Bagging A Bargain Bottle

Collecting Advice #2 – Convalmore 32 y.o / 1984

“When things seem to be going horribly wrong for others, that may be the time to strike for yourself. It’s not as though you are literally kicking somebody when they are down. At least metaphors don’t hurt physically….”

One of the hardest things to predict when collecting whisky is to discern what bottles will see you make a profit if investment is one of your collecting goals. There is just so much variety, but it takes a little bit of research to find out what may be worth taking a chance on. It is worth repeating that “taking a chance” part of the last statement as nothing in investments is guaranteed, and certainly not in the case of Scotch Malt Whisky. You may recall my previous blog post about the St Magdalene 1979 Rare Malts; the chances are that is a good bet, but you constantly are having to wonder if it has reached its top price at auction. Seeing the movement that is currently happening, I would like to think it will continue to rise.

There are bottles that will appreciate, but at different paces. The closest you can get to a sure thing is anything by Macallan, and some of the rarer releases from the silent distilleries of Brora and Port Ellen. In the case of Macallan, some recent releases are seeing the purchasers placing them straight onto the auction market, and the flooding of this market I believe has affected the price. Now that the initial demand for some of their recent ballots has dropped, the prices have dropped significantly too, although still higher than the original purchase price (and only just in some cases).

In the examples of Port Ellen and Brora, both distilleries will be re-opening, and it remains to be seen what will happen to the prices of whisky currently on the market. It is my opinion that prices may stay stable, as it will be whisky from a different era; the original incarnation of that distillery, and therefore demand shouldn’t change. As for the new releases, I think the initial bottling will be a highly sought item, and you will do well to look out for any early limited editions of the new bottles. 

My personal collection policy has been to concentrate on limited releases (not necessarily expensive ones), rarer bottles and bottles from silent distilleries. After all, they won’t be making any more. The holy grail is a limited bottle from a closed distillery, but some of these command large price tags. 

Diageo for some years now have been releasing a range of Special Releases, which had its origins in the Rare Malts series which ended in 2005. The special releases generally are a range of around 10 different bottlings from their distillery profile. Some start at the affordable end of the range up to the eye-watering £2000 mark. You would think with this in mind, and all the special releases being a limited edition in their own right that prices should keep growing. 

This is not always the case. 

One of the special release brands that I had taken a shine to was from the silent distillery of Convalmore. It was the period style text and presentation of the box and labels that attracted me to it, and the fact prices generally seemed to be rising slowly and consistently. Furthermore, as it had closed in 1985, no more was being made. Therefore it meets my criteria for collection. 

The first special release was a 28 year old from 1977, and was released in 2005. Expect to pay between £400 and £600 at auction for one now. The second special release was the 36 year old also from 1977. This was released at £600, and in 2017 I managed to get one of the last bottles on sale in Blair Athol distillery. Prices have now started to rise rapidly at auction. Is this now the result of supply not meeting demand? Excitement seems to be building for this bottle, and prices seem to be above £700 in general, with a high last year of £1100 for one sale.

The 36 year old Convalmore. Getting rarer than Hens Teeth in a pile of Rocking Horse Poo

Fast forward to the 2017 Diageo special releases. There was a surprise release of a blend being included for the first time which consisted of all 27 Diageo Scotch Malts, and their single grain whisky. Also there was another Convalmore release of the 32 year old 1984 release. It certainly raised my eye, but was rapidly shut again with a retail price of £1200, double the price of the previous release. Needless to say, I wasn’t going to be paying that price, and would be waiting to see what the auction market threw up, but given the success for the 27 and 36 year olds, I wasn’t holding my breath. 

The 32 Year Old Convalmore. Isn’t she a beauty?


What happened next was totally surprising. I wasn’t expecting such a drop in price. Over the past year, prices have been hovering around the £600 mark, but have sometimes been struggling to reach even that. This could be your opportunity to grab a bargain! I purchased a bottle at around the £600, which makes me glad I didn’t pay retail price, but even then, I’ve seen the same bottle at Aberdeen Airport in Scotland sell for £999, a whole £200 cheaper than the original price. 

Did Diageo get their price wrong, and why is this now a bargain to be had now?

Firstly, I would like to think Diageo got it right. While I haven’t tasted this dram yet, I’m on the lookout for a bargain bottle to do so. Perhaps a cheaper one with a damaged box or label, which may crop up. I think we have to use our knowledge of how Single Malt is made up of multiple casks to realise there may be a mix of rarer casks from 1984 there. Plus it was made in the year before Convalmore shut down for the last time. Perhaps it’s the last casks available, and this could be the last original release from Diageo. It would be fairly silly of Diageo to price it excessively just out of greed, when other bottles in that years special releases where much cheaper. 

Take a look at The Whisky Exchange Website by clicking here to see what Convalmore is retailing at now. While this is not indicitive of how prices may go, I think we will see prices head that way.

It is definitely an auction bargain to be sought out now, as I believe the price will not sink any significantly lower. People may have bought this speculatively to make a fast buck based on the last release and have been burnt at auction. What will make the difference is that we need more and more people to taste and review this whisky, as once it builds a reputation, prices will rise again in the longer term. As long as it beats inflation, you have a winner of an investment. 

And I’m not alone in thinking this. This particular bottling won the 2019 whisky bible malt of the year for whiskies 28 – 34 year old. 

I’ve tasted a couple of different independently bottled Convalmore expressions before, and while it is too long ago to give a review. I do remember it as a cracking, little known Speysider. If your investment doesn’t go to plan on this bottle, you will have a whisky which for the large part will not disappoint. At the current price point it is auctioning at, I would guess it will hold its value at least in the mid to long term. So, if you want one, get in there and bid low. Only spend what you can afford, and if you choose not to drink the whisky but wait, you should then at least maintain your investment. However I feel in years to come, this will go up in value, prehaps to the original purchase price. Don’t be afraid to take advantage of a low auction price. When things seem to be going horribly wrong for others, that may be the time to strike for yourself. It’s not as though you are literally kicking somebody when they are down. At least metaphors don’t hurt physically…..but perhaps it might sting them knowing what they may have paid for it!

The Convalmore distillery still exists. Diageo sold it to its neighbour who own the Balvenie / Kininvie / Glenfiddich complex next door in Dufftown. It is used for storage, but I have seen another whisky writer (albeit a professional one, unlike my amateur self!) mention Convalmore should be one of the distilleries to reopen in their opinion. 

I sincerely hope it does. 

Slainte Mhath!


Into the Black

Beinn Dubh Black Single Malt

It’s been some time since I carried out a review. Unfortunately my day job got in the way for the past 7 weeks and although I had tasted a Tomatin to post a review whilst offshore, the tasting notes I made went missing.

