Coleburn 1983-1997 - 14 Year Old - Signatory Vintage - Single Cask 796 - Miniature

Coleburn whisky distillery was founded in Speyside in 1897 and was owned by Diageo forerunner Distillers Company Limited (DCL) from 1915 until it closed in 1985. Coleburn's malt was old-school Highland style and the distillery was instrumental in early experiments on effluent purification techniques. Coleburn distillery is now the HQ of warehousers and bottlers Aceo Ltd.

Almost all of Coleburn’s whisky was blended away, and very little has survived as single malt - the only official bottling was an outstanding 1979 vintage Rare Malts Edition released in 2000. Aceo released a blended Scotch whisky under the Coleburn name in 2018 but it’s unlikely to have Coleburn single malt in it. Coleburn independent bottlings are rare, but generally very high quality. Gordon & MacPhail are the only company to have bottled Coleburn single malt since 2011, so the last casks may soon be exhausted.

Signatory Vintage Whisky Company was founded by Andrew Symington in 1988 after a spell as assistant manager at the Prestonfield House Hotel, where he had the opportunity to buy a cask of Glenlivet 1968. A robust and canny businessman, Symington had soon acquired some outstanding parcels of casks from great distilleries, and quickly established a reputation among single malt fans for good value, high quality single casks, the majority of which were released at full strength.

Throughout the 1990s and beyond, Signatory released outstanding whisky from Ardbeg, Glenfarclas, Springbank and many more, with frequently remarkable examples of lost or obscure distilleries. Soon established as one of the leading new wave independent bottlers, Symington was also an early exponent of bottling whiskies without colouring or chill filtration, a policy that has also served Signatory well at their Edradour distillery, which was purchased in 2002.