One Time Bottling: A Bourbon Find
Old Grand-Dad 16 Year Old Kentucky Straight
Bourbon Whiskey (750ml) ($199.99)
”It’s wild character and unique profile make it an interesting bottle for any whiskey lover.”
— David Othenin-Girard, K&L Spirits Buyer

This high-rye homage is a one-time bottling from the folks at Jim Beam. Inspired by the original whiskey first bottled in 1882, this limited-release expression from the iconic Old Grand-Dad brand is one we’re thrilled to promote. The unforgettable name comes from Basil Hayden’s grandson, who named this high-rye bourbon in honor of his own grandfather—revered for pioneering the bold, spicy mash bill that continues to define Old Grand-Dad today. This limited-release collectible is a great addition to your bar and a delight in your glass.

Old Grand-Dad 16 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey (750ml) ($199.99)

David Othenin-Girard | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: January 05, 2025

The bourbon world seems to have a love hate relationship with the OGD brand. The fabulous high rye bourbon was sold to Fortune Brands in 1987 which eventually became modern day Jim Beam. The National Distillers apparatus formed out of the American Medicinal Distillers Spirits Corp, but the Hayden family had been renowned distillers in KY as far back as the late 1700s when Meredith Basil Hayden Sr, when he led a party of settlers to Bardstown in 1785. At the time of the sale, National Distillers controlled over 200 brands including Old Crow, Old Taylor, and Old Overholt. It had plants in Frankfort, Louisville, and Cincinnati. Today, Jim Beam’s highest rye bourbon (63% corn, 27% rye, 10% malt) is produced at the Clermont distillery outside of Bardstown, but the company has taken strides to ensure the character and quality remain the same. They’ve retained the old yeast, they distill and fill barrels at lower proof than standard Beam mashbills and they bottle the core expression in bond. That said, they haven’t done much with any of “the Olds” aside from selling Old Taylor to Sazerac Co. Instead focusing on their own creation, Basil Hayden Bourbon. Yet by many consumers palates, the OGD 114 famously remains one of the best values in bourbon today. That all changed in the last couple of years, when rumors began to swirl about new expressions and a new interest in the brands from Suntory’s Global Marketing team. First we got the 10 year Overholt and now this product, a very old expression of the high rye mashbill bottled at 100 proof. It’s an exciting development for the brand, which I hope will mean future expansion of its offerings, but let’s give it a go.

The color is a deep tawny (1.4). The nose is an immediate hit of dense baking spice -clove and nutmeg- followed by Seville orange peel and dense old oak. It’s clear that the high rye bourbon can stand up to the wood this long, as the spice holds up to the tannins. With air, we get more chocolate, some vanilla and hints of caramel candies. It’s not a big sweet nutty guy you might expect from Beam. In fact, it’s some of the least Beam like Beam that’s come across my desk. The palate is a completely unusual and intriguing thing. Big old wood notes, give it a very antique vibe -herbal, dusty, grassy, complex and out of the norm. As it aerates, the varnish-y old school vibe relents somewhat offering dried stone fruit, hints of cacao, underbrush and muscovado sugar. The finish is medium with the spice dominating as it closes. It’s a real roller coasted and a beautiful addition to the Beam pantheon, although it seems unlikely that they’ll be able to release this on a regular basis considering how little production is dedicated to this mashbill. My only complaint would be would have loved to see it at 114 proof, simply for continuities sake and perhaps that would add some texture to the finish, but it’s still exciting to see where this famous whiskey goes after so many years in barrel. This is one that might really speak to the geeks, but it’s wild character and unique profile make it an interesting bottle for any whiskey lover.

Email: wine@klwines.com
Phone: (877) KL-WINES (Toll Free 877.559.4637)
K&L Wine Merchants 3005 El Camino Real Redwood City, CA 94061 USA
San Francisco, Redwood City, Hollywood CA

Our first collection schedule of 2025 has now been finalised. Please click HERE to see the list of dates, locations and to register your interest in the collection service. We can collect lots for up to three auctions.

The deadline for collection requests is 12noon on Monday 13th January 2025.

Home collections are available for those customers sending 10+ bottles or bottles to the value of £1000. Lots can be split over the next three auctions.  Unfortunately this service is not available in London or to those customer who live within 10 miles of a collection point. Although we do have four collection points in London.

Collections are limited and offered on a first come first served basis. It is essential that a submission sheet is completed, you can find the link to do so under the selling section on your ‘My SWA’ page.

It would be appreciated if bottles could be packed for uplift with your name clearly marked on the front of the box. A winner in our auction? We are now offering a delivery service to customers who are dropping bottles off for a future auction. This service is charged at £12 (inc VAT), optional loss and breakage cover is available.

