The 127th Auction

The warmest of welcomes to our big New Year's Auction folks. It's been another crazy year for most and what better way to toast to the future than with some merry malts. This month we have plenty of fireworks in store for you to start the New Year off with a bang!

First in our line-up of interesting spirits we have two pints of Kentucky history. Produced in an era when alcohol was illegal for social consumption in the USA these ancient gems had to be marketed for “medicinal use only”. The I.W. Harper 1917 16 Year Old and the Old Ramshead 1916 are Prohibition-Era American bourbons whose age is matched only by their rarity. Bootleggers of the time would exploit these fine spirits to sell for profit in the black market, so get your tommy gun out and fight for the chance to purchase your own little piece of history.

Our next bottle is certainly a curiousity, and what better way to mark the passing of time than with a really (and I mean really) old whisky. The liquid inside this Berry Bros Old Scotch Whisky was purportedly 140 years old in the year 2000, meaning it was distilled circa 1860. To put that into perspective a little, Abraham Lincoln was elected that year as American President, Karl Marx had just published Das Kapital and Queen Victoria was a mere 23 years into her long 63 year reign. So if a taste of the nineteenth century is what you're after this is definitely the one for you.

Next up we have another firecracker in the Old Heaven Hill 21 Year Old. Heaven Hill was founded in 1935 and has a long history of producing the finest Kentucky spirits, eventually working their way up to being one of America's largest alcohol producers. This edition was made exclusively for the Japanese market and rarely shows up these days. As dark as it is old, and rich in flavour as well as history, don't let this beauty pass you by.

At this time of the year we think of how things have changed from times gone by and our final highlight encompasses 8 decades of quality Scottish distilling with a collection from arguably one of Speyside's finest distilleries. The Macallan Decades Sir Peter Blake Collection is perhaps one the rarest, and certainly one of the quirkiest, releases from this heavyweight distillery. Telling the story of 8 decades of art and culture in one beautiful package, it was designed by the legendary Sir Peter Blake and crafted to the highest of standards. This release is truly a piece of art in its own right.

From everyone here at SWA, we would like to thank you and wish you the Merriest of Christmases and Happiest of New Years. Have a toast to the future on us and as always ….

Don't lose your bottle!