Moon Import is a highly regarded Italian importer of fine spirits and wine. The company was founded by Pepi Mongiardino in 1980, a man whom had previously worked for Pernod from 1970 to 1979, but when Pernod reduced its activities in Italy, he took his knowledge of the industry and the area and, after an important meeting with the legendary Silvano Samraoli, decided to establish his own empire; Moon Import was born.
Moon Import have become famous for their unique and attractive labels, which incidentally were all designed by Pepi, and none more so than the stunning collection which spawned The Birds, The Sea, The Costumes and The Animals bottlings; all of which adopted imaged taken from an 18th century German encyclopaedia!
The Costumes is a series of 12 bottles (aside from a 30th anniversary Caol Ila bottling in 2010) that were all filled from a single cask at 46% ABV and bottled in 1988, with vintage liquid from a wide range of distilleries; such as Glen Moray 1959, Convalmore 1962, Bladnoch 1965, Oban 1963 and the Bowmore 1974 seen here on our site: -
Bowmore 1974, Moon Import 1988 Bottling – The Costumes
This colourful Islay single malt was laid to rest at the Bowmore distillery in 1974 and bottled approximately 14 years later in 1988.
Bottled for the highly decorated 'The Costumes' series, this vintage malt was imported for the Italian market by Moon Import, one of the original Italian importers whom were established in 1980 - with many of their earlier releases from the 1980s/90s remaining in very high prestige.
This incredibly desirable malt comes in good condition, complete with original carton, and is one of just 324 bottles drawn from Hogshead number 5508.
The Whisky Vault Price: 5,000 GBP (Ex-VAT). Buy Here.
The Sea is a range of 9 bottles, all yielded from single cask at 46% ABV and bottled in 1988. This edition demonstrates fine vintages from a variety of distilleries, and includes the likes of; Macallan 1970, Speyburn 1967, Longmorn 1974and Glen Keith 1967.
The Animals is a series of 10 bottles, with six released in 1989/1990 and then a further four in 2001. Most were filled at 46% but there were a few cask strength bottlings scattered in there, such as the Highland Park 1975, Tamdhu 1967and Jura 1975. Other releases at 46% ABV included Tomatin 1965, Tobermory 1972 and Dunglass 1967, seen here on our site: -
Dunglass 1967, Moon Import 1990 Bottling – The Animals
This incredibly rare lowland single malt was produced at the now silent Littlemill distillery in 1967 and bottled under their Dunglass label, the moniker for their experimental unpeated malt ...that was never actually intended for release!
Drawn from oak cask number 3447-050, this monumental vintage Scotch was bottled for The Animals series by distinguished Italian Importers, Moon Import, in 1990 and is one of just 600 bottles that comes complete with original presentation box.
The Littlemill distillery was built in 1772 and closed in 1994, making it one of Scotland's oldest and long-running distilleries in it's scotch-producing history.
The Whisky Vault Price: 2,500 GBP (Ex-VAT). Buy Here.
Finally, in the encyclopaedic range, we have The Birds, which is a series of 13 bottles (7 released in phase one between 1987/1988 and then a second run of 6 bottles in 1990. There were again some stunning distilleries and vintages adopted, including the likes of; Ardbeg 1966, Springbank 1965, Glendronach 1971 and, as seen on our site below, the Bowmore 1974: -
Bowmore 1974, Moon Import 1990 Bottling – The Birds
This eye-catching single malt Scotch was laid down at the Bowmore distillery in 1974 and bottled approximately 16 years later in 1990.
Bottled for the instantly recognisable 'The Birds' series, this vintage Islay malt was imported for the Italian market by Moon Import, one of the original Italian importers whom were established way back in 1980. Although their whisky releases have dried up a little over the last few years, some of their earlier work is still held in very high regard.
This extremely desirable malt comes in great condition and is one of just 600 bottles that scored a scintillating 91 points on WhiskyFun.
The Whisky Vault Price: 5,000 GBP (Ex-VAT). Buy Here.
Other decorated releases from Moon Import include Dreams, Sails in the Wind, Horae Solaris, In The Pink and a number of special Cask Strength limited edition releases and Anniversary Bottlings for their 30th and 35th milestones. Another highly regarded release was the Bruichladdich 1968 Penny Black, seen here on TWV: -
Bruichladdich 1968 21yo, Moon Import – Penny Black
This 21 year old Islay single malt was produced at the Bruichladdich distillery and bottled by Brae Dean Int. for Italian importer’s Moon Import in 1989.
The 500th Anniversary Celebration, 1489 to 1989, was bottled to commemorate five centuries of Scotch malt whisky.
The label features the Penny Black, the world's first public postage stamp issued in 1840, which adorns an image of Queen Victoria who reigned Great Britain from 1837 until her death 63 years later.
Bottled at 46% ABV, with a clear Sherry influence, this is one of 3216 bottles that have become very thin on the ground in more recent years.
The Whisky Vault Price: 2,916 GBP (Ex-VAT). Buy Here.
Maybe MI are now better known globally for their wine and rum offerings, but those few decades from the early 1980s have left their mark on the whisky world, with some special malts that have stood the test of time and are still in high demand. View all of our Moon Import bottlings here.