Keeping it a bit more local than Tomatin, I’ve chosen a single malt that can’t get any more local if it tried – I can see the distillery from my house. One of the smaller whisky distilleries, the Speyside whisky distillery is slowly making a big name for itself. Founded in 1965, it took 25 years to start producing spirit. Previously it sold whisky under the name Drumguish, referencing the hamlet the distillery is located in. The signature malts of Tenne, Truitina and Fumare have been received well world-wide, with an 18 y.o, Byron’s Choice, Royal Selection and Chairman’s Choice also available.

However, it is not one of these malts we are here to review, it’s an unusual black whisky called Beinn Dubh, which is Scots Gaelic for the Black Mountain. Black whisky isn’t unheard of. There was the notorious Loch Dhu whisky from Mannochmore distillery which was definitely a love it or hate it dram. Most hated it. It still has a cult following, and whilst discontinued, prices at auction remain steady.

Is this black whisky one which is drinkable? Only one way to find out, and I volunteer to take a hit for the team!

Age

Beinn Dubh does not have an age statement. However I’d guess while there is an element of young whisky there, the nose suggests older spirit in there to back it up.

Strength

This malt is bottled at 43% a.b.v

Colour

This dram is as dark as the ace of spades. When I poured a measure into my jigger, I couldn’t see the bottom. Whilst I could believe some of the colour may be cask influenced, I suspect a good dose of E150a caramel colouring is present.

Nose

As common with many Speyside region whiskies, this one has a powerfully sweet nose. I hate to say it as I feel it’s a cliche, but an aroma of Christmas cake, plum, raisins, dried fruits hits you. I also detected a slight malt vinegar smell there, but it was brief, and the fruity smells dominated.

Legs

I got a surprise here. There were very slow, treacle-like legs. Indeed, after a swirl around the glass, the spirit seemed to coat the glass like plaster.

Palate

No real spirit kick here. My mouth was coated in spirit, and yet no burn. Very pleasant mouth feel. Slight hints of dark chocolate and red wine, which is appropriate for this whisky, as it has been aged in port casks.

Finish

This is where the spirit got me. A wee bit of a kick as I swallowed. Then back to the fruits. Christmas cake is actually quite appropriate for a product of a distillery which first produced spirit on Christmas Day 1990. Medium length finish with cherries and chocolate essences to end. Slight bitter taste there too; perhaps that is the influence of the colouring?

Conclusion

Not the strongest tasting of whiskies, but not unpleasant either. I feel the bottling strength is spot on, enabling you to taste the richness without the burn.

Do I hate it as some hated Loch Dhu? No. I’m a big lover of cake, so certain parts of the profile are pretty pleasing. Is it a go-to dram? No. For me, it’s a novelty product, and while I wanted to dislike it for that reason, I couldn’t. To be fair, while it may not be for everybody, I didn’t find it bad, but I just know of a lot better.

It isn’t one of the most full of flavour whiskies. While the bottle says nothing about chill filtering, I suspect this is chill filtered. After all, with a black whisky, what is the point? You’ll never see the Scotch mist amongst the dark liquid.

In summary, this is a good whisky as a conversation point, pleasant and not too overpowering, but definitely a gimmick. When my bottle is finished, I may replace it, but only as a collectors piece. I’ll stick to the sherry bombs of Speyside as my more regular choice. For approximately £50 a bottle, you can find better drams for the same price or less, but if like me, curiosity gets the better of you, then go for it if you see it on offer. There are a lot worse than this.

Once It’s Gone, It’s Gone

Collecting tips #1 – St Magdalene 1979

I haven’t written anything much about collecting whisky yet, but I am starting to notice trends on one particular bottle which may be worth a second look. This won’t be one for the drinking cabinet unless you have deep pockets, but is widely regarded as one of the finest whiskies out there to drink with ratings of around 95-97 out of 100 from professional whisky journalists and 90+ from other reviews I’ve seen.

You might argue about the whiskies that sell for £100k price would be more exquisite, although that will be probably because you are thinking it is better because of the price you’d have to pay per dram. But stick a £100k whisky in amongst others of a similar age and lower price bracket, and I contend the vast majority of us will not be able pick the massively priced drink.

And we come to the bottle in question which thankfully doesn’t command a 6 figure price tag, the Rare Malts 19 year old St Magdalene 1979 from Diageo. The Rare Malts series was released between 1995 and 2005 and included bottles from all of the Diageo Scottish distilleries, including some that had already closed. Many distilleries had more than one Rare Malt release, and St Magdalene had 3, in 1970, 1971 and 1979. As the distillery was also known as Linlithgow, there was a 30 year old Diageo special bottling from 1973. However It is the 1979 that has turned heads and is fast becoming a trophy in anybody’s cabinet, with prices now starting to rival some of the cheaper Brora bottlings.

While I don’t know how many of the 1979 were released, I’ve never seen a bottle with a number above 9999, which would mean there was a comparatively low outrun. And it’s worth bearing in mind these were originally sold for sub-£50, so I’d imagine quite a few have been drunk. In fact, given it’s age and its cask strength of 63.8%, it would have sold for £62 in today’s money. Try getting a cracking 19 year old whisky for that money now is nigh on impossible.

When I first bought my St Magdalene, (which is safely under lock and key in a storage facility I hasten to add), prices were under £600, but recent auctions have seen them reach £800+. Whether this is a spike of dedicated collectors trying to get a bottle as supplies run down, or Investment funds buying up available supplies and thus demand raising the price will remain to be seen, but there is one thing surer than sure; they aren’t making it any more.

St Magdalene was closed in 1983, and effectively demolished – the maltings are now apartments, although they retain the pagoda roofs, distilling here will never return. New releases of St Magdalene remain rare, as it has to be wondered how many independent bottlers still have barrels in stock, or even if Diageo retain some. As stocks dwindle, there won’t be a lot left to add into any blends. Therefore prices will only go one way while there is still a demand.

Thinking back to a conversation I had with Roy from the Aquavitae YouTube channel about the price I paid for one of the less common Flora & Fauna bottlings (White Capped Glendullan 14 y.o). We agreed that the price meant the whisky could never live up to the price I paid, as it was bottled as a sub £60 price point whisky, and therefore the price I paid meant the whisky taste had lost relevance; the value was in the rarity and thus effectively the bottle becomes an ornament. It is true – I paid more because of its rarity, and have no intention of cracking it open. Does the St Magdalene 1979 RM get covered under the same blanket?

No. Definitely not. It has been tasted, and is a stunning example of a fine whisky. For an entertaining review, please click on the link here to see the Ralfy.com review.

