This $85,000 Bowmore Whisky Uses an Aston Martin Piston for a Bottle

Sharp Staff February 25, 2021

Bowmore & Sharp

Bowmore Single Malt Scotch has seen a lot of milestones at its stunning waterfront distillery in Scotland’s remote Islay region, but the year 1964 stands out as a defining moment — not just for the distillery, but in the history of single malt whisky.

It takes time to handcraft a bottle with an actual piston from an Aston Martin melded into it —roughly a week for each of the 25 Black Bowmore DB5 1964 vessels. It’s well worth the wait, though, since each one of these stunning bottles tells the story of two legends that have perfected their craft by striking the ideal balance between preserving traditional methods and embracing progress. The year 1964 was a defining moment for both, since it was a turning point that marked the beginning of a bright new future, but one that was still deeply rooted in age-old practices of craft, patience, and taking your time.

1779

Hard to say exactly when the very first drop of whisky poured off the still in Bowmore, but the first mention of the distillery is in 1779, when it became the Isle of Islay’s first licensed distillery and the second to have a licence in all of Scotland.

1837

New owners William and James Mutter start making big plans for the distillery, including engineering the “Bowmore lade,” an ambitious 14-kilometre canal that carries pristine water mostly uphill from the River Laggan to the stills. It took over a decade to complete, but all these years later, the “lade” is still the source for the fresh, “soft” water that makes the whisky so special.

1913

Aston Martin Launched Aston Martin is founded in England by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford, who work out of a small shop in London. Both men share a love of all things beautiful and a passion for cars, because cars, they feel, provided some of life’s most exhilarating and memorable experiences.

1940

As the Second World War erupts, the stills are shut down and Bowmore’s entire facility is loaned out to new occupants, the Royal Air Force, which uses the waterfront distillery as a base for its anti-sub-marine missions.

1963

Stanley P. Morrison buys the distillery, promising a new era of Scottish whisky-making at Bowmore, one that combines traditional methods with more efficient modern technology.

1964

The Bowmore distillery ends the era of coal-fired power with the installation of a massive steam-powered boiler, so big that it takes the help of the Royal Navy to get it safely ashore. Although it was the talk of the town, nobody could have guessed how significant this moment was. The first batch of whisky distilled with the new equipment was destined to become one of the most sought-after whiskies in the world — the legendary Black Bowmore distilled on November 5, 1964.

1964: 007 Drives the DB5 

Everything changes for Aston Martin when a fictional spy played by Sean Connery makes a memorable getaway at the wheel of Aston’s new DB5 in the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger. Suddenly, Aston Martin is a household name, and the DB5, well, it becomes an icon.

1979

To celebrate the distillery’s 200th birthday, Bowmore releases a special blend of whisky barrelled off in the 1950s and 1960s and packages it up in hand-blown commemorative bottles with an 18th-century feel. It’s still considered one of the finest whiskies ever released.

1980

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II chooses Bowmore for her first-ever visit to
a Scottish whisky distillery. They mark the occasion by filling a barrel with whisky in her honour and then quickly stashing the “Royal Cask” in the “No. 1 Vaults,” the oldest Scotch maturation warehouse in existence.

1993

After 29 years “resting” in first-fill sherry casks in Bowmore’s No. 1 Vaults, the spirit of ’64 — the first liquid distilled with the steam boiler is finally ready to meet the world. The whisky, dark from the sherry casks, is christened “Black Bowmore” and, upon release, is so widely praised that it helps put Scottish single malt on the map as a top luxury product.

2002

To celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s Royal Jubilee, Bowmore sent 629 bottles of 22-year- old whisky the contents of the Royal Cask to Buckingham Palace. Over the years, many of these have been donated to charity auctions to raise money for important causes.

2003: “The Flying

Scot,” a.k.a. Formula One racing great Jackie Stewart, brings his good friend Sean Connery to the distillery to check in on Stewart’s private cask of 1965 whisky, laid down to celebrate the Flying Scot’s Italian Grand Prix win.

2012

Islay’s oldest distillery releases 12 precious bottles of Bowmore 1957, a 54-year-old whisky that, at the time, was the oldest Islay single malt released.

2015: A New Era

The Aston Martin DB10 featured in Spectre kicks off an exciting new era for the automaker. Officially just a concept car made for the film, the understated yet aggressive DB10 previewed an entirely new range of sports cars from Aston, including the DB11 coupe and V8 Vantage.

2019

Bottle Number One of Bowmore 1957 is auctioned off at Sotheby’s and commands a record-smashing £363,000.