Bowmore 1972 The Prestonfield 36 Year Old

Islay’s oldest working distillery, Bowmore was established in 1779 and is now regarded as one of the most popular malts not only on Islay, but in the whole of Scotland. The distillery was acquired by Stanley P. Morrison in 1963, ushering in an era of iconic single malts, including the legendary Black Bowmore, credited by many as the genesis of whisky collecting, bottled in 1993. The distillery was bought under the control Suntory the year after (they had been stakeholders since 1989), and it remains one of the most collectible brands in Scotch whisky today. Bowmore is one of the few remaining Scottish distilleries to use its own floor maltings, providing them with 40% of their requirements. The unique microclimate in their iconic No.1 vaults shares very little with the angels, meaning casks are readily available for independent labels like this, many of which are spectacular.

A 1972 vintage sherry butt matured 36 year old Bowmore. Drawn from single cask #3881.

Prior to founding Signatory Vintage, Andrew Symington was the Assistant Manager at Edinburgh's famous Prestonfield House Hotel. In his final years at the hotel, he had several sought after single malts bottled for them, proving to be the catalyst for establishing his own company in 1988. He later launched The Prestonfield Whisky Co as a secondary brand in order to capitalise on the renown of the hotel bottlings in the wider market. Like their Dun Eideann label, it also allowed them to grant exclusivity to different distributors. Many of these Prestonfield releases were bottled for La Maison du Whisky in Paris.