Name: Assorted Miniatures x17
SKU: 0250936
Price: 47.5 GBP
Availability: SoldOut

Assorted Miniatures x17 sold for £47.5 in Just Whisky's December 2015 auction. A nice lot of 17 assorted miniatures, including: Ardbeg 10 Years Old…

October 2026

sept 26 test

September 2026

Test September 2026

Test August 2026

August 2026

July 2026

June 2026

May 2026

Charity Auction

April 2026

March 2026

February 2026

January 2026

December 2025

November 2025

October 2025

September 2025

August 2025

July 2025

June 2025

May 2025

April 2025

March 2025

February 2025

January 2025

December 2024

November 2024

October 2024

September 2024

August 2024

July 2024

June 2024

May 2024

April 2024

March 2024

February 2024

January 2024

December 2023

November 2023

October 2023

September 2023

August 2023

July 2023

June 2023

May 2023

April 2023

March 2023

February 2023

January 2023

December 2022

November 2022

October 2022

September 2022

August 2022

July 2022

June 2022

May 2022

April 2022

March 2022

February 2022

January 2022

December 2021

November 2021

October 2021

September 2021

August 2021

July 2021

June 2021

May 2021

April 2021

March 2021

February 2021

January 2021

December 2020

November 2020

October 2020

September 2020

August 2020

July 2020

June 2020

May 2020

April 2020

March 2020

February 2020

January 2020

December 2019

November 2019

October 2019

September 2019

August 2019

July 2019

June 2019

May 2019

April 2019

March 2019

February 2019

January 2019

December 2018

November 2018

October 2018

November 2026

December 2026

As you’re reading this blog and are possibly a customer of Just Whisky Auctions, it’s a fair assumption that you’ve visited more than a few distilleries and taken their tour.

That being the case, your guide almost certainly paused to point out the malt mill. More often than not, it’s a Porteus mill, though you might see the occasional Boby and even the odd Buhler mill.

But if it’s painted in a distinctive, unshowy shade of dark red then what you looked at was a Porteus mill (we’ll come back to the Boby mills shortly).  They’re sturdy little things, standing four-square in the mill room, ready to receive another load of malt, quiet occupants of an unobtrusive corner of the distillery that just get on with their job in a modest and understated way.

If the guide didn’t pause and point it out, a Porteus mill would never shout or draw attention to itself, you feel; happy to do an honest day’s work and then await the next consignment of malt to be turned to grist.

At this point, your guide quite probably explained that the mill was quite old and that the Porteus firm had gone out of business, outlived by the durability and simple excellence of a product so good and so enduring that it broke the company.

So well made that they required relatively little maintenance and with little or no demand for new machines both Porteus and Boby closed down many years ago.  They were outlived by their equipment and undone by the slump in whisky production of the 1970s and 80s and the ruthless consolidation of the brewing industry, meaning fewer and fewer small independent breweries.  Sadly, quite a few mills will have been scrapped which, until recently, hasn’t been a problem.

But it’s worth taking a closer look at these tough and functional looking machines and, if you do, there’s a good chance you’ll see a modest plaque somewhere on the side carrying a telephone number and the name Ronnie Lee.

Some years ago I noticed this on Jura and then, shortly afterwards, at Tobermory distillery and then again at a number of Speyside distilleries. So I began asking various guides ‘Who is this Ronnie Lee?’  No one knew – but as soon as I asked some real production people (as opposed to the friendly guides who for the most part are essentially a PR front and equipped with a marketing script) the pieces of a fascinating story fell quickly into place.

Well it turns out that, in a world of tattooed, bearded Brand Ambassadors with their hipster tweed caps, and rock-star Distillery Managers who jet from whisky show to whisky show, Ronnie Lee is a quiet hero. Yet he doesn’t give master classes, doesn’t blog and he’s definitely not part of the fashionable crowd that increasingly follow whisky these days.  But he – together, these days with son Gareth - are the men who mends the mills.  And, if you think about it, without their expertise there would be no whisky.

Working from their modest base near Chepstow, they run Euro Mechanical Engineering working as freelance millwrights.  As such, they spend most of their working days life in maintaining, servicing and, on occasion, restoring Porteus and Boby mills for the brewing and distilling industry.

Their surroundings are as far removed from whisky’s new image of sophistication, glamour and luxury as you might conceivably imagine, yet they carry out vital work as one of an elite group of engineers who keep these vintage machines in working order. Unsung and unheralded, they are essential to the smooth and effective operation of much of the distilling industry, here and internationally.

In fact, they work for Diageo, Chivas Brothers, Glenmorangie, Highland Distillers and Ian MacLeod Distillers, as well as a number of independent breweries and distilleries as far flung as Sweden, Italy and even the USA. If you want a vintage malt mill, or need one restored, Ronnie Lee is the man you call.

