James Martin’s De Luxe 12 Years Old – Vintage Italian Import – 75cl – 43%

A beautifully preserved piece of James Martin’s history from the golden age of blended Scotch whisky. This vintage James Martin’s De Luxe 12 Years Old is an early Italian-market bottling from the historic Scotch whisky house of James Martin & Co. of Leith, Scotland, a name whose heritage dates back to the 19th century. Aged for a minimum of 12 years, this classic Blended Scotch Whisky was bottled at 43% ABV in the traditional 75cl format and retains the unmistakable presentation associated with James Martin’s historic exports to continental Europe. Of particular interest to collectors is the surviving Italian fiscal/state strip across the original closure, providing important evidence of the bottle’s period Italian distribution. The front label identifies Distillerie Riunite di Liquori S.p.A., Solaro (Milano) as the Italian importer and distributor. The bottle also retains its distinctive period gold capsule carrying the historic “Quality No. 1 – Leith” marking, while the large shield-shaped cream label displays the classic James Martin’s De Luxe typography and prominent 12 Years Old age statement. The bottle shows natural signs of considerable age, particularly to the fiscal strip, capsule and label. Importantly, the bottle appears unopened and the liquid level remains very good for a whisky of this age. Please refer carefully to the photographs for the precise condition of the bottle, closure, fiscal strip, labels and fill level. Vintage James Martin’s bottlings are increasingly interesting pieces of Scotch whisky history, representing an earlier era when mature age-statement blended Scotch was exported extensively to important European markets such as Italy. This surviving 75cl Italian-market James Martin’s 12 Years Old, complete with its period closure and fiscal strip, represents an attractive opportunity for collectors of vintage Scotch whisky and historic Italian-import spirits.