“Cask 102095 was one of a handful of Ladyburn 1966 Sherry Butts that stood out, exemplifying the character of the lost distillery while possessing the typical profile of a single malt aged for over 50 years in Sherry Butts. It is an unseen gem, perfect for The Distillers One of One.” - Brian Kinsman, Malt Master of Glenfiddich

Ladyburn. David Bailey. John Lennon.

The coming together of these three icons has wrought within it a singular unrepeatable snapshot of the 1960s.

The 1960s was a time of enormous change.

The Scotch whisky industry experienced huge structural upheaval. Ladyburn distillery was declared a remarkable technological advance when it opened, but within a decade it had closed. This was a thrilling decade when times were changing culturally, with progressive art in all its forms taking centre stage.

David Bailey was, arguably, the most famous photographer of the decade and was best known for his stunning photographs of celebrities and fashion. The publication in 1965 of his Box of Pin-Ups, was a very bold move for a photographer at that time. This loose portfolio of 36 portraits, which includes the iconic portrait of John Lennon featuring on the front label of this unique Ladyburn bottling, is now regarded as a celebration of this era and of some of its most defining protagonists.

The iconic image of John Lennon adorning the bottle has been selected and signed by David Bailey. It was shot by the photographer in 1965.

Bailey photographs the people who seem glamorous to him. Some of them happen to be famous whilst others operate behind the scenes – film producers, art directors, advertising executives, designers, photographers, nightclub owners.

Most of his early subjects belong to the world of fashion, pop music and the cultural trends that came to define an era. Bailey did not choose them to represent a social set – he chose them because they shared, to his mind, a quality he associated with his idol, Fred Astaire – something of the throwaway elegance.

Glamour dates fast, and it is its ephemeral nature which both attracted Bailey and challenged him.

He tried to capture it on the wing, and the thirty-six photographs included in the Box of Pin-Ups make a statement not only about the man who took them, but also about London life in 1965. Of these, Lennon’s shot is arguably regarded as one of the most emblematic.

This singular expression of Ladyburn Cask 102095 was distilled and filled into a Sherry Butt in 1966. This cask stood out, exemplifying the character of the lost distillery while possessing the typical profile of a single malt aged for over 50 years in Sherry Butts.

The taste is characterized by a very intense wood and oak tannin, dried tobacco leaf and dark spices. The flavours evolve and develop over time with whispers of citrus, dried apricots, and juicy sultanas.

It is an unseen gem, perfect for The Distillers One of One.

Ladyburn Distillery

Ladyburn distillery is a ‘lost gem’ of the whisky world. A marvel of industrial design when it opened in 1966, the Girvan-located Ladyburn Distillery was only in operation for nine years before it made the decision to close in 1975. It is the shortest-lived distillery in history, yet it spanned two decades that changed the future of Scotch Whisky.

This decade was marked by a wave of radicalism and shape-shifting concepts that changed the social and political landscape. The era also marked the inflection point from the traditional approach to Single Malt to the modern industry; heavy European oak influence in the 1960s to a more refined and elegant American oak influence from the1970s, signaling a change in mood and liquid.

Ladyburn was dismantled in 1976 – with no traces of this lost gem remaining outside a very few precious casks maturing on the original site in Girvan, Scotland. The oldest Lowland whisky available on the market, Ladyburn has unique, finite, and rare parcels of whiskies marking an extraordinary moment in the history of Scotch. Of its 9 years of production, less than 200 casks remain.

William Grant & Sons

William Grant & Sons, Ltd. is an independent family-owned distiller headquartered in the United Kingdom and founded by William Grant in 1887. Today, the luxury spirits company is run by the fifth generation of his family and distills some of the world’s leading brands of Scotch whisky, including the world’s favourite single malt Glenfiddich®, The Balvenie® range of handcrafted single malts, ghost distillery Ladyburn and the world’s third largest blended Scotch Grant’s® as well as other iconic spirits brands such as Hendrick’s® Gin, Sailor Jerry®, Tullamore D.E.W Irish Whiskey, Monkey Shoulder and Drambuie.

William Grant & Sons’ rich legacy of giving back to its communities comes from the heart and over generations – it is integral to the way it does business. Building on a long tradition of supporting community groups and charities through the William Grant Foundation, the distiller’s historic donation of three unique lots to the The Distillers One of One auction forms part of this philanthropic drive.