And that brings us to a fascinating twist in the story.  Some years ago, Ronnie acquired all the plans for the Boby mill when that firm closed down. With access to that unique archive, it was Euro Mechanical Engineering’s proud boast that, in theory, they could build a brand new Boby-style mill from scratch based on the original blueprints but updated for greater efficiency and cleaner running.

But why would you, when the originals have a working life of a century or more? Well, basically, they are desperately hard to find and with new distilleries and small breweries being built at an unprecedented pace, there’s a need for equipment of established high quality with a proven heritage.  Even the shiniest of new state-of-the-art distilleries may be discreetly supplied by a 50 or 60 year old machine which, come to think of it, is something quite amazingly heart-warming. But there just aren’t enough to go around.

And so it has come to pass that a new Boby mill has indeed been built and is now heading off to its eventual home in a soon-to-be-opened whisky distillery (which is another story, which we’ll come to in a moment).

The mill, of 4-5 tons capacity, is the product of 12 month’s work by Ronnie and Gareth Lee. The original design has been improved, Gareth telling me that while the exterior closely resembles an old-style Boby, the gears have been done away with, the roller bearings switched to a spherical shape and a double-edged synchronized belt fitted. If, like me, that’s double Dutch to you, I’m assured it means cleaner running (no oil), greater energy efficiency and potentially faster running speeds if desired by the operator. Everything has been built from the ground up with a local foundry providing custom-made castings for the bearings, which were then hand finished by Gareth.

But who has commissioned this work and where is this marvel of skillfully modernized vintage engineering to be found? Let’s hear it for the new owners, the family-owned and independent Ian Macleod Distillers, well-known for their Glengoyne and Tamdhu single malts, the imaginative reopening of Rosebank and their Edinburgh Gin brand.  They are also partners in the proposed Laggan Bay project which, if everything goes to plan, will be Islay’s twelfth distillery.

So the Boby is destined for a Hebridean home? Well, no. In fact, it is travelling around 4,000 miles to Una, a town in the southwestern Himachal Pradesh state in northern India where Macleod Distillers are currently building on a greenfield site.  The distillery, expected to be operational later this year, is designed to produce around 1.0m litres of spirit annually of Indian whisky.

Beyond that, Ian Macleod were tight-lipped though my own lengthy on-line research turned up an Environmental Impact report from the Himachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board.  From that very comprehensive document we learn that “The project proposes to produce Malt Spirit, part of it matured for at least 2 years and above years for supplies to IMFL [that’s Indian-Made Foreign Liquor] industry for blending in various proportions and part of the matured malt spirit will be matured for more than 3 years to be called as Whisky under International norms and bottled as Indian Single Malt whisky for the Indian and export market”.   Indian Single Malt Whisky from Ian Macleod Distillers – that’s something not yet widely reported and quite a feather in the cap of relatively small independent Scottish distillers.

According to the report, the total cost is approximately £5m – quite the bargain by UK standards. 
Naturally I enquired as to the price of the mill and naturally, and quite correctly, Gareth Lee would not be drawn into the specifics. But he did hint that if you wanted one for your project you could expect to wait some 12 months or so (they’re busy) and expect to write a cheque for rather more than  £100,000.

So this is a mill that grinds slowly but is exceeding fine; evidently a labour of love and a source of great pride – and why not, because as Gareth assured me, “it will be working long after I’m in the ground.”  I wonder if in fifty or more years curious visitors will be regaled with the story – I certainly hope so.

Their surroundings are as far removed from whisky’s new image of sophistication, glamour and luxury as you might conceivably imagine

In our inaugural Blog entry, Guest writer Ian Buxton explores the seemingly unglamorous distillery mill. The unsung hero of whisky distilleries.

The Distillery Mill

Historical

We've compiled a list of codes to make it easy to find out what whisky is inside each bottle from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. The first digits relate to the distillery, and the numbers after the dot (.) relate to the number of the release, from that distillery. Sometimes you'll see a letter preceding both -that relates to the type of liquid in the bottle, for example a "G" means it's a Grain whisky.

SMWS Bottle Codes

Useful Info

We're excited to partner with Rothes Sports Development Group this month to raise money for a great cause. The charity was formed in 2025 to enchance local health, welfare and sporting opportunities in and around Rothes, Moray.

Rothes Sports Development Charity Auction

In this intriguing piece, Gavin D. Smith delves into the relationship between taxes and the Scotch Whisky industry.

