Where to buy older spirits

Lord Derpington

Hi everyone,

Ive been reading though a lot of old threads in this section and I have a few questions i hoped someone could help me out with.

I have a friend who is about to have a baby and I would like to get a gift for the baby in the form of something valuable that will rise in value instead of fall.
I thought what better than a rare spirit.

Could anyone tell me what would be a good option on this front?
I was thinking along the lines of Midleton Very Rare orignal from 1984 or something like this.

Which actually brings up another problem of where do you actually find these bottles to purchase?

Any help would be great, thanks!

LaBaguette

Ah well, in the case of a new-born baby, I'd usually go for someting brewed/distilled the year the baby is born, so that when he/she turns, say, 15 or 18, they have some good stuff to taste that's as old as they are.

When I was 18, my godfather pulled out a bottle of Bordeaux bottled the year I was born, and I quite enjoyed it

ResearchWill

greenfly wrote: »

Hi everyone,

Ive been reading though a lot of old threads in this section and I have a few questions i hoped someone could help me out with.

I have a friend who is about to have a baby and I would like to get a gift for the baby in the form of something valuable that will rise in value instead of fall.
I thought what better than a rare spirit.

Could anyone tell me what would be a good option on this front?
I was thinking along the lines of Midleton Very Rare orignal from 1984 or something like this.

Which actually brings up another problem of where do you actually find these bottles to purchase?

Any help would be great, thanks!

The original 1984 bottles are very hard to get, expect to pay upto a grand I would say, a current year bottle would be about 125 euro if memory serves. If you are going to pay upwards of a grand I would go for brandy a Louis XIII set you back about 1400 to 1500 but more than likely easier to get than the 1984.

Also an idea might be to buy a full barrel, with the intention of bottling for the 21st, not sure who may do this but I have heard of it being done.

Brockagh

I'd say you'd get the 1984 for around 500 euro. You could get a Midleton 30, which is a pure pot still from 1973, for around 2,000 or 2,500. They have them in the Celtic Whiskey Shop, I think - www.celticwhiskeyshop.com.

Like ResearchWill said, you can buy a whole cask. Might cost around stg£1,000 to £1,500 depending on the size of the barrel, the type of barrel, the distillery... Most distilleries don't sell casks, but a few will - like Bladnoch (www.bladnoch.co.uk). And the son of Raymond Armstrong, who owns Bladnoch (a Northern Irishman) has a whisky brokerage where you can buy casks...

Or, I believe Kilbeggan might sell you a cask. I own a share in a Kilbeggan cask, so it's possible they will sell more.

If you're buying a cask, though, you generally buy it in bond, so when it comes to bottling, you have to pay the duty.

Finally, if you want something that will go up in value... of course nothing is guaranteed, but the closed distilleries' stock is more likely to go up in value. The most desirable would be Brora, Port Ellen, Rosebank, St Magdalene and a few others. Karuizawa too, a Japanese distillery that has been mothballed.

Lord Derpington

Thanks guys some really great advice here!
So generally if I want to get any of the spirits you all have mentioned here i either contact the distillery to ask about a barrel, or visit a very good off license?

Thanks again guys!

Brockagh

Yeah. Here's where you can get a Bladnoch cask - http://www.bladnoch.co.uk/acatalog/Cask_Purchases.html

Here's the link to the whisky broker - http://www.whiskybroker.co.uk/index_files/casksavailable.htm

Note that I think only one of these have been filled this year... the Tomatin. The older the cask, the more expensive the cask.

This places sells smaller casks. Not sure the prices, but they should be on the website - http://www.quartercasks.com/

Glenglaussagh, Tullibardine, Glengoyne and a few others also sell individual casks.

Kilbeggan is the Irish one. They also mature smaller casks and might have some for sale.

Good shops include: www.thewhiskyexchange.com, www.masterofmalt.com, www.celticwhiskeyshop.com, www.lfw.co.uk, www.royalmilewhiskies.com...

Lord Derpington

A huge thank you Brockagh, all the information is great!
Hope to be sorted very soon

Brockagh

I'd be interested to hear what you go for in the end. Good luck.

Here's a think that suggests buying whisky as an investment... I'm not endorsing it, of course.