New to whisky collecting

by **ABC** » Sat May 20, 2006 10:27 pm

Hi there, my wife and I are just away to have our first child, and have bought a few bottles of whisky as a investment and or to drink when my child is 21.

I am going to put the whisky away until he is 21, and will seal the box and not touch the bottles, can you tell me are the following whisky a good investment, or would i be better selling them on and trying to get something else, also i might have about £700 more to spend - should i buy one expensive bottle for the £700 or buy a few bottles as i have done.

The bottles i have are
Glendronach 15 year old sherry cask paid £50
3 x Hazelburn 8 year old triple distilled bottles, i have the floor, cask and still paid £200
1 x Lord of the isle
1 x Springback 21 year old, one of 2400.

I have bought all of the bottles in or around Aberdeen from actual whisky shops, and not ebay.

any comments on my purchases, or what to buy next would be great.

Also in my hunt to get the Hazelburn 3 bottles, a shop in Banff Aberdeenshire has the full set for £300, i do not know if this is a good price, but i realise that they are very collectible and that is the only place i found that had the full set, so i thought i would share this with people who use the forums.

I got my set from the manager in the local oddbins, who needed money so sold me his set?

Any comments or help will be gratefully appreciated.

many thanks
Glen

by **Di Blasi** » Sun May 21, 2006 3:41 am

You'll find Ardbeg always increases in value, is very collectable, and excellent for drinking purposes too! Top stuff! Their site has the Young Uigeadail for sale now, only 1,392 bottles available, and appropriate for your soon to be born! Check out
http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/index.html
for a great selection and good prices. But if you have the budget for it, why not look into buying a cask?!

by **Deactivated Member** » Sun May 21, 2006 8:46 am

Hi there ABC and welcome to the world of collecting whisky as an investment.
Your Hazelburn at 200 GBP is about the correct price. I have seen prices of 100 GBP per bottle on Ebay, but if you look around the marketplace you will find that 300 GBP for the set is quite a high price.

Whisky Exchange do have a great selection and the prices are not bad for current bottlings which will become collectibles, but for older established collectibles they are really quite expensive. Certainly much more expensive than when the same bottles appear on Ebay.

You say "Seal the bottles", what do you mean by this?
Best advice for storing whisky is no direct sunlight and a constant temperature, preferably cool, rather than a warm place. Normal room temperature is fine. Do not lay them down! Always stand them upright.

Regards,
WH

by **ABC** » Sun May 21, 2006 10:54 am

Thanks for the replys guys, I will buy a bottle of the Ardbeg, as I am going to buy a nice bottle to drink with my friends when the baby is born, so will give the Ardbeg a go.

What I meant by seal the box is that I am putting all the bottles away in a box with a copy of the newspapers, no1 single, photos etc from the day my he was born, so that my son can open the box as a 21st birthday present.

cheers
Glen

by **Di Blasi** » Sun May 21, 2006 12:00 pm

With a box of whisky to start his 21st birthday and year, he'll have one helluva party and year! Lucky kid to get started early in on good whiskies, great parents you are!

by **MGillespie** » Mon May 22, 2006 3:58 am

Congratulations, ABC...I wish I had had the presence of mind to lay down some whiskies or wines from the years my daughters were born.

Mark

by **irishwhiskeychaser** » Thu May 25, 2006 5:59 pm

Excellent Idea ABC. In the collecting scenario you should aim for current bottlings which will become collectors as opposed to current collectors bottlings. Get bottlings which are limited and ones that people are raving about, you can't really lose then. You get better value for money that way and the gain is greater. Also remember to stand your bottles up right and not on their sides. It might aslo be an idea to hold off a few years for a bottle or 2 that was distilled on you new babies birth year. You will have to wait probably 10-15 years minimum for that though.

by **Deactivated Member** » Thu May 25, 2006 8:52 pm

All sound advice here, enjoy the Ardbeg ABC and I am sure there will be a positive treasure trove for that 21st Birthday.

