Do you collect malt whisky?

Over millions of years, humans have evolved from nomadic primates to Homo Sapiens to today's Homo Post Atomiensis ;-). It took several million years and some, important characteristics such as the hunting and gathering instinct ensured the survival of our species. At this point, we turn our attention especially to humans as hunters and gatherers. These two characteristics complement each other perfectly. Hunting and holding on so that we don't lose everything we have worked hard to acquire. Presumably this instinct arose as a reaction to the seasons with their varying food supply. Care in time, so you have in need... These qualities have been inherited in us until today. You can already see it in children when they start to line up their beloved toys next to each other on the shelf. Many things are collected in daily life. This collecting instinct should not be seen in a negative light. For example, the collecting passion of the great world religions and their gathering of treasures of all kinds today gives us the opportunity to understand our history far better. In the private sphere, it used to be stamps and porcelain. Later, the zeitgeist switched to cheaper things like crown caps, beer mats and American car licence plates. Today, you won't find a good that isn't collected. Candy wrappers, matchbooks, pins and whisky bottles are still harmless collectibles in the multitude of objects in demand. Let's dig a little deeper. What makes a collectible? At the beginning of a passion for collecting there is a triggering moment. You receive something special as a gift that really captivates you or you see a small collection of things that you would also like to own yourself. In the case of matchbooks, things are simple. You put aside whatever you find. In the case of whisky bottles, it can get quite expensive very quickly.

The value of collections

This immediately raises the question of the value of collections. Stamp collections are so 'out' with the younger generation - you can't get 'outer'. The value of these collections is rapidly declining. More and more collections are being inherited and are entering the market. Years ago, the author of these lines tried to sell an inherited and almost complete stamp collection (Germany from 1933) in a specialist shop. The offer of the specialist together with his advice was devastating. A few thousand euros were offered for a few stamps. The still valid stamps should be used up and the rest thrown into the waste paper. - So much for the value of stamp collections. The value of collectibles depends on the normal economic correlations of supply and demand. Stamps, with the exception of the Blue Mauritius, have always been printed in millions. The old stamps can no longer be affixed to letters and so there is a permanent oversupply. Moreover, stamp collecting is 'out' and the little colourful pictures, mint or cancelled, are only worth a fraction of the amount printed on them. Why were stamps collected in the past and no longer today? It can only be guessed. The cancelled stamps were available free of charge. Foreign stamps awakened the wanderlust in us and so one thing led to another. Today, we can satisfy our wanderlust by travelling and letters are written less and less. The world is becoming multimedia.

The Whisky Collection

The situation is quite different with whisky collections. Demand is higher than ever and the best bottles are constantly being opened and drunk by connoisseurs, despite all the lamentations of the collectors. What can be done about it? Fill even more bottles? Stocks of old malt whiskies are limited. Storage capacity remains finite and current demand continues to grow. Stocks are emptying so quickly that some distilleries are already producing single series per cask (Bowmore 1955, 1964, Macallan 1946, 1951, Ardbeg 1974, 1975, etc.). These single series cost a lot of money per bottle. 250.00 to 5,000.00 euros can be invested per bottle. But is the bottle worth this money? Will the price continue to rise in the future? Or has a resourceful salesman driven the price up through artificial scarcity? According to the motto: "Believe me, this bottle is the absolute last piece. There will be nothing more after that. As XYZ collector, you must have it." Please remember: At least a few hundred of each bottle are bottled, as you can see from the 'rare' Ardbeg and Springbank in the pictures above. The bottles leave the bottling plants by the pallet. Very few bottles can be said to be unique. These arguments are often just price gouging. - Please remain critical.

Exactly one bottle from each distillery?

The passion for collecting is insatiable and after a short time every collector asks himself how he can earn money with his knowledge of the collector's item. In the past, one bought at least four stamps. Two were cancelled and two were kept mint. One went into the collection and two were left over for exchange. A real whisky collector always buys three bottles. One to drink, a second for the collection and a third to exchange later when the price has risen accordingly. This is an excellent way to increase your collection. By selling the duplicate bottles, one can raise additional money to fulfil wishes that go beyond the fixed collection budget. The whisky collecting passion usually begins with the desire to own a bottle from each distillery. The way is simple: you buy what your wallet can afford. For about 5,000 euros, you get about 100 bottles from different distilleries and then have to save up more money for a large display case. At this point at the latest, the whisky collector begins to think more about the meaning and further development of his collection. If he was initially concerned with the great-looking bottles, his attitude slowly changes towards rare and scarce bottles. Over time, one has noticed that the standard bottlings are always available. One has seen enough of these bottles and begins to look for rarities.

