Gifting aside, most Scotch Whisky is bought by one of five distinct types of purchasers. These categories aren’t mutually exclusive. Many buyers fall into more than one group.
1. DRINKERS
“Drinkers” buy whisky to open, savour and enjoy – often in the company of their partners and friends. Possibly they will take a warming dram after a winter’s walk or as a digestif at the end of a meal. Or perhaps they will take a premium blended whisky with a fine cigar or explore a single malt whisky whilst listening to music.
Drinkers usually don’t restrict themselves to one whisky brand or to one whisky distillery’s bottlings. Rather, they enjoy comparing a variety of expressions from all over Scotland. A wonderful voyage of ‘whisky discovery’.
“Skene Finest Scotch Whiskies” releases offer the ideal route to sampling single malt whiskies from diverse distilleries at affordable prices. Often, these bottlings are from a single cask and they are typically offered at 48% or 50% ABV strength.
2. CONNOISSEURS
Many wine drinkers move from comparing many grapes or vineyards to concentrating on vintages from just a few chateaux. In the same way, as greater experience and knowledge is acquired, a Whisky Drinker may become a “Connoisseur” of certain whisky distilleries.
Nowadays, there are often a range of official and independent bottlings from each distillery. So, Connoisseurs can savour and learn about different ages, vintages, strengths and wood finishes from their favourites. New bottles are being released constantly, So, this is a never-ending journey.
Skene Whisky has a range of vintage single cask expressions which will appeal to Connoisseurs. Such premium bottlings typically contain whiskies which are 30 years old or more, uncoloured, unchillfiltered and at cask strength.
3. COLLECTORS
It is said by some that every whisky lover eventually becomes, to a greater or lesser extent, a whisky “Collector”.
Sometimes, it just happens. Family, friends and business contacts find out that someone loves their whisky and every gift is soon a bottle of amber nectar. All too quickly, the individual’s drinks cupboard is bulging with unopened bottles – a ‘collection’.
On other occasions, the whisky lover will maybe make a conscious decision to buy two bottles of favoured releases. One to open and drink straightaway and the other to keep.
Many Collectors have themes. Maybe, vintages from their year of birth. Or whiskies from a particular Scotch Whisky region (eg Islay). Or bottlings from lost/closed distilleries. The possibilities are endless!
4. FLIPPERS
“Flippers” are people who purchase whiskies with the sole intention of immediately re-selling them for monetary gain. They typically target new ‘limited’ releases which they know from experience will be in very high demand, such as the Macallan Folios series or Ardbeg Committee bottlings.
Perhaps, counter-intuitively, many of the most flipped whiskies are younger no-age-statement single malts which are not of the finest quality. But this doesn’t matter to Flippers, who regard the whiskies they buy purely as ‘commodities’
Sometimes, ‘flippable’ whiskies are simply available in-store or online. Increasingly though, to give everyone a fair chance, both bottlers and retailers are using ballots to decide which customers get a bottle.
Having acquired a highly sought-after whisky release, some Flippers will re-sell to a known contact. Others will advertise the bottle for sale privately, via social media. However, most bottles are simply packaged up and sent off to a specialist whisky auctioneer.
Historically, there were only ‘bricks and mortar’ whisky auctioneers. However, here in the UK, there are now a number of very large online only auctioneers, who each conduct monthly auctions. Scotch Whisky Auctions, Whisky Auctioneer, Just Whisky and Whisky Hammer to name but a few.
5. INVESTORS
“Investors” are also purchasing whiskies to re-sell for monetary gain. However, unlike Flippers, they typically keep the bottles they buy for some considerable time before disposing of them.
So, they are looking for expressions that will potentially give them measured and sustained growth over a number of years. These may be vintage expressions from ‘gold standard’ distilleries like Dalmore, Macallan and Springbank. Or they may be bottlings from distilleries now sadly lost to us, such as Coleburn, Caperdonich or Imperial.
It is important for Investors (and indeed Collectors) to remember that their whiskies shouldn’t be exposed to direct sunlight or to high temperatures. Bottles should also be stored upright (unlike wine).
If whisky is to be stored at home, owners should also contact their insurers to check that their bottles are covered by their home contents policy.
Investing in whisky shouldn’t be undertaken lightly, as there can be no guarantees that any particular bottle will appreciate in value!
Before making any purchases, potential investors are advised to undertake a lot of research. Also, to build relationships with long-established and reputable whisky retailers, who could assist them in acquiring desirable bottlings.
Buying whisky privately via social media is not recommended. Sadly, most platforms are awash with scammers.
Purchasing from larger online whisky auctioneers is generally safer, since you will physically receive any bottles which you win. However, despite the best efforts of auctioneers, fakes do find their way past pre-listing scrutiny and into auctions.