1823 EXCISE ACT

A nice lot of 17 assorted miniatures, including:<br /><br />
<ul>
<li>Ardbeg 10 Years Old</li>
<li>Auchentoshan 10 Years Old (40% | 5cl)</li>
<li>Auchentoshan 12 Years Old (40% | 5cl)</li>
<li>Auchentoshan 5 Years Old (40% | 5cl)</li>
<li>Bladnoch 8 Years Old (40%)</li>
<li>Bowmore 12 Years Old (43% | 5cl)</li>
<li>Bowmore Glasgow Garden Festival 88 (40% | 5cl)</li>
<li>Bruichladdich 10 Years old (43% | 5cl)</li>
<li>Bunnahabhain 12 Years Old (40% | 5cl)</li>
<li>Dunglass 5 Years Old</li>
<li>Glenkinchie 10 Years Old (43% | 5cl)</li>
<li>Glenkinchie 10 Years Old (43% | 5cl)</li>
<li>Lagavulin 12 Years Old 43% | 5cl)</li>
<li>Lagavulin 16 Years Old (43% | 5cl)</li>
<li>Laphroaig 10 Years Old (40% | 5cl)</li>
<li>Littlemill 8 Years Old</li>
<li>Rosebank 8 Yeas Old (40% | 5cl)</li>
</ul>

Assorted Miniatures x17 Incl Laphroaig 10 'Unblended'

Miniatures

assorted_miniatures_x17_incl_laphroaig_10_unblended.jpg

Incl Laphroaig 10 'Unblended'

Assorted Miniatures x17

assorted_miniatures_x17_incl_laphroaig_10_unblendedcd176a.webp

assorted_miniatures_x17_incl_laphroaig_10_unblended609a60.webp

December 2015

cardhu_gold_reserve_cask_selection.jpg

70 cl

Cask Selection

Cardhu Gold Reserve

cardhu_gold_reserve_cask_selection04aafc.webp

cardhu_gold_reserve_cask_selection281f3d.webp

isle_of_mull_single_malt_the_shareholders_of_the_spirit_of_1992.jpg

56% vol

The Shareholders of The Spirit of 1992

Isle of Mull Single Malt

isle_of_mull_single_malt_the_shareholders_of_the_spirit_of_199253480a.webp

isle_of_mull_single_malt_the_shareholders_of_the_spirit_of_1992313f9d.webp

ancnoc_flaughter_rutter_limited_edition_miniatures.jpg

5cl x2

46% vol x2

Limited Edition Miniatures

Ancnoc Flaughter & Rutter

ancnoc_flaughter_rutter_limited_edition_miniaturesa9bcc7.webp

ancnoc_flaughter_rutter_limited_edition_miniatures4dd9af.webp

cameronbridge_25_years_old_300_years_at_the_brig.jpg

58.2%

300 years at the Brig

Cameronbridge 25 Years Old

cameronbridge_25_years_old_300_years_at_the_brigea21bd.webp

cameronbridge_25_years_old_300_years_at_the_brig750127.webp

macallan_a_night_on_earth_in_scotland_2022.jpg

2022 Release

Macallan A Night on Earth in Scotland

macallan_a_night_on_earth_in_scotland_2022b29af4.webp

macallan_a_night_on_earth_in_scotland_202269bc76.webp

kilchoman_5_years_old_kilchoman_club_second_edition.jpg

Kilchoman Club Second Edition

Kilchoman 5 Years Old

kilchoman_5_years_old_kilchoman_club_second_editionf440b1.webp

kilchoman_5_years_old_kilchoman_club_second_editionf23416.webp

glen_grant_14_years_old_2008_cadenheads_natural_strength_px_cask.jpg

59.9%

Cadenhead's Natural Strength PX Cask

Glen Grant 14 Years Old 2008

glen_grant_14_years_old_2008_cadenheads_natural_strength_px_cask47c517.webp

glen_grant_14_years_old_2008_cadenheads_natural_strength_px_caskdd5b4c.webp

glenallachie_15_years_old_2006_single_cask_no_868_uk_exclusive.jpg

700ml

60.7%

Single Cask No 868 (UK Exclusive)

Glenallachie 15 Years Old 2006

glenallachie_15_years_old_2006_single_cask_no_868_uk_exclusive31d793.webp

glenallachie_15_years_old_2006_single_cask_no_868_uk_exclusive3b9c4a.webp

glenfiddich_18_years_old_small_batch_gift_pack.jpg

Small Batch Gift Pack

Glenfiddich 18 Years Old

glenfiddich_18_years_old_small_batch_gift_packbbe7ac.webp

glenfiddich_18_years_old_small_batch_gift_pack334580.webp

glen_moray_1998_px_finish_distillery_edition.jpg

45.5%

PX Finish Distillery Edition 

Glen Moray 1998

Assorted Miniatures x17

Specifications

Similar results

Port Ellen Miniatures x4

Assorted Blended Miniatures x17

Assorted Miniatures x10

Bidders also considered

Cardhu Gold Reserve

Isle of Mull Single Malt

Ancnoc Flaughter & Rutter