Submission Form

Tamdhu 12 Year Old

Pour yourself a dram of our 12-year-old expression and you’ll appreciate why they mature their spirit entirely in the finest sherry oak casks. The luxury box reveals the stylish bottle, allowing the natural amber spirit to shine from within. You’ll taste the intense richness on the palate and enjoy the deep, long finish it delivers. So sit back and savour.

£49.90

Nose: Rich and enticing, iced cinnamon rolls, orange boiled sweets, fresh sweet oak with raisins and the faint hint of mint.

Palate: Silky texture that coats the mouth with banana, berry jam, malt biscuit and classic sherry oak depth.

Finish: Pleasantly long and balanced with ground spice, dried fruit and soft Scottish tablet – finally unveiling the merest wisp of peat smoke.

TyndrumWhisky.com
The Green Welly Stop
Tyndrumwhisky, Tyndrum
Crianlarich, Perthshire FK20 8RY
United Kingdom

Whether it’s a dramming session with friends or planning a big distillery road trip in the months ahead, whisky adventures come in all shapes and sizes. While some of you love the colder temperatures and warming up at the end of the day with a dram by the fire, others are ready to hunker down and wait for warmer weather.

However you might feel, we can all agree that winter is THE time to explore whisky at a more leisurely pace and embrace the adventures that the great indoors can offer. What adventures, you might ask? Click through for some ideas and keep scrolling for the drams. Your January Outturn lands this (TODAY) Friday, 10 January at 9am GMT.

READ NEW OUTTURN

VIEW ALL THE BOTTLES

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, The Vaults, 87 Giles Street, Leith EH6 6BZ

Contact: sales@smws.com or call 0131 555 2929 (Mon-Fri 9am-4.45pm). Visit the Society at here for membership information

This is your chance to join and to take advantage of their great offers!

Spot the SMWS bottles in this amusing You Tube video

ralfy review 1060 – Arran 10yo @46%vol: (Whisky For The Year 2025)

The 163rd auction is now well underway, but there is still plenty of time to get involved.  From our experience the auction usually ends sometime after 10pm on Sunday night, leaving you ample time to secure that bottle you have your eye on.  We have some really interesting bottles in this month, so here are a few you might have missed.

Dalmore 1966 40 Year Old 75cl

First up is an absolute belter from a distillery which has grown its profitable reputation in the secondary market in recent years, this is the Dalmore 1966 40 Year Old 75cl.  Produced under the watchful eye of Scotch whisky stalwart Richard Paterson this tremendously well-aged expression was distilled way back in 1966 and has spent four decades ageing to perfection.  Smooth and rich this really is dram to behold.

American Single Casks

We’ve been lucky enough to be exclusively selling the first batch of releases from a new American indpendent bottler, American Single Cask, over the last few auctions.  With all six bottlings now released we have three of each available in the auction this month.  These are some really interesting single cask drams from some lesser known US distilleries, and have been highly rated within the industry.

Bowmore Black 1964 42 Year Old 

A midweek highlight reel wouldn’t be complete without something special from Islay and this Bowmore Black 1964 42 Year Old most certainly fits the bill.  First of the fabled Trilogy of the 1964 Bowmores this Black Bowmore was distilled on the 5^th November 1964 and matured within five Oloroso sherry casks. After slumbering patiently for fourty two years 827 bottles of this marvelous liquid were finally released in 2007.  A favourite with collectors this brilliant Bowmore is certain to turn some heads this month.

Nikka Taketsuru 35 Year Old 75cl

Finally we have a Japanese whisky with some distinctively Scottish roots, the Nikka Taketsuru 35 Year Old 75cl.  Arguably the “grandfather” of Japanese whisky, Masataka Taketsuru learned his trade studying Organic Chemistry at The University of Glasgow in 1918, before apprenticing at Longmorn, and laterally Hazelburn distilleries.  This beauty contains some of the oldest whisky from Yoichi and Miayagikyo stock and was originally only for the Japanese market.As always, we have a wide range of drams with something to suit everyone, so now is the time to get moving picking out your own personal favourites for your watchlist.  We’ve also made some amendments to our terms and conditions which can be viewed here.  Best of luck to everyone in the auction, and as always………..don’t lose your bottle.Thinking of selling your bottles? 

We still offer 0% commission to all sellers making Scotch Whisky Auctions the best place to sell bottles.

For all relevant information just click here.

Double Barrel

Blended Malt Scotch Whisky

Double Barrel is a marriage of two very different Single Malts, skilfully selected and carefully combined to create a beautiful balance of very different flavours. Every sip brings you a thrilling combination of polar opposites: sweetness and smoke, honey and heat, citrus and spice.