Want to try a St Magdalene? You’d better have deep pockets, but independent bottlings are a lot cheaper, and will rise in price also as the RM series increases. Old Malt Cask, Berry Brothers, Cadenhead, Gordon and Macphail, Douglas Laing and SWMS all had releases, many of which included miniatures. This may be the affordable way to try it.

While it will never command the prices of the rarer Macallan and Dalmore, it certainly is an appreciating classic. If you see a bottle that you can afford to collect or drink, grab it. Expect to pay around the £650 – £750 mark, but some have auctioned at over £1000.

You can buy this on the secondary market at some retailers; the cheapest I have seen online was £1200. That would only be worth paying if you are convinced the growth in the collectors market will see the price exceed this level, or if you are desperate to try this very expression.

The maxim of “Once it’s gone, it’s gone” has never so true.

Blends or Bust?

Whisky Myths Smashed #2

Blends are poorer quality than Malts

While continuing on my iconoclastic mission to rid the world of whisky misconceptions, I have a confession or two. While I do not have a priest on hand to take note of my misdemeanours, I’m typing this in my ship’s bunk with the curtain drawn which is almost as good as any confessional box.

Whilst not the most serious of errors to make, it is one view that I shared that may misguide others in their personal whisky journeys and may have taken them away from the enlightenment of a truly good dram. The skeleton has rattled in the closet long enough. 

Dewars, a Blended Scotch whisky that has a good drop of Aberfeldy in it.

How many of us have turned our noses up at the offer of a blended whisky? Do we see it as the gut rot of the seasoned alcoholic who will take anything that’s cheap, or the drink of somebody who knows next to nothing about whisky. I have to hold my hand up and say that I’m the sort of person who used to think both of those things. I’d snigger at the people drowning it in water, suffocating it with ice and obliterating it with a mixer. In my mind, a blend was for getting blitzed cheaply, for people who knew nothing about whisky / didn’t care, or for ‘medicinal’ purposes in a hot toddy. It was almost like I had a hipster attitude long before the phrase was coined, although now being in my 40’s, fashion unconscious plus completely unable to grow a beard precludes me from ever being called a hipster.

Well, forgive me Father as I knew not what I was doing and have sinned. 

It is a complete myth that Blended Whisky is a poorer quality product. While there may be blends in the market place that would be an equal to industrial strength paint stripper, there are many that are not.

Famous Grouse – a dark secret lies within. Read on to find out.

Blended whisky became a popular alternative to single malts, as by the early 19th century, single malt whisky was still wildly inconsistent in quality. Grain whisky was smoother, and the invention of the Coffey Still allowed continuous distillation of grain whisky, which is quicker than the pot still method of making it in batches.

The practice of blending Scotch Malt with grain whisky was prohibited until 1860, and Andrew Usher of Edinburgh soon took advantage. By mixing different brands and types of whisky, it was easier to obtain a smoother, more drinkable product. Blended whisky became very popular and was being shipped all over the world. Possibly the most famous blended whisky in the world – Johnnie Walker, was produced in Kilmarnock, and the new railways appearing over the country made it easy to deliver his produce to Glasgow. John Walker had been blending malts and grains seperately in his grocery business for years, but had no brand as such because the blends were bespoke at customer request. However it was his son, Alexander Walker that was the main force behind the brand With Glasgow being a major port, this allowed Walker to export across the world via the Clyde.

Johnnie Walker whisky was ahead of the game in a couple of more ways- the square bottles allowed better packing to reduce breakage in transit, plus more bottles could be fitted in a crate. The diagonal label allowed more writing on the label than would be able to placed on a horizontal label. It is still currently the most popular blended whisky brand in the world with 21.7% of the global market in 2017. Ballintines came second with 8.1%. 

Even Blends can have age statements

Blended whisky took off, especially in the 1880’s when the Phylloxera plague decimated the vineyards of France, putting a halt on wine and cognac production, allowing whisky to take its place. Believe it or not, to illustrate how popular whisky is in France, over the past three years, France is by far the largest market for Scotch Blended whisky, and second only the USA for single malt*. Hopefully this will not change with the impact of Brexit. 

So in the tail end of the 19th century, many distilleries were getting built to capitalise on the rapid growth of blends and the sudden increased demand from the continent. Disaster hit in 1899 with the collapse of the blending company called Pattinson Ltd (of Leith, Edinburgh). This company was a major bottler and blender of Scotch whisky. All of a sudden the distilleries had nobody to sell their whisky to. Many people who had invested in whisky as a way to make money lots their fortunes and in plenty of cases affected the investment in the new distilleries. A swathe of distilleries were closed, some only a couple of years old, never to open again. The industry was slow to rebuild, but there was a further two blows to come within 30 years – First World War and Prohibition in the US. The Great Depression then the Second World War also limited sales. After the Second World War, restrictions in place to secure cereal crops for food limited the amount of grain for whisky. It didn’t matter, as a war weary world didn’t have much money for such luxuries anyway.  

Things started picking up in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s after wartime austerity had disappeared and people were becoming more affluent. It wasn’t until the late 1980’s to early 1990’s that Single Malts started re-emerging as premium brands, which helped create brand snobbery and the down the nose peering at blend drinkers. 

Let’s get down to brass tacks. There is only two blended whiskies I know exactly what malts are in them – Monkey Shoulder and Collectivim XXVIII (A Diageo special release in 2017 which contains whisky from each of their 28 Scottish malt distilleries.)

Monkey Shoulder – Only three malts within, but bags of taste. And a silly name.

Diageo owned Johnnie Walker has 5 core ranges – Red, Black, Green, Gold (Reserve) and Blue. This is in the range of expensiveness but Blue contains the oldest whiskies in the range and is a decent dram. Some of the whisky in JW is around 30 years old, with the Red still containing a majority of whisky around the 10 year old mark. Ballintines is to become a premium blend of Pernod Ricard. Dewars (Bacardi) has a good range of blended editions. Compass Box are an independent bottler and have some very unusual releases. This isn’t an exhaustive list, and there are plenty of other premium blends. At the other end of the scale are Famous Grouse, Bells, Black Bottle along with a complete myriad of other blends. 

