BONHAMS RAISES SPIRITS WITH EXPANSION OF WHIKSY AUCTIONS IN SCOTLAND

PATRICIA BYOTT APPOINTED HEAD OF SPIRITS, SCOTLAND

 Patricia Byott appointed Head of Spirits, Scotland

London – Bonhams is expanding its presence in the global spirits market by reinforcing its spirits auctions in Scotland. To lead the department, Patricia Byott has been appointed Head of Spirits, Scotland. Patricia will be based in Bonhams Edinburgh saleroom in Melville Crescent.

Patricia Byott has more than a decade of experience with senior roles in Spirits and private client sectors, specialising in rare Scotch and global whisky markets. Patricia joins from Edrington, the international spirits company, where she was Head of Private Clients for The Macallan brand, based in Hong Kong. Her appointment reflects Bonhams’ commitment to investing in expertise to meet the increasing global demand for collectable spirits.

Earlier this year, Bonhams also appointed Jamie Connor as a Whisky Specialist in the Edinburgh saleroom. Formerly at The Whisky Exchange, Jamie studied at the University of Aberdeen and began his career in Marketing and Communications before following his true passion, whisky.

These strategic reinforcements come as Bonhams is in the process of securing a full Scottish licence to operate independently and a dedicated warehouse space within LCB in Glasgow – further anchoring its spirits activities in Scotland, the home of whisky. As part of a broader reorganisation, Bonhams will now operate its European spirits sales from Scotland, consolidating its expertise and infrastructure in the region. Bonhams is the only Global auction house holding spirits sales in Edinburgh.

The Scotland team is also working on a programme of new partnerships to be announced in the coming months.

May Matthews, Managing Director of Bonhams Scotland, said: “Scotland is the natural home for our spirits business, and this move marks a transformative moment. With Patricia at the helm, a bonded warehouse in Glasgow, and new partnerships underway, we’re putting the right people and structures in place to better serve our global clients from the heart of whisky country.”

Amayès Aouli, Bonhams’ Global Head of Wine & Spirits comments: “With the global expansion of Bonhams Wine and Spirits department, this strategic move is designed to provide a set of state-of-the-art services to our clients. Bonhams has been pioneering the Spirits auction market and I could not be more delighted at our initiative to reinforce our Scotland operations. With Patricia and Jamie, I know our clients will be in excellent hands.”

NOTES FOR EDITORS

About The Bonhams Network

Bonhams is a global network of auction houses, with the largest number of international salerooms, offering the widest range of collecting categories and selling at all price points. Bonhams is recognised for its bespoke service, and a dedication to local market relationships, enhanced by a global platform. With 14 salerooms, Bonhams presents over 1,000 sales annually, across more than 60 specialist categories, including fine art, collectables, luxury, wine & spirits, and collector cars.

Founded in 1793, Bonhams has representatives in more than 30 countries and operates flagship salerooms in London, New York, Paris, Los Angeles, and Hong Kong. In 2022, Bonhams added four international auction houses to its network: Bukowskis, Stockholm; Bruun Rasmussen, Copenhagen; Cornette de Saint Cyr, Paris and Brussels; and Skinner, Massachusetts. The success of Bonhams’ global strategy is a result of recognising the shift in growing intercontinental buying and increased digital engagement.

More information and highlights can be found HERE

For a full list of forthcoming auctions, plus details of Bonhams specialist departments, please visit bonhams.com

PRAKAAN: THE TRIBURA SERIES

Prakaan is Thailand’s first single malt whisky, bringing together the vibrant culture of its home and the global traditions of whisky making. Prakaan is based in Kamphaeng Phet in northern Thailand, and its name means ‘fort’ in Thai – commemorating the defensive wall that once surrounded its town. The first UK releases are all part of The Tribura series, three whiskies paying tribute to the three layers of that wall. They are exclusive to The Whisky Exchange in the UK. Thailand’s first single malt whisky. The brand gets its name from the Thai word for ‘fort’ and commemorates the defensive wall that once surrounded its town.

