Whisky
Scotch whisky now accounts for up to 70% of all Scottish food and drink fare, at an estimated £4.7bn per annum, with 41 containers traded every second. In recent years, market figures suggest that Whisky Cask acquisitions have generated returns of between 12 and 20% every year.
WHISKY FROM SCOTLAND
Whisky was excluded from prohibition in the 1920s if it was recommended for medical grounds. This loophole was famously used by Winston Churchill. As distillers sought possibilities to export their goods and aid the struggling postwar economy, World War II would define the business as we know it today. The Scotch Whisky business is expanding now, with 42 bottles (70cl @ 40% ABV) being shipped per second to 175 countries worldwide, totaling over 1.3 billion bottles each year.
PERFORMANCE IN THE MARKET
Rare whisky bottle prices increased by 40% in the previous year, outperforming known alternative asset classes such as watches, art, and automobiles. We’ve watched some fantastic whisky sales over the previous few of years, including the following: At auction, a single bottle of Macallan 1926 surpassed records, fetching £1.5 million. In 2018, auction houses in the United Kingdom alone sold almost £40.7 million worth of rare whisky. Last year, a 1989 Macallan barrel sold for $572,000 — a record price for a mature cask of whisky.
Scotch whisky is adored globally by consumers and collectors. Currently, Scotland’s bonded warehouses hold approximately 20 million cases of whisky, with Scotch whisky accounting for 20% of the UK’s annual food and beverage exports.
Education is an important and enjoyable part of whisky collecting, as it’s a unique world with its own language and fundamentals. We are here to guide you through. See the glossary of terms and definitions:
Alcohol by Litre (ABL)
This is how the quantity of whisky is measured, by the litre.
Alcohol by Volume (ABV)
This is the measure of the strength of the spirit. A whisky must be at least 40% ABV to be considered such.
Blended Malt
These is a whisky made from various wholegrains, rather than a single grain/malt.
Bonded Warehouse
This is a secure HMRC storage facility where whisky is stored whilst it is maturing.
Cask
This is the wooden barrel in which whisky is stored to mature.
Duty
Duty is a tax paid when you remove a cask from a bonded warehouse for bottling and onward sale to the retail market.
Ex-Bourbon Cask
A cask that previously contained bourbon.
Malt Whisky
This is a whisky produced only from malted barley, yeast and water. Whisky is essentially just distilled beer.
New Make Spirit
This is whisky pre-maturing before it’s been cask-matured for at least 3 years – a clear, potent spirit.
Re-Charred Cask
This is a cask that has been flame-burned, which adds an additional flavour profile to the spirit.
Re-Gauge
This is a test carried out every three years, after the first five years has passed, to test the alcohol strength and volume.
Single Cask Malts
This is a whisky that comes from a single cask.
Single Malt
This is a whisky made from just a single malt, usually barley.
Sleeper Distillery
This is a distillery that has ceased production but still holds an inventory of casks.
OLA Original
Original litres of alcohol.
RLA
Re-gauged litres of alcohol.