Are they all rubbish? No, definitely not. I am so glad I had my epiphany about blended whisky as I would have been missing out. Think about it –  there might be some very respectable whiskies in these blends, and it is worth bearing in mind that as 90% of Scotch whisky is sold as a blend, that’s a lot of good whiskies. Personally, I find that despite a low bottling strength, I prefer modern blends like Monkey Shoulder and Copper Dog, both made with whisky cocktails in mind, but equally delicious with nothing but the glass they are served in. My maxim at Scotty’s Drams, as with many other whisky bloggers is that the perfect whisky is the one you like and enjoy drinking in whatever style. However, I still hanker after the notion that the only use for an ice blade isn’t for breaking up ice to place in your drink; it’s for burying in the head of those who think it’s acceptable to place it in a decent single malt. Perhaps I should insert a LOL at the end of that to soften the sentiment, but I’m not sure it would work.

Ice for your 60 year old Macallan? Grrrr!

However, that isn’t my worst confession. For this I have to plunge into the deepest, darkest recess of my soul to bring it to the surface. Given the tasty whisky I have and have tried, it’s almost impossible for this cathartic release to come out, but now may be the time to lay it to rest. 

I rather like Famous Grouse. 

There. Said it. And as my sanity is questioned and my soul screams like a million banshees out on the spree in Aberdeen’s Union Street, I’ll just sign off here.

Slainte Mhath!

*2017 Figures

When age is more than a number

Whisky myths smashed #1

Ask 100 people what makes a good whisky, or any other spirit, and you’ll get 100 different answers. Some of the answers may be very similar, but very few will be completely the same. A whole range of opinions will be given, such as age, price, the distillery, whether or not it is blended

What makes the best whisky? There is no easy answer to that, and indeed as everybody has a different opinion, any answer will be totally subjective. But how do we determine what is the best whisky? Many will put a lot of faith in the age of the whisky, but with the proliferation of whiskies bearing no age statements means that it gets harder to tell.

So how do we know if we are getting a quality drink, or are we just getting ripped off? Is older and expensive better?

Only two have age statements. What bottle is the best one?

To get started, (and this is solely my opinion) the age of a whisky is absolutely no guarantee of how good it will be. Quite simply, the age will give an indication of what to expect from the whisky – it will have taken more flavours from the cask, the alcohol content may be lower and it may be comparatively smoother than a younger spirit. One of the best whiskies I have open is only 14 years old, one of the best scoring Scotch single malt (sadly now an extinguished distillery) is only 19 years old. I can think of a couple of malts I have tried at age statement which have been completely underwhelming – Dalmore 12 being one of them, yet Dalmore do make some fine malt whisky.

Many whiskies are now being released with no age statement at all. But does this mean they are the poorer relations of an aged single malt and are the distillers trying to hide something? The answer to this is Yes and No – non age statement is not necessarily worse than an age statement spirit, and yes, the distillers and blenders are trying to hide something.

To qualify my latter statement, we need to delve into the Scotch Whisky Regulations 2009. I’ll keep this as brief as possible, as a story about regulations never wins you friends in a bar.

Firstly, a whisky can be called a single malt (or grain if not made from malted barley), if all the spirit in the bottle comes from the same distillery. It does not have to all be distilled at the same time. This means in any bottle of single malt, there may be whisky of various ages. The practice of blending various ages of casks is to ensure that throughout the bottling of thousands or perhaps hundreds of thousands of bottles that the taste dies not vary between batches. This does not apply to single cask whisky, due to the very fact it’s from one cask and does not get blended in any way.

Secondly, the SWR 2009 states that whisky must be matured in oak barrels, in Scotland for a minimum of three years before it can be called whisky. Anything any younger is called New Make Spirit, or by a product name such as Aqua Vitae as an example, but the one thing it cannot be called is whisky.

Thirdly, and here we have to briefly dive into the SWR 2009 for the last time (and this being our key point), where the regulation states that any age statement on a bottle must give the age of the youngest whisky used to make up the single malt or blend.

And there it is – point three is most possibly the reason for seeing so many non age statement whiskies in the market place. The reality is distilleries are running out of aged stock.

This lack of stock has been caused by the tremendous growth in the popularity of Scotch whisky, and is not unique to Scotland either. Certainly I have read that Japan is also suffering the same issues. Around 90% of Scotch whisky is used in blends, and the need for certain stocks to make up the blends has caused huge pressure for distilleries to keep production up. The problem isn’t the capacity of the distilleries; it’s the fact that has to mature for so long, and this is a process that just cannot be hurried. The perfect storm has been created from the closure of many distilleries in the 1980’s, which has meant many stocks of these brands are now running out, then compounded by the rapid rise in popularity of single malts which started in the early 1990’s. Such is the demand for some of the whiskies that a trio of legendary closed distilleries are emerging from slumber – Port Ellen, Brora and Rosebank are all due to open within the next couple of years.

But why all the secrecy of a non age statement? Ask any person what they think the best whisky is out of a choice of a three year old or a twelve year old, and I doubt anybody would pick the younger spirit. It’s a question of image, and with the whisky market booming, nobody wants to release a whisky that will likely be rejected. And I would imagine the majority of non age statement whiskies have spirit in them less than 8 years old, and possibly younger. How many have three year old spirit in them and would this put you off if it was an age statement whisky?

I’ve 2 examples of a three year old whisky in my wee stock, a quadruple distilled Bruichladdich and a bottle from the first cask produced at Strathearn distillery. Not tasted them yet, but a younger spirit is going to be light, more raw, as the amount of interaction with the cask is going to be at an absolute minimum. However that doesn’t necessarily make it bad, and in the case of the Bruichladdich, the fact it has been distilled twice as much as normal may make it a pleasant proposition.

Bruichladdich X4+3. Quadruple distilled, three years old. Any good?

It is worth considering that non age statements are used as a tool of marketing. Of course the distillers want to maximise the purchasing of their products. And after all, how many 12 year old whiskies can you have in a range that may only have subtle differences? With an array of cask types at the disposal of the distilleries, an non-age statement lets the marketers build a brand, although differences between the whiskies may be slight to the educated palate.

So how can we tell if we are drinking a quality whisky? In my opinion, there is no true way as each person’s taste is different. We can look to the reputation of the distillery, but in that I’ve found NAS whisky from a known brand that is a total let down, with Macallan being a notable offender in this respect. Most of the recent Jura releases without age statements have been fairly disappointing, with Journey having been universally decided amongst many whisky enthusiasts as being below par. Having a half bottle myself, I didn’t think it was the age that was the issue, but the bottling strength.

To those who are well versed in whisky, they may be able to tell by the taste and mouth feel if there is an older whisky in the spirit. Although it has an age statement, the Glendronach 18 year old Allardice is quite likely to be such a dram, although the distillery themselves won’t tell you. What I can tell you is that it is delicious, and I will be reviewing that one for you when I can.

A good bet to tell if a whisky is likely to be of a decent quality, and therefore you are less likely to be left feeling cheated is to check out reviews, either on-line, in specialist whisky magazines or research via the various whisky year books that are released.