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We’re honored to share that Courage & Conviction Signature Malt has won Best Whisky and Best in Show at the First Landing Cup—a blind-judged competition celebrating the best spirits made in Virginia.

Raise a glass to Virginia’s finest!

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Bladnoch releases Wave II: Distillery & Spirit –  second instalment in collection showcasing five pillars of whisky making

Bladnoch, Scotland’s oldest privately-owned Scotch whisky distillery has unveiled Wave II: Distillery & Spirit single malt whisky, the second release in The Wave Master Distiller’s Collection.

The Wave is a five-part limited-edition series which walks through the marrying process of whiskies on a journey, that reveals the five whisky making pillars used by Bladnoch master distiller, Dr Nick Savage.

To create The Wave, Dr Nick Savage selected five Amontillado sherry tuns to be filled with whiskies from various combinations of cask types to marry together from the distillery’s 208-year-old bluestone warehouses for annual release. Each year the cask types will be revealed and depict another pillar of Bladnoch whisky making. The remaining whisky will be decanted into the following year’s tun, creating a common thread and a wave effect throughout the series, with the fifth and final release featuring components of the full collection.

Wave II: Distillery & Spirit shines a spotlight on Bladnoch’s Lowland distillery and spirit character. It has been carefully crafted through marrying a combination of re-charred butts and barrels with first-fill ex-bourbon barrels in the second Amontillado sherry tun, a process which champions the fruity, floral distillery character Bladnoch is renowned for.

Dr Nick Savage, Master Distiller at Bladnoch Distillery, said: “All Bladnoch whiskies start their life with the same exceptional Lowland spirit from our stills, which gives us the common thread throughout our single malts. We can use various cask types to mature out different flavours, but everything has the same beginning. Bladnoch is known as ‘Queen of the Lowlands’ and ensuring we distil a truly consistent Lowland style, encompassing fruity pear drops and floral, freshly cut grass, is the essential starting point for our whiskies and provides the identity of our bold Galloway spirit.

“Through The Wave Collection we aim to take people on the unique journey of our whisky over time. Each cask takes notes from the other, building year on year and Wave II: Distillery & Spirit brings to life how important it is to have a robust distillery style. It highlights our floral, fruity character and our Lowland style and how it pieces together with all our other pillars of whisky making to drive our innovative taste-first approach.”

Bottled at 57% ABV, non-chill filtered and natural in colour, Wave II: Distillery & Spirit is characterised by pear drops, pineapples and ginger. On the nose it opens with aromas of pear drops and summer barley, while there are flavours of baked pineapples with ginger snaps on the palate and the finish is floral and fresh yet spiced.

The launch of Wave II: Distillery & Spirit follows the release of Wave I: Time & Maturation in June 2024 which epitomised Bladnoch’s method of selecting casks at the peak time in their maturation process to ensure optimal flavours in the whisky.

In line with Wave I, Wave II is limited to 1,817 bottles in tribute to the year the distillery was founded. It has an RRSP of £125 and is exclusively available to purchase at Bladnoch Distillery or via bladnoch.com where it can be shipped to more than 30 countries around the world.

To mark the new release, Bladnoch hosted Wave Day on Saturday 14 June 2025. Taking place at the distillery, the one-day festival celebrated Bladnoch’s bold Galloway spirit and the history and heritage of the distillery. It was the first opportunity for whisky enthusiasts from across the globe to sample and purchase Wave II.

Dating back to 1817, Bladnoch Distillery is one of the oldest single malt Scotch whisky producers in the world and is enjoying a bold and powerful revival. The legacy brand has been revived in recent years by David Prior, who purchased Bladnoch Distillery in 2015 and is the first Australian businessman to own a Scotch whisky distillery.

