S otheby’s are delighted to offer the first opportunity to collect the iconic Black Bowmore Aston Martin DB5 at auction. For 48 Hours only this bottle will be open for online bidding which will close at 9am EST on Wednesday 10th February.
This rare expression is a high-concept marriage of British craftsmanship; the iconic and critically acclaimed Black Bowmore has long been an object of desire for whisky afficionados across the world, while the Aston Martin DB5 is the ultimate symbol of sophistication. Bowmore and Aston Martin have partnered to create just 27 bottles of this exceptional whisky innovatively presented in a handblown bottle created by Glasstorm that incorporates the DB5 piston into its design.
“This collaboration with Aston Martin has allowed us to once again showcase this iconic single malt in the most incredible way.”
The partnership between Bowmore Distillery and Aston Martin marks a watershed moment in cross-category collaboration. The two brands operate as captains of industry in their respective fields:
Bowmore Distillery founded in 1779 on the small Hebridean island of Islay off the west coast of Scotland. Over its 242 year existence it has established itself not only as the oldest, but also as as the most valuable Islay whisky when the distillery’s 54 year old expression, distilled in 1957, sold for £363,000 at Sotheby’s London in 2019.
Aston Martin was founded in 1913 and its cars have been renowned for both their performance and their style ever since. The company received its Royal Warrant in 1982 and went on to set its own auction record at Sotheby’s when in 2017 a DB1/1 sold at our Californian auction for $22.5m, making it the most valuable British car ever sold at auction.
Of all Aston Martin’s models, the DB5 reigns supreme as its most iconic, since its rise to stardom in the 1964 James Bond movie Goldfinger. The imagery of the late, great Scottish actor Sean Connery manning the wheel of the DB5 on the silver screen made this model a must-have for every British car collector and it was even dubbed “The Most Famous Car In The World”. The exact car used during the filming of this picture went on to sell at Sotheby’s in Monterey for $6,385,000 in 2019.
“1964 was important for both companies. When our team came together with Bowmore’s, we knew that we both had something incredible from 1964, so how were we going to capture that?”
For nearly 30 years, since the release of its First Edition in 1993, Black Bowmore has been synonymous with collectability and an icon in the rare whisky market. However, its legacy can also be traced back to 1964, the year Goldfinger was released. This was the year that Bowmore Distillery updated their Distillery on Islay, swapping out the coal fired stills for steam heating, and it was during this vintage that the Black Bowmore spirit was distilled. Bowmore’s new make distillate ran off the stills clear, but was then laid to mature in richly seasoned Walnut Brown Oloroso Sherry Butts from Williams & Humbert.
During its maturation, this whisky took on its distinctive dark color, from which it derives its name. Every Black Bowmore release can be defined by its fruity spirit that was typical of this mid-70s era at the distillery, with tropical notes of mango and fermented pineapple alongside dried tobacco and the unique smoke from Bowmore’s peat fired kiln.
The status of Black Bowmore as one of the greatest whiskies ever produced is fundamentally down to its quality and complexity. There can be no more fitting a tribute to this legend in the world of whisky than this special partnership with Aston Martin.