A good guide to the many distilleries.

I can heartily recommend buying the annual ‘Whisky Bible’ by Jim Murray. Now in its 15th year, this is a good starting guide for new releases as well as older ones. It is worth buying the older editions of this tome in order to build a compendium of whisky knowledge, but will always remain the opinion of one man. Mind you, it’s a man with more knowledge than me!

Bottom line is that as much as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, taste is as well. Each one of us is individual and no two palates are the same but many may be similar. Does expensive and old make a better whisky? Not really if you don’t enjoy it – the value isn’t there in that respect. What may be there is the kudos of what is in the bottle, how old it is and where it came from.

My advice is to take recommendations from others; try different drams from different distilleries. Maybe pick a cask type (ie Sherry) and compare various sherried whiskies. Keep costs down by trying in a whisky bar where you are only committed to trying a nip, or consider trying miniatures first – Master of Malt, the Whisky Exchange and Drinks By The Dram are good online retailers which will sell the more unusual miniatures or samples of full size bottles.

Whatever you do – make sure you enjoy it!

Slainte Mhath!

A sip starts the journey.

Having had this page now for nearly two months, I’ve not really considered where I want to take it and to be honest, it was just a way of putting more positive stuff into Facebook than the doom and gloom currently on the inter webs. I guess I started to run before I could walk, and forgot to start describing my personal journey with whisky.

I’ve always liked whisky, but sometimes more than whisky has liked me. Early memories of a hot toddy made with Famous Grouse was probably my first taste of the spirit that was going to become a major hobby. Getting into my teenage years, I shied away from Scottish whisky – I made the assumption blends were inferior and at that time, single malts were yet to make the impact again on the market. I hate to say it, but my first steps into whisky started with bourbon.

Initially, it started with Jack Daniels, as this was the popular thing at the time. I then moved onto Wild Turkey, as it was the strongest whisky on the shelf in the bars that I drank in. I even drunk it with lemonade. You could almost say I started with cocktails….

Fast forward to 2006, and a visit to Glenmorangie distillery saw me staring at two bottles of 1993 Truffle Oak reserve. At £150 a bottle, I was thinking more of truffles like chocolate ones. But I bought two, thinking one for a special occasion and one for resale at a later date. That was the start of my whisky journey proper.

From then on, I’d try different malts, but when out drinking beer, I found whisky and Guinness for me wasn’t a good combination for heart burn, so ditched the whisky for rum. It wasn’t until I started to realise it was the Guinness causing the gastric problems and I moved onto real ale that I ventured back into Single Malts.

Mortlach – the beast of Dufftown.

The long discontinued Flora and Fauna bottling.

A great pub for whisky was (and still is) the Grill, situated opposite the Music Hall on Aberdeen’s Union Street. My usual drinking partner and me would peruse the Whisky menu. At the time, the most expensive malt there was a Speymalt Macallan 1938 60 year old at £200a nip. A sniff of that bottle and the smooth, malty and sweet aromas made me determined I had to try it. Being the good Aberdonian, I made sure I got a good fivers worth of fumes!!

This happened on the 7th June 2013. By this time the price has increased to £235 a nip. I still didn’t know too much about whisky at this point, and when I took the first sip, I was so disappointed. The sting of the alcohol hit me, and I instantly regretted my purchase. It tasted like any other whisky. That is, until I swallowed the sip. It was heavenly, without any trace of burn. A very well sherried, sweet whisky, and if I was to close my eyes now, I could still taste it. It’s an experience never to be repeated, as now that bottle is finished. To buy one at auction if you can find one is £7-10k. I can honestly fee I had whisky history right at the start of my journey, and I am now on a hunt for the whisky that gives me that same feeling.

The receipt for the couple of drams that accelerated the journey.

I now try a variety of whiskies, and not just the ones I know I like. What has accelerated my interest is was my move to Aviemore, when I had to drive through the heart of Speyside to get back and forth from Aberdeen. I’d pass distilleries that I and many others never heard of, like Benrinnes, Dailuaine, Glentauchers; distilleries I had, but no experience of like Mortlach, or silent ones like Imperial and Convalmore. They intrigue me, and I decided to get more involved.

The start of a collection in storage. I’ve since had to move locations.

Getting involved meant learning more about the distilleries and their produce, learning more about Scotch whisky and determining more of what I liked. I started to collect bottles that interested me, and tasting whiskies they were new to me. Quite literally it was just a case of taking the opportunity when the chance came. This led me to realise the level of pretension about whisky. I discovered that blends and young whisky aren’t necessarily poor quality, Single Malt does not have to be drunk neat, older whisky isn’t necessarily better. I still draw the line at ice and mixers, but that’s me. The perfect drink for you is the one you like and how you like to drink it. I just hope with my page and blog that I can maybe share what I have discovered, and maybe you too can find something new.

And now I’ve got a modest whisky collection in secure storage which gets added to every now and again. I can make intelligent choices on what may be worth trying, and be brave to try something new. I give the odd whisky talk to tourists and have a wee amateur whisky blog.

Certainly out there, there are a lot of other blogs, v-logs and literature for you to look at. I’ll share some of their content with you by sharing links. I’m content just to do my own geeky thing here, but I’ve learnt a lot from other contributors on the internet. My favourite discovery is from the YouTube Channel ‘Aquavitae’. Roy who runs the channel keeps banging on about Clynelish 14. It was over a year before I gave in and tried it – in Krakow of all places, and it was a stupendous dram! These are the ways in which I hope I can share my experiences with you, and discover more about what you all like, and perhaps move my journey down the road one more step at a time.

I do hope you’ll join me.

Roll out the barrels!

With the explosive expansion of the Scottish whisky market, and indeed the global market, one of the things that is becoming more popular in the world of whisky is the purchasing of casks as an investment. I am often asked if this is a good idea. While I cannot profess to be an expert on such matters, let’s look at the issues that surround such an endeavour.

Before I go any further, I would strongly recommend that you pay attention to the disclaimer at the end of this post. Any investment is at your own risk.

Many distilleries whether or not they produce and bottle their own product will in some way release their own casks for sale. Some of the more uncommon Scottish malts are only seen through this release of stock, as are some silent distilleries still in the hands of the former operators. Independent bottlers such as Gordon and Macphail, Signatory and Douglas Laing are well known and will source casks using this method and have their own bonded warehouses, but this is intended whisky for bottling and eventual consumption.

Sleeping Beauties – dunnage warehouse

It is becoming more prevalent for new distilleries to offer cask spirit for sale as an investment, and this can be a popular choice, as well as a way of supporting a newly founded business. These new distilleries are often founded by people who have been in the business a long time, but there are still many variables to consider.

