The Encyclopedic Whisky Collection

The Encyclopaedic Collection comes to us from a single consignor, a true collector and connoisseur in every sense of each word. Having spent the past 20+ years meticulously amassing one of the greatest whisky collections the world has ever seen, our consignor has decided that now is the time to share his treasures with collectors across the globe, allowing access to some of the rarest bottlings in the world with perfect provenance, most of which were purchased directly from the distilleries on frequent trips to Scotland.

Few collections, if any, incorporate a more complete history of Scotland's greatest whiskies. A history that, at times, has been turbulent - marked by booms, gluts, resurgence and resilience. Through turmoil, prohibition and world wars, a once localised commodity held at grocery stores and created in nearby farms has grown to become one of the most iconic and collectible items in the world, shared with friends and families at some of the most memorable moments of our lives.

This journey could only be possible through a cautious balance of adaptability and steadfastness on behalf of both the producer and consumer. The great distilleries of the world prove capable of converting their triumphs into sustained success through adherence to an ethos – a set of standards passed down from one generation to the next – much in the same way that the great collectors of the world seek out these bottles, knowing they offer something that cannot be obtained elsewhere. For Macallan, their code can be neatly identified in six pillars; foundational stones, long seen as the blueprint for industry leaders, celebrated through a unique compilation carefully released over a decade. The Encyclopaedic Collection proudly features all six of these pillars as single bottle lots, ready to become the keystone of any prestigious whisky collection.

Further along the river Spey, and out into the river Fiddich, lies Dufftown, home to sister distilleries Glenfiddich and Balvenie. This region, the spiritual home of Scotch, was once described by Aeneas MacDonald to his readers by noting: "It would be no true-or, at least, no very discerning-lover of whisky who could enter this almost sacred zone without awe." Those words, written in 1930, very much resonate today as Speyside is revered as the heartland of whisky production. At the helm of the Balvenie, David C. Stewart helped define the house style through innovative and experimental cask finishes. To illustrate his journey and the transformation of Scotch whisky, the distillery released Chapter 1 of the DCS Compendium in 2015, with four more to come in ensuring years. All five chapters, containing 25 bottlings, spanning over five decades, are on offer in this sale.

As to be expected the selection goes on to include the very best of both American and Japanese whisky. The Pappy Van Winkle 25 Years Old is sourced from 11 barrels distilled in 1989 at the Stitzel-Weller distillery, which Julian Van Winkle III described as a "once in a lifetime offering". From the slopes of Mount Asama comes Karuizawa's 29 Years Old Aika Geisha Bourbon Cask, released in 2014 as the second phase of the Geisha series, and the first to be adorned with the now iconic mirror image labels. For one collector to possess the most prized whiskies of the world is, to say the least, encyclopedic.

An undeniable common thread linking the offerings in this sale is that these distilleries, and this consignor, have all resisted, and continue to resist, the temptation to compromise. Instead, they've doubled down on craftsmanship, and eye for the future, and staying true to their beliefs, knowing true excellence in whisky is measured by the depth of its flavour and the integrity of its liquid. In doing so, they create more than a whisky collection; they create a legacy.

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