Bladnoch Wave II: Distillery & Spirit Tasting notes  

Pear drops, pineapples, ginger

Nose: Pear drops with summer barley

Palate: Baked pineapples with ginger snaps

Finish: Floral. Fresh yet spiced

About Bladnoch Distillery

Bladnoch Distillery was established in 1817, making it the oldest privately owned Scotch whisky distillery in the world. As the southernmost distillery in Scotland, Bladnoch is commonly referred to as the ‘Queen of the Lowlands.’

Hand-crafted using malt from British growers and the pristine water from the River Bladnoch which flows alongside the distillery, Bladnoch single malts are non-chill filtered to ensure the truest flavours shine through.

This legacy brand has been revived in recent years by Master Distiller, Dr Nick Savage, formerly of The Macallan, and owner David Prior, who purchased Bladnoch Distillery in 2015 and is the first Australian businessman to own a Scotch whisky distillery.

Bladnoch has been commended with several high-profile award wins in recent years, most recently at the World Whiskies Awards 2025, where Bladnoch 16 Year Old was awarded gold in the ‘Single Malt – 13 to 20 Years’ category and Bladnoch 13 Year Old taking silver in the same division. In the San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2025 Bladnoch was awarded a trio of prestigious awards, receiving double gold medals for each of its Vinaya, Samsara and 13 Year Old Lowland single malt whiskies.

The team at Bladnoch is truly passionate about the preservation of the environment and the local community’s generational involvement in this iconic distillery.

4個のジャパニーズウイスキー蒸留所がモルトストック2025に参戦

As spring is progressing and we slide into summer, so is our program. And we have some exciting and relaxed news for you! Maltstock 2025 will feature a relaxed small wave of 4 Japanese distilleries and an independent bottler! This is very relaxed, but very special too as you would be hard pressed to find a better opportunity to get to know these wonderful companies, their people and their spirits. Scroll down quickly to find out more about our relaxed Japanese guests this year! (for our Japanese readers… we hope Google translate hasn’t slaughtered the translation of the title…)

Annette, Bob, Klaas, Stan and Teun

Japanese Whisky companies @ Maltstock

Wakatsuru Saburomaru Distillery

Saburomaru distillery is situated in Tonami City and renowned for its regional approach to making small batched of highly regarded whiskies. We will be joined by Takahiko Inagaki and Natsuyo Ueda who will tell us all about this distillery and their Zemon stills during the Friday evening masterclass, which is shared with Kameda distillery. Saborumaru will also be featured in Drinks with sessions.

Niigata Kameda Distillery

Established in March 2019, Kameda distillery doen’t follow tradition, but is all about innovation! Modern distilling with sustainability in mind and focussed on making great spirits… We are so curious to hear their story. You can too as Hiroyuki Doda will feature in the shared Masterclass with Saburomaru and Drinks with… sessions!

Ontake Distillery

Kagoshima City in Kagoshima prefecture is the place of origin for Ontake whisky. It was established in 2019 and produces whisky predominantly for private cask owners. So, enter the world of very exclusive spirits! Yasuaki Shirani (Yasu) from Japan Craft Spirits will be present to tell us all about it at his Drinks with… sessions!

Chichibu Distillery

Already announced, but we cannot not write about Chichibu (and Yumi) in this context! We are so stoked to be able to announce that long-time Maltstock guest and fan Yumi Yoshikawa will be with us once again. Come and meet her, share a dram and attend her relaxed Drinks with sessions!

T&T Toyama Independent bottlers

T&T Toyama is Japan’s first independent bottler focussing on Japanese distillers, seeking out great whiskies and bottling them for the demanding Japanese connaisseurs! Be among the first in Europe to savour their whiskies and get acquainted with the story of this young and daring company as told by Koumei Shimono and Takahiko Inagaki.

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4個のジャパニーズウイスキー蒸留所がモルトストック2025に参戦

A limited number of whisky casks are now available for private ownership at Kingsbarns Distillery — a rare opportunity to become part of our story and lay down your own spirit for the future. In this edition of the Doocot Times, we will be covering maturation, storage and keeping up to date with your cask.

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