1/ Purchase price.

The price of a cask can vary immensely with size. A Hogshead is typically 250 litres, a butt 500 litres. Prices required for investment may range from a couple of thousand pounds up to several thousand.

2/ Whisky Type

Are you just being sold the standard distillery output or can you choose to have a malted barley that has been dried with peat?

3/ Cask type.

What sort of whisky do you hope to have as an end result? Do you have a choice of cask types? In Scotland the law dictates these must be Oak casks, but these could be previously used for Port, Sherry, Wine (usually red), Rum, Cognac or most common is ex Bourbon casks.

Do you get a chance to pick the amount of charring the casks have? This can have a great affect on colour and flavour, as well as an effect on evaporation rate as charring increases the amount of wood surface area the spirit can reach.

4/ What type of storage does the cask have, and where is it stored?

Is your cask going to be kept in a traditional earthen floor dunnage style warehouse or a modern rack style warehouse? Is the location of the warehouse coastal or inland? This will also play a big part in the taste of the final spirit. Remember as the Angels Share of spirit evaporation goes through the wooden casks, the porous wood will also absorb moisture in the outside air. Coastal distilleries often have a maritime note of salt air in their taste.

Casks await their turn

5/ How long do you want to keep it in storage?

If you have invested a significant sum in a cask, you have to be prepared to wait. By law, it will not be whisky for three years after it was distilled. Even after three years, the whisky may not be ready for drinking. Over the course of your ownership, the cask can be sampled to ensure things are on track, as a bad barrel can have a disastrous result on your investment. The barrel can also be re-gauged to assess current volume and level of alcohol content.

The minimum age of storage I would suggest is 10 years, but the longer the better. Just remember your alcohol and volume will be evaporating away. It is important with older whiskies to be sure of the alcohol content, as to be called whisky, it has to be 40% alcohol or above. A good way of calculating what you lose to the angels share is to allow about 2% a year.

Some whisky cask sales may not include storage costs and this has to be factored into the cost of your investment. This leads into my next consideration –

6/ What do you hope to achieve with the cask?

Here is where it gets truly complicated. It can be made simple if you simply sell the cask on, either back to the distillery or you sell it through an auction with the barrel never leaving the bonded warehouse. The latter may be the best way to maximise your investment.

If you choose to remove it from the bonded warehouse for bottling, you will then be liable for excise duty. Current UK duty for spirits is £28.74 per litre of pure alcohol. So if you have a 2o0 litres of liquid in cask of whisky at cask strength of 50%, the duty payable is £28.74 x 100 (50% of 200). Plus 20% VAT. Oh, lets not forget the 20% VAT of the initial cask price, as buying a cask is tax deferred goods.  There is unlikely to be any capital gains tax, as currently whisky casks are seen as wasting goods. However this could change in the future, so best keep your accountant sweet.

What will you do with the bottles? It is possible, depending on the size of cask bought to obtain a yield of around 250-500 bottles. And here is the rub – you can’t sell them unless you have the correct licences. This will be at the very minimum a Premises licence for your premises, and you will also have to hold a Personal Licence as the premises manager, unless you already own your own licensed premises. Not so easy, eh?

The option of selling via an auction may be the path to take. However prices are not guaranteed and just depend on who is viewing the auction, and the level of demand. You may only see a decent return from an older whisky, a whisky from a distillery with good provenance or a combination of both. Selling by auction has a further problem of that you may struggle to sell more than a few bottles at a time. Flooding the market with the same bottling will drive the prices down if you try to sell more than a handful of bottles at a time, even spread across several auction houses. Here is where you need to have a whisky at an age, strength and with a popularity that will garner enough interest and therefore demand. Selling at multiple auctions will also expose you to more expenditure to auction fees, reducing any potential profit. Ideally, if you are going to sell at an auction, sell the unbottled cask. This let somebody else deal with the headache of bottling and spirit duty. You will have to consult how to do this with the distillery you have stored it in and a reputable specialist auctioneer – see my previous blog about on-line whisky auctions here or contact auction houses such as McTears in Glasgow who regularly sell whisky at auction.

Personally I feel if you are intending to bottle it, then investment isn’t really your end goal unless you are able to sell them. A lot of people use their own bottled whisky to give away as a celebration of a life event such as a marriage, significant birthday etc., and therefore make no profit.

What’s in your cask?

7/ Provenance.

The whisky is only worth something if there is a demand for it. For younger distilleries, people may not be so familiar with the brand, and therefore the demand and the price may stay low. Some might buy on the history of a distillery, such as Lindores Abbey, where the first production of whisky in Scotland was recorded or a silent distillery where the supply of New Make has ceased and available bottles are limited. The kudos of having a cask from the first runs of a distillery may also be a good bet, however as I have bought two bottles from the first cask of whisky made at a Perthshire distillery, I can say I’ve not made anything on them yet as the distillery hasn’t had time to mature decent stocks and isn’t well known on a global stage. It may finally increase in value once the reputation of the brand increases.

On the other hand, distilleries with a proven provenance reduces the chance of a bad whisky, and increases the chance of a return, as brands like Glenmorangie, Macallan and Glenlivet are well known world wide – people know they will get a quality dram out of them, although I and others find Macallan often trades on their reputation, and many recent non age statement releases have been insipid to my taste. It will be enough to say the initial cost of the investment maybe a lot higher for these brands.

There is however some food for thought on this matter. The February auction at Whisky Hammer saw a Hogshead of whisky distilled in 1989, making it just shy of 30 years old, with 156 litres remaining at 44% abv sold for a hammer price of £161,500. Add auction fees, the final cost is £181,000. With a potential yield of 220 x 70cl bottles, that places the spirit in the bottles at £822 excluding any excise duty and VAT before bottling costs and other expenses.

Would the whisky live up to that price? Possibly. As somebody who has tasted a nip 60 year old 1938 Macallan and paid over £200 for the privilege, it was superb with a taste I’ll never forget and an even greater, smooth finish, but that was a one off and truly part of whisky history. However you have to be able to sell the whisky in your cask to realise your investment, and that is the big risk in tying your money up for years and potentially not a great return if you are not careful in selecting what whisky to invest in.

Your cask will also be one of a kind, as no two casks are exactly the same. Where and how it was stored will all make a difference, so you will be depending on distillery reputation.

Continuing on the concept of provenance, 10 years is enough time for brands to fall out of favour and demand to trickle away. Like any stock exchange, the value of your investment can go down as well as up, and luxury items are the one thing to go down in value during recessions, and choosing a brand leader name is no guarantee of safeguarding the value of your cask.