Excellent idea.
WH

by **Mike M** » Sat May 27, 2006 2:24 am

Help me out here on a few questions. I have inherited about 4 misc. bottles of whisky and reading previous posts on here how can these be an investment? How do you appraise a bottle of whisky & know by looking at it, it will taste great? I have recieved a lot of interest of private messages in my Glenfarclas is why this brings me to these questions.

Thanks,

Mike

by **irishwhiskeychaser** » Sat May 27, 2006 10:53 am

Mike M wrote:Help me out here on a few questions. I have inherited about 4 misc. bottles of whisky and reading previous posts on here how can these be an investment? How do you appraise a bottle of whisky & know by looking at it, it will taste great? I have recieved a lot of interest of private messages in my Glenfarclas is why this brings me to these questions.

Thanks,

Mike

Really experience and keeping tabs on the market is the best way but for somebody new I would suggest firstly you check the following website to see if they have the same or similar bottlings up for sale. They are alway a good indicator but remember you probably be lucky to get 80% of the value on the open market (i.e. selling it on ebay)

http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/

Actually google the exact label is always a good idea. You'll be amazed where you can find info and don't ignore foreign (german) sites. Use Bablefish translator to get a hand on what is being said on these sites

Single Malts will always be more collectable than blends or single grain whiskey.

Is the distillery working or closed.

Then the Distillery renown takes into effect the desirablity. Other than that you will have to rely on people here to give you an estimate.

Also if this bottle is not available and has not bee available for some time it is actually hard to put a value on a bottle until you put it up for auction.

At the end of the day do as much research through the internet before you sell to make sure you are selling for a good price.

by **Deactivated Member** » Sat May 27, 2006 11:27 am

Hi Mike M and welcome to the world of the collector from one who has a passion about collecting.

Firstly, how can whisky be an investment?
This is purely down to the demand of the marketplace and rarity (supply) of certain bottlings, with a little fashion - or what's currently "in vogue" thrown in.
My WhiskyHammer website has a complete section called "Collect to Invest" which shows examples of good investments. It also has a brief overview which I personally wrote and explains some general things to be aware of and look out for when collecting for investment.
The Overview is: http://www.whiskyhammer.com/CollectWhy.asp

Appraising a bottle is very much as mentioned above, watch the markets, study prices and track trends over a period of some years.

As for taste, individual distilleries do tend to have a general "house style" and some people will be looking for that particular experience, so if an unusual or older bottle becomes available, they will obviously be interested in it. As will the collectors for its rarity.

by **irishwhiskeychaser** » Sat May 27, 2006 4:07 pm

I forgot to mention anything about taste. Taste is the main seller when it comes to current bottlings as people will go for quality when it comes to single malt. However in older bottlings as in your case it sometimes has nothing to do with the actual taste but solely the rarity and collectablity of the bottle that will determin the value. However as WH said certian distilleries have lets say certian styles of taste which people rave about and this builds up their reputation. So if you have an old bottling from one of these distilleries you are on a winner. So from a collecting point of view it is good to stick with the big guns starting off.

by **Mike M** » Sun May 28, 2006 1:00 am

Thanks for looking at the website for Ideas in cost. On my Glenfarclas - Glenlivet I cannot put a year except for in the 1950's. It would help for a picture on the site to see what you have to match picture & bottle. Also I have a bottle of Ballantine's -

Blended & bottled by:

George Ballantine & son Ltd.

Distliller's:
Dumbarton & Elgin, Scotland

This bottle I tried to look up by distillery & no matches came up. How can I put on a date on this?

Thanks,

Mike

by **irishwhiskeychaser** » Sun May 28, 2006 1:57 pm

Mike M wrote:Thanks for looking at the website for Ideas in cost. On my Glenfarclas - Glenlivet I cannot put a year except for in the 1950's. It would help for a picture on the site to see what you have to match picture & bottle. Also I have a bottle of Ballantine's -

Blended & bottled by:

George Ballantine & son Ltd.

Distliller's:
Dumbarton & Elgin, Scotland

This bottle I tried to look up by distillery & no matches came up. How can I put on a date on this?

Thanks,

Mike

Unfortunately Mark Ballantines is a Blended Scotch and as such will not be very collectable. probably better off the drink it yourself :wink: