Whisk(e)y, rum, cognac, Armagnac, Calvados and Chartreuse are the most common spirits categories found at Fine Spirits Auction.
After grains, sugar cane, grapes, apples, pears and plants, a few bottles from Del Maguey now offer us a chance to discover a new category of spirit—mezcal—champion of the agave:
- Del Maguey Wild Tepeztate
- Del Maguey San Jose Rio Minas
- Del Maguey San Pedro Taviche
- Del Maguey Santo Domingo Albarradas
Produced according to artisanal methods and sourced from very small plots of different varieties of agave managed by families in remote villages, these bottlings are “short fills” (75 cl bottles filled to 70 cl) to comply with Mexican legislation.
For whisky, and Japanese whisky in particular, this edition sees the Chichibu distillery offer the lion’s share, with a wide selection of limited editions ideal for building a collection. Ireland and the United States have also become regulars in our auctions, following the same trend seen in Scotch whisky, with a clever mix of modern and traditional versions, such as Kentucky Vintage 1976, Johnnie Drum 15 Years, Bushmills, and Jameson 1780, 12 Years.
Scotland, however, remains the destination of choice with a vast range of malts, blends and blended malts available, led by the Bowmore and Macallan distilleries for single malts, and Chivas and Compass Box for blends. This selection also includes excellent examples of traditional-style malts imported to France in the 1980s and 1990s, including the very floral Auchentoshan, an unpeated and sherry-marked Bruichladdich, a Balvenie in a cognac-style bottle, Springbank, Longmorn and many more.
HIGHLIGHTS IN THIS EDITION
Karuizawa 1971 Number One Drinks Vintage Single Cask no. 6878 - bottled 2008: one of the very first vintages distributed in France by LMDW, in April 2008, from an allocation of 120 bottles for the territory. Note that this whisky was bottled at the Karuizawa distillery by Nakazato, the manager at the time. This is the first time this bottling has appeared at Fine Spirits Auction.
Karuizawa 1975 Number One Drinks Vintage Single Cask no. 6736 - bottled 2010 LMDW: a rare 1975 vintage from the Karuizawa distillery (only five casks are currently known to exist), selected by LMDW for Whisky Live 2010. A limited edition of 581 bottles for the world. An edition seen only once previously, in 2021.
Kentucky Vintage 1976 Of. Original Sour Mash: a rare vintage edition of this Bardstown bourbon
associated with the Willett family and the Heaven Hill
distillery. Like Johnny Drum, this brand was introduced in the early 1980s
by Auxil, one of the few independent companies in France, with a large
portfolio of niche brands. Auxil closed in the early 2000s and the brand disappeared from the market.
Willett 15 years Of. Barrel no. 2501 - One of 128 Rare Release: appearing in France
a few years ago, the Willett rye and bourbon brand quickly made a name for itself
and gained fans in the small community of American whiskey
collectors. This brand is as sought-after as Sazerac’s Antique Collection
and fetches similar prices. A single cask limited to 128 bottles.
SPECIAL BOWMORE
Two exceptional official bottlings from the Bowmore distillery bottled on behalf of two of Morrison Bowmore’s key trade accounts:
BOWMORE 22 YEARS 1965, THE PRESTONFIELD SHERRY WOOD CASK NO. 47
Prestonfield House: this prestigious Scottish hotel founded in Edinburgh in the 1960s created a range of whiskies named “The Prestonfield” available only from the hotel itself. This range is now hugely popular among collectors due to the incredible quality of the casks, Springbank 1967 and this Bowmore 1965 in particular. This label was later ceded to the independent bottler Signatory Vintage, who used it up until 2011 (Glen Scotia 1977 for LMDW). The range therefore includes both “official” bottlings (Springbank, Bowmore) and independent bottlings (Signatory Vintage).
BOWMORE 1969, BICENTENARY ONE OF 300 - BOTTLED 1979 FECCHIO & FRASSA IMPORT
Fecchio & Frassa Import: another very important client of Morrison Bowmore—which was independent at the time—was the Italian importer and distributor Fecchio & Frassa, in business from the 1970s up until the start of the 1980s. Although only a dozen editions were bottled for this distributor, any collector with one in their possession is considered a very serious player in the market. Some of the most sought-after editions include:
- Bowmore 1968 Cask#222 – available with three different stoppers, including the red screw cap.
- Bowmore 1969 20th Anniversary Edoardo Giaccones Whiskyteca – Casks 6634 to 6639.
This edition of Bowmore 1969 Bicentenary for the Italian market was launched at the same time as the worldwide introduction of the famous Bowmore Bicentenary 1779-1979 (black reproduction bottles) distributed in Italy by Fecchio & Frassa and Soffiantino, and in France by Auxil and SNPA.
For Whisky Live Paris 2022, thanks to the generous support of our partner brands, Fine Spirits Auction will be holding a one-off charity auction opening on 24 September featuring around fifteen exceptionally rare lots.
All profits from the sale will go to the GoodPlanet Foundation, dedicated to raising awareness of environmental issues through the support of two projects in particular: biodiversity preservation in the Saloum Delta of Senegal, and agroforestry development and biodiversity restoration in the Tarn, France.
We are delighted to be able to include four unique bottles of Chichibu in the auction, as well as the two original artworks illustrated on their labels by painter Aki Kuroda. Another Japanese whisky will also be included in this exceptional auction, Karuizawa Omoiyari, a limited edition of six bottles from Elixir Distillers, who designed the blend to fund charity projects.
Macallan has also answered the call with the New York Edition from the Distil Your World range. Barge 166, Maison Ferrand’s new floating cellar, has entrusted us with the sale of its first 30-litre cask, Cask No. 1, a Clarendon 2012 selected by Alexandre Gabriel.
You will also find bottles from Armorik, Artist Collective, Artist Strathisla, Blanton’s, Caroni, Christian Drouin, Hampden, Mars, Neisson, Plantation, Renegade, Vallein Tercinier, and Weller.
A huge thank you to all the brands who enabled us to bring you this extraordinary collection of bottles.