Lastlyy ou also have to bear in mind that you have no brand – you can’t label the bottle or even describe the whisky as something like ‘The Glenlivet’ as these are trademarks. You will only be able to say where it was distilled. This takes away a bit of provenance compared to an original bottling, and will not be worth as most as such. This is why independent bottlers often are able to supply older whisky a lot cheaper than the equivalent distillery bottles.

8/ Whisky Brokers

With all this considered, there is another option that may be available to you, and that is dealing with a whisky broker. That way you may be able to purchase a share in a cask, reducing the cost of your investment, but then you are putting the trust in the broker for cask selection. The cask that you buy into may not be New Make spirit, but a whisky already old enough to bottle. If it is from a reputable distillery, you are more likely to see a return – having shares is makes it cheaper to get a cut of an older whisky, and you can spread the amount you are prepared to invest across more than one cask.

My personal choice is to not invest in casks, but rather bottles, where it is easier to see trends in prices and you often do not have to wait years to realise a profit. It is also easier to sell of portions of your investment as needed, rather than having to sell a whole cask. The purchase of whisky bottles as an investment has its own pitfalls, but that’s another article……

DISCLAIMER

I am not an expert in whisky cask investment, and this article only discusses the potential issues you may have in such an enterprise. Please consult an expert if you are thinking of such a purchase, and hopefully the information here will enable you to make intelligent queries. Be aware that the value of any investment in any commodity can go down as well as up, and always factor in the potential extra costs before you proceed.

Please consult HMRC regards any tax liabilities. Information regards spirit duty and Capital Gains Tax is correct at the time of writing (March 2019)

Regulations for the sale of alcohol is taken from the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005. I do hold a Personal Licence for the sale of alcohol in Scotland and am aware of licensing implications. Be aware that different regulations apply in England & Wales, Northern Ireland and world wide. You are committing an offence if you sell alcohol without the relevant licence, or if you do not use an appropriate licensed business to sell on your behalf (auction, merchant or broker). Please consult with your local licensing board for further information.

Do you have any Irish in you?

Do you want any?

Of course I mean do you want any Irish Whiskey inside you. And why would you not? Although Irish whiskey is currently 5% of the global market, it certainly seems to be on the cusp of a massive renaissance. I have to be very honest, I’m somewhat lacking in the knowledge and experience of Irish whiskey, so a visit to Teeling Distillery in the Liberties area of Dublin was an excellent way to make a start.

Walter Teeling started out distilling at his Marrowbone Lane Distillery in the Liberties area of Dublin. This eventually merged with William Jameson’s distillery, also on Marrowbone lane. Due to financial difficulties, the whole enterprise closed in 1923.

The whiskey industry in Ireland used to be massive with 37 distilleries in Dublin alone. The last distillery in Dublin, the Powers distillery closed in 1976 when it relocated to Cork.

However, this was not to be the end of Teeling. In 1987, John Teeling bought a facility in Cooley, Co. Louth, which had been used to make industrial alcohol from potatoes. This was converted to a whisky distillery and opened in 1989. John sold the distillery to Beam Suntory in 2011, but the stock in the warehouses was not part of the deal. His sons, Jack and Stephen has also worked at the Cooley plant, and in 2015 established the Teeling Distillery again on Newmarket, in Liberties area.

The distillery visit

As is common with many whisky distillery visits, there are different packages you can get as part of your tour. This just varies how many products you get to taste at the end. We picked the Trinity tour which included three samples (Small Batch, Single Grain and Single Malt). This cost €22ea, the cheapest option was the Small Batch, which included a sample of Small batch and a seasonal whiskey cocktail, which costs €17 and the Distillery Select tasting allows you to taste the Single Malt, Small Batch, Distillery Select and the Small Pot Still whiskies. This was €30.

The distillery tour starts in an open plan space with 7 large information boards and whiskey collectables. Once the introductions are done, you are taken to see a short video, then through a door into the distillery area.

One impressive thing I noticed straight away is that being a new distillery and also one which had a visitor experience in mind, the distillery is fully accessible to those in wheelchairs. There is a lift at the end to get back down to ground label, but the journey to the production area is all on ramps.

The malted barley or grains are put into a mill to be converted to grist and are fed into a stainless steel mash tun.

Mash Tun

There are three washes of water rinsed over the grist, with the first mash being at 78C, the subsequent rinses being with hotter water. The output of the mash tun is wort, and contains all the sugars needed for the yeast to convert into alcohol. The wort goes into the washbacks but are known here as Fermenters. Unusually, the first 2 fermenters are wooden and the remaining fermenters are stainless steel.

Fermenters (wash backs)

Both of the wooden wash backs were open, one worn fermenting sugars and the other which had wort only in it. Fermentation takes between 3-5 days.

Once fermentation is complete, the wash is fed into the first still (the wash still). The wash is boiled at 88C. The out put from this still is known as the Low Wines. The low wines are fed to the intermediate still, which boils its liquid at 84C. The output of the intermediate still is known as feints and is fed to the final still, which is the spirit still, the output of which is known as New Make. The strength of the New Make is 84% abv.

Irish whiskey is typically triple distilled, whereas with a couple of exceptions, Scottish whisky is double distilled. Auchentoshan is a Scottish lowland Malt that is triple distilled and Benrinnes is a Speyside malt that used to partially triple distill by re-distilling the output of the spirit still. I’ve a Bruichladdich that has been quadruple distilled but as it is only 3 years old I’ve no urgency to try it yet.

The Stills

An interesting fact is that the Italian manufactured stills are named after the daughters of the founders. In order of process they are Alison, Natalie and Rebecca. Zoe has her name on the first cask filled at the new distillery.

You don’t get to see the warehouses at Teeling, rather just a mock up of rack storage. There are display bottles of the spirit as New Make, 6 months old and 6 years, which then gives you an idea of how the barrel changes the spirit over time.

The whisky supplied comes from the stocks produced at the Cooley distillery as the produce at Teeling has only just reached the age at which it can be called whiskey – 3 years old as is in Scotland. However where it is made is of little consequence at the moment, as it is still very tasty.

New Make,6 months and 6 years old spirit

After this stage, you are taken through for a tasting. Depending on what tour you purchased determines who many samples you get. As said previously we went for the Trinity tasting which gave us three samples (Small Batch, Single Grain and Single Malt). You get a small wrist band to identify which tasting you get but a word to the wise – don’t tighten it unless you have scissors to cut it off! I had to make do with nail clippers!

Small Batch, Single Grain and Single Malt.