Double Barrel Islay and Highland: A marriage of sweetly smoked notes, well-fired toast, honey, and a lingering finish with charred nuts and marzipan sweetness. This Double Barrel marriage of Islay and Highland Whiskies offers a nose with a sweetly smoked character, developing to well fired toast and honey. The palate carries notes of smoke and ashes, balanced with a sweet Malt character. The finish lingers long with charred nuts and a marzipan sweetness

Double Barrel Speyside and Lowland: A fresh, fragrant nose with a fruity quality, honey, and vanilla on the palate, and a soft spiced finish with a hint of orange zest. Perfect for exploring Scotland’s diverse whisky regions! This Double Barrel marriage of Speyside and Lowland Whiskies offers a nose that is fragrantly fresh, carrying a fruity quality plus a sweet gristy character. Enjoy a sweet palate that remains fruity with both honey and vanilla. The finish is softly spiced with an orange zest kick.

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Blanton’s Gold Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon (700ml)(European Import) $195.00 View

The rare Blanton’s Gold has become beloved by connoisseurs and collectors world wide. The ultimate single barrel bourbon and founder of the category, Blanton’s has become one of the most asked for and hardest to obtain bourbons on the market today. We’ve found some limited stocks of European-bound product that would otherwise have not been available. The famous “Gold” Blanton’s is so named for its unique golden horse and golden writing. Bottled at a perfect 103 proof, the Blanton’s Gold ups the complexity considerably from the standard release without the heat that the Straight From the Barrel offers. This is the perfect whiskey to offer nearly any bourbon lover if you’re looking for a special bottle that they’ve never had. It’s a true Kentucky benchmark and should be considered one of the truly great whiskies on the market today.

Blanton’s Straight From The Barrel Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon (700ml)(European Import) $195.00 View

While we’re committed to offering rare bourbon at standard mark up, we’re also not blind to the fact that the market is on fire for these special products. While our competitors charge north of $150 for the standard expression of Blanton’s, we’re still only asking $55. That’s while it can feel so hard to get some of these rare bourbons at K&L. So when the opportunity came up to purchase these re-imported stocks, I insisted that we do so in a fair an equitable way. Of course we could charge $400 a bottle for this special bourbon and likely still sell most of it, but it just goes against my ethos of what a great wine and spirits store should be for their customers. So while these stocks are above standard price for this US version of this product, they’re being offered at our standard mark up, well below market price. It’s a small price to pay for access to these special stocks, especially when considering what the market seems to be comfortable charging for the standard release. In any case, this is dang good bourbon and never disappoints. Like all Blanton’s it’s aged in the famous warehouse H and is the high rye mashbill. This bottle is drawn from barrel No. 397, which was dumped on February 7th of 2022 and bottled at 63.05%. Your bottle will almost certainly be different, so please be aware of the unique character of each barrel. The nose is absolutely explosive with rich aromas of caramel sauce, orange peel, Tahitian vanilla, cherry compote and vibrant woody spice. The palate starts extremely sweet and creamy before the rye and barrel spice begin to wallop the mid-palate. The intense spice and old school woody character balances the heavy woody sugars perfectly and while exhibiting plenty of the Kentucky Hug that bourbon lovers enjoy, it doesn’t feel burn-y or ethanol like at all. The long chewy palate gives way to a rich oxidative finish full of nutty sweet chocolate and dried red fruits. A few drops of water add more fruit and tame the spice a bit, but I like this best right out of the bottle. There’s no question that the price of entry on this one is high, but if you’re prepared to spend this kind of dough on any other modern bourbon this should be a contender for top dog!

Email: wine@klwines.com
Phone: (877) KL-WINES (Toll Free 877.559.4637)
K&L Wine Merchants 3005 El Camino Real Redwood City, CA 94061 USA
San Francisco, Redwood City, Hollywood CA

Berry’s 12 Year Old Sherry Cask Matured Single Malt Whisky

Distilled in Speyside, a small region in the middle of Scotland famous for its whisky production. The spirit was selected for its cereal and fruity style, making it the perfect match for long maturation in the finest oloroso sherry butts delivering a delicate balance of sweetness and spice.

£44.90

This full, deep, and brooding whisky possesses a wonderfully rich texture, each sip offering a well-balanced and heartwarming experience that captivates the senses. Aromas of sun-dried fruits meld with baking spices. The palate is an exploration of richness, layers of spiced fruit cake and honey toast, hints of brown sugar, orange & dark chocolate add complexity on the finish.

TyndrumWhisky.com
The Green Welly Stop
Tyndrumwhisky, Tyndrum
Crianlarich, Perthshire FK20 8RY
United Kingdom

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