, Bertie Cumming, for his family's personal use. Distilled in 1967 and bottled by hand in 1989 at its natural cask strength, this exceptionally scarce release represents whisky produced during the final years of Berties ownership of Balblair, before he sold the distillery to Hiram Walker in 1970.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe provenance of this cask was first documented when we acquired another bottle in 2016, consigned by Bertie Cumming's son-in-law, David. Although the cask had been laid down by Bertie, he sadly passed away before it was bottled, with David bottling the whisky in 1989. Following David's passing, two further bottles from the same cask were inherited by another member of the Cumming family and have now been consigned to our July 2026 auction, further supporting the documented history of this exceptional private bottling.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInterestingly, while the two recently consigned bottles retain their original labels showing a strength of 70 Proof, the example we auctioned in 2016 had this detail obscured. This was not unusual for bottlings of the period, where generic Balblair labels were often used and the exact bottling strength was of little importance for whisky intended solely for family consumption. You will also notice that the label states the volume as 26 2\/3 Fl. Ozs., despite the whisky being bottled in 1989, many years after the industry had adopted the metric centilitre format. This further illustrates that the labels were simply drawn from existing stock rather than specially printed for this private bottling.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUnlike Balblair's commercial releases, this whisky was never intended for the wider market. Instead, it remained in a single privately held cask for over two decades before being bottled by hand for family use. As a result, only a very small number of bottles were produced, with the vast majority almost certainly consumed over the intervening years, making surviving examples exceptionally rare.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMatured for approximately 22 years and believed to be bottled at its natural cask strength, this whisky is expected to display the rich, complex character for which 1960s Balblair has become renowned. Combining exceptional rarity with impeccable family provenance, it represents a unique opportunity to acquire a genuine piece of Balblair's history from the final years of the Cumming era.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e","brand":"Whisky-Online Auctions","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":58489943753085,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Balblair 1967-1989 - Bertie Cummings Private Cask-Lot Id:0526-178","offer_id":58489943949693,"sku":"0526-178","price":1800.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0529\/0036\/4446\/files\/0526-178-1_393514a0-b1b6-48ec-b43c-5119b1fa5c6c.jpg?v=1785961479","url":"https:\/\/whisky-onlineauctions.com\/products\/balblair-1967-1989-bertie-cummings-private-cask-lot-id-0526-178","provider":"Whisky-Online Auctions","version":"1.0","type":"link"}