I’ll give a taste test on the three whiskies sampled later as I couldn’t take good photos of the colours and didn’t get time to make notes, however I did get a Trinity tasting set to do this at home.

And this concludes the tour. I’ve been brief, as I wouldn’t want to spoil your experience if you visit, but if in Dublin I could thoroughly recommend it.

Whisky Auctions for Beginners

There is no doubt at all that there has been a massive surge in the popularity of whisky, and no more so can this be seen in the proliferation of on-line auctions. This can be a good way of building a collection for drinking, for investment or for finding that unusual gift. So how do these sites work, and what are the advantages and the pitfalls of using these sites?

Getting Started

A quick search on Google will reveal several websites that offer specialist whisky auctions. I’ll supply links at the end of this blog post for these, so if you are interested, you will be able to see for yourself and decide if the whisky auction scene is for you. The sites I am registered with are Whisky Auctioneer (in Perth), Scotch Whisky Auctions (Glasgow), Global Whisky Auctions (Glasgow) , Just Whisky (Dumfermline), Whisky Online Auctions (Blackpool), Grand Whisky Auctions (Invergordon), Whisky Hammer (Ellon, Aberdeenshire), and Whisky Auction.com (Germany). Of course there will be many more sites world wide, but these are the ones which I use due to them being close to where I live, or have reasonable shipping charges.

Usually all of these sites require a small, non-refundable payment to register, typically £5 / €7 to try and discourage spam accounts, and also to ensure the person registered with the site is over 18. It’s as simple as that. And now the whisky world is your oyster.I

Start Bidding

And now it is time to scan through the site to see what interests you. Once you find something that you wish to purchase, then its time to place a bid. Before you place any bid, there are a couple of things that you need to take into account in order to keep yourself financially safe, and perhaps bag yourself a bargain.

1. Know the how much you are willing to spend. This is this most important thing you need to take account of. By not sticking to this, you are at risk of spending more than you can afford, or perhaps more than the item is worth. It is also worth remembering that the hammer price is not the final price that you will pay.  The final cost will be the hammer price, plus somewhere around 10-15% commission. You will also have to pay VAT on the commission, which in the case of businesses is not VAT recoverable. If you are getting the item delivered you will also have the courier costs and the optional insurance which is typically 3%. An example would be a hammer price of £50. 10% commission +VAT = £6. Delivery costs typically £10 for a single bottle. 3% bottle insurance £1.50. Total cost £67.50. Although this may be a small increase, the effect of the commission etc increases greatly as the price of the bottle goes up.

2. Know the value of what you are buying. This may not be the most obvious, but is very easy to get caught out on. To be honest, I have been caught out badly with this once, but thankfully got away with it. The thing is that auctions can be fun, and it is very easy to get carried away, hence why the most important rule is the first one above. However if you don’t know the value of what you are bidding on, you can easily be overpaying. This can be avoided by doing your research prior to bidding. Search other auction sites, or google the bottle to see if there is a trend in the price, and to see what they generally go for. It is then you decide whether or not what you want to spend is sufficient, or if you need to adjust your limits upwards or downwards. Don’t just go on the last sale price or only from one site. You might find that one site does manage to get slightly better prices than others.

3.Google Google Google. While this post is concentrating on auction sites, don’t limit your research to just whisky auction sites. It could be that the bottle you are bidding on is still available in the shops for less than the typical auction price. One great success I have had recently was when I was recommended the 2017 Bunnahabhain Moine Oloroso. This was out of production, and the video blog I was watching was saying how if you see one on a shelf, buy it! Well, I did a thorough Google search, and as had been advised, every site was saying sold out. I was just away to give up, but scrolled through one last page and lo! and behold – a retailer with 2 in stock. A split second later, I had both bought for £157 including delivery. I then looked up auction prices and found typical price is £120-£180 for a bottle! And remember the additional costs underlined in point 1. This has made my bottles a very worthwhile investment. The only explaination why the price in auction may be higher is that perhaps the bidders are in a country where particular bottles are not available or they are desperate to obtain a bottle.

4. Don’t be tempted to up your maximum bid. As the auction draws to an end, you may find yourself outbid. In many auction sites, as the price goes beyond certain thresholds, the minimum bid increase goes up. For instance, below £100, some sites only allow bid increases at a minimum of £5, but above £100 it may rise as high as £10. Beyond £500, some sites have a minimum increase of £50. You can see how it will get expensive very quickly. Only increase your maximum bid if you are fully comfortable in doing so. Remember that it is ok to walk away, as most bottles I have walked away from have appeared in another auction within a year, and I’ve often got them cheaper.

5. At the end. At the end of the auction, if you have the highest bid, then you win the bottles. If an auction ends at 7pm, the auction extends by between 5-10 mins if there is a bid within a set time before the auction ends. This is to defeat sniping software and gives people the chance to up their bids. Depending on the site, some extend the whole auction until there is no new bids for 5 mins, and others only extend the auction for each individual bottle. So you may win a bottle, but other bottles are still availble for bidding. TOP TIP If you are desperate to win a bottle, sometimes it is better to bid, but keep your maximum bid right to the end – as people are usually only informed that they have been outbid by e-mail. Given the delays in the system, you can always put in a last minute bid, and hope that the person you are bidding against doesn’t have their email program running. This is a bit sneaky but is entirely within the rules of every auction site. However this may start a bidding war, so be careful!

6. Pay your bill. Not long after the auction ends, you will get a bill for your purchases. These often require payment within a week, but some of them require payment within 3 days.

Purchase Cheap Whisky

One of my favourite ways of getting new whisky to try, is to search the entire auction, but set the search results to display low to high prices. At the bottom end of the auction are usually the mass produced blends such as Famous Grouse or various blends used for export, and also miniatures. I’m a big fan of this method of bargain hunting, and usually go for the miniatures. This can work out a lot cheaper than buying the same whisky in a bar, and you can still get aged whisky as well – a recent purchase of Benrinnes Connoisseurs Choice miniatures included a 1968, 1972, 1973 and 1978. One caveat is that whisky sold in Scotland is subject to the minimum price laws, which dictate a minimum price of 50p per unit of alcohol. This has meant some auctioneers placing minimum initial bids to cover this.

Have Fun!

I have to say that I enjoy the excitement of an online auction, and if you follow this guide, you should remain safe. Of course, what you bid on is solely a matter of taste, but be sure not to exceed your limits. The time I got caught out, I bid over £1400 for a Glenfiddich only worth £500. I only got away with it as somebody else bid £1500. They didn’t pay, and claimed that their computer had been hacked. This was probably not the case, and it is more likely drunk bidding. So stay sober and just wait for your newly acquired drink to arrive!

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