Expensive findings - A few rules

At this point I would like to pass on a few insights to beginner collectors. These are things we have worked out over the past 10 years together with our first customers and partly with a lot of money on the customer side.

1. budget

Which distilleries collect?

Which distilleries are sought after at all? Before we talk about distilleries, let's ask about the bottler. I know of no other independent bottler than Gordon & MacPhail's for which high collector's prices could ever be realised. And I don't mean a few hundred euros for an old Cadenhead's bottle, for example. I mean really high proceeds of over 1,000 euros. And with G&M, it was also only the bottlings that they carried out on behalf of the distillery with the official label. You can safely forget about the house brands MacPhail's or Glen Avon. Collectors are looking for originals - not copies. And even if the 1968 Bowmore from Signatory looks great. It's only there to be drunk. A hardcore collector won't pay anything for it. The Silent Stills Edition from Signatory is no exception. The current Port Ellen Original Bottling (Annual Release) already fetches better prices than the former Signatory Port Ellen wooden box with miniature and cask piece. The Rare Malts Selection from Diageo is an exception. Since the series bottler is also the owner of the distilleries, this series assumes the status of the original bottling. It is only when no more original bottlings come onto the market for several years that these bottles begin to rise. Lastly, we turn to the distilleries themselves. The auctions of old malt whisky bottles have the highest influence on the value development of young bottles. Only distilleries that had malt whisky bottles on the market shortly after the last war, or better still before the war, have any chance at all of achieving high collector values today. Christie's and McTear's auctions have a guiding function. This reduces the distilleries with potential for extraordinary increases in value to just under a dozen.

Tips for your purchase

1. buy only original bottlings and no independent bottlers. 2. buy only bottles from the top distilleries (Macallan, Bowmore, Springbank, Glenmorangie, Highland Park, ...). Which other distilleries? Islay? - certainly! Lowland? - rather not. Speyside? Yes and no. Not the late-built ones but certainly the older ones, like Mortlach, Linkwood, Glen Grant or Strathisla. Young distilleries like Clynelish, Braeval or Teaninich are better left out. 3. Buy special bottlings. Not Bowmore 17J, but rather Bowmore Claret; not Macallan 15J, but Macallan 18J with vintage or better still Gran Reserva; no Glenmorangie 18 years, but rather the special finish bottles like Tain l'Hermitage or Sauterne Finish. In principle, any bottle with a vintage is suitable. 4. Keep the purchase price in the range of 70 to 250 euros. Observe the market and read a lot. When the price of individual bottles rises sharply, it is usually too late. It is very difficult to recapture this increase in value over the years. It is very difficult to sell your collector's bottles. The outstanding pieces can be sold at auctions. Large auction houses are rarely enthusiastic about bottles for less than 300 euros. Their premium on such bottles is too low to make money with them. Put yourself in an optimal position by buying strategically. Then you only have to wait between 10 and 30 years before you can reap the fruits of your labour. Only a few bottles in your collection will achieve extreme price increases. But a few will certainly be there.

The special tip

For your long reading to the end, I would like to give you a hot tip: In 1996, a 1936 Glen Grant G&M Malt cost 485 euros. Today (2006), a G&M Mortlach 1936 already costs 1099 euros. With these old malts, only the year plays a role. Differences between distilleries are no longer made. Within 6 years one could achieve an increase to 2.3 times.

In the future, the ratio will not develop much differently. You just have to take slightly younger malts. For example, Glenlivet 1948 is a very rare post-war vintage. There was very little barley available for distilling. Most of it was given as bread to the starving population. The same applies to Glen Grant 1949. Great Britain starved longer after the war than Germany and food stamps were abolished in Scotland years later than in Germany. A sure guarantee for a low number of casks, of which only a few bottles are left.