A Beginners guide to collecting and investing in Whisky – Part 2

In this instalment we’ll consider the scenario that you’ve made a conscious decision to start collecting or investing in whisky. You’ve already made decisions about what whiskies, distilleries, vintages that you’d like to feature in your portfolio. You’ve also registered with auctioneers and are primed and ready to enter the bidding – so what comes next?

FAQs

Familiarise yourself with the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regarding bidding that should be available from each auctioneer. Now, we’re not talking about the charges, which we covered in the first instalment. No, what needs further consideration is the type of bidding software utilised by the auctioneer.

BIDDING FORMAT

Take for instance you’re first in with a bid, all anxious and wanting to get things underway. The bottle has no reserve and bidding starts at £5. You’re prepared to pay £100. Now with some auctioneers the winning bid will show as £5 and you’ll have the safety net of being able to sit back and automatically bid right up until £100 is breached. This is known as proxy bidding software and is featured on some auction websites including here at Just-Whisky Auctions (JWA). A different approach is also utilised by some auctioneers whereby your maximum bid is immediately taken and displayed. In this scenario the bid would immediately show at £100, meaning to secure this bottle you may have bid again.

There are pros and cons to both methods so being aware of what format bids are taken in advance is advisable. My own personal preference is the proxy format as a bidder and regardless of what method the auctioneer features, in this day and age you should be informed almost immediately by email if you’ve been outbid or you can access the auction via your mobile phone.

Some may bid when the bottles are just made available knowing they’ll be outbid at some point. The reasoning behind this is to create a watch list against their account that can be easily checked if the website doesn’t feature a watch lot option.

RESERVES

Lots may have a reserve price and these are set by the seller in advance. A good auctioneer will discuss reserves with their client and set an expectation whether what they are looking for is realistic. The reserve is there to protect the seller who will only part with the bottle when a minimum price is met. Of course there is nothing to stop the seller going against the auctioneer and setting their own reserve ignoring any advice. Hence why the auctioneer will charge a reserve fee to cover the entry of the lot in the auction; otherwise it’s a free listing for something that might not sell.

If a reserve has been set on a lot then it should be highlighted as part of the lot description. Unfortunately some auctioneers do not highlight this so your bidding may be in vain even if you place the highest offer. In these situations the auctioneer may act as a negotiator between you and the seller after the auction has ended. Personally I have acquired bottles through such discussions and here at JWA the lot will highlight when a reserve is placed and when it has been met.

Another method is to open the auction at the reserve level. For instance the seller will not part with the bottle unless his minimum price of £800 is bid. Therefore the auction bidding starts at £800 rather than £5.  While this method protects the seller it can dissuade others from bidding until the very last minute or at all. On the flipside at least you know what you have to bid to remove the reserve.

CLOSING AUCTIONS

Just hold on for a moment as you’re almost ready to bid! Another aspect to consider is how auctions close. Every auction has a closing time stated but auctioneers can adopt different methods prior to closing a lot. Again, it is worth being aware of what you will be dealing with in advance.

Some auctions will close at the specifically advertised time although this isn’t as common as you think. Other sites may keep an auction running as a complete whole entity until the bids dry up. This can be annoying to a certain extent, as you’re faced with babysitting a bottle to ensure you are successful. Literally you can be sitting online several hours after the auction should have ended.

Another approach is one utilised here at JWA and we believe this is fairer to buyers and sellers alike. If a lot receives a bid within the last 5 minutes then a time extension will appear. This means that if a lot doesn’t receive a bid within those dying moments then you’ll have won the lot when the auction is supposed to end. However say if a bid does come in then a 15-minute countdown for that specific lot appears. If no further bids are entered within this set period, the highest bid wins.  

EXAMINING THE LOT

Now we’re almost ready. You’ve ticked all the boxes and know what is expected of you as a bidder in the auction. You’ve identified a bottle and before bidding please read the description carefully and review the photographs. Look for anything that may affect the value and for older bottles the auctioneer should comment if the fill level is below the norm – this could suggest poor storage or a weaker seal. The importance of provenance is only going to increase in the coming years. Each bottle in my personal collection is documented and recorded as to where the bottle was purchased, when, the price and the original receipt/invoice is archived.

If you have any concerns or questions regarding a lot or a more detailed photograph then contact the auctioneer before bidding. Good customer service should apply to sellers and prospective buyers alike.

If you follow all of these steps then you’ll be better prepared to participate in a whisky auction and remember it can be an enjoyable experience! In the third part of this feature we’ll look at some tactics and the importance of not getting carried away during an auction.

Part 1 can be found here

Tomatin 30 Year Old
All good drams must come to an end, including this newsletter’s choice selection of single malts.

A firm favourite, Tomatin 30 Year Old is no longer being bottled.
Tomatin 30 Year Old $220.66

WHISKY (FEST) GALORE!

A deal for you die-hard whisky festival-goers out there! Until Monday we are running a Bank Holiday special 2 for £50 deal. The deal is open to all customers, and for those who have already bought tickets, this is a chance to buy more, but it is limited to 2 pairs per person and to the first 75 customers to book! Quick, tell your friends!

 
OUR 4TH WHISKY FESTIVAL IN LIVERPOOL 

First up is Liverpool and our 4th year already in the home of The Beatles, The Grand National and not one, but two cathedrals. Talking of which…our festival this year has moved to one of them! 

With the new, historic and central location and more exhibitors than ever before, this is truly an event not to be missed. Where else can you, for the price, sample countless whiskies and have the alchemy of their creation described to you in many cases by the creators themselves. 

The event takes place from 12pm-5pm
Click HERE for 2 FOR £50 tickets & HERE for half-day tickets.

 
THE OLDEST UK WHISKY FESTIVAL OUTSