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Q. I am starting a collection with two bottles of Glenmorangie, 1977 and Tain Hermitage. It occurred to me that there are rarely whiskies that are 75 years old, while perhaps relatively expensive, these are nothing in comparison to the cost of say a Margeaux 1995.
Is it because once bottled, a whisky remains as is for life? If I keep my 1977 say for 50 years, will the taste be the same? Will it have matured at all? Will it have grown? Regarding collecting, I havenât seen anything like âThe Wine Cellarâ I assume that this means that we can put our good bottles anywhere. How should my bottles be stored? Upright, lying down, away from light, in a cool place?
Finally what makes a whisky collectable? Is it rarity due to the maker? Its age? Its limited production? What constitutes a great collection?
D. Joachim. Montreal, Canada.
A. Well you are starting your collection with two excellent bottles.
The oldest bottles of malt whisky I know of are, a Dallas Dhu 64 year old, and a Glenfiddich 64 year old.
Macallan sold a 60 year old distilled in 1926 for £20,150 a world record price at auction for a single bottle of malt whisky.
Once bottled malt whisky will remain the same, it will not mature in the bottle, it will not grow, but in 50 years time it should still be in excellent condition. Bottles of old malt whisky should ideally be stored in a place were the temperature remains much the same, i.e. not in the loft where in the summer it is quite hot and in the winter quit.....
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By John Rose
Section : Whisky Questions
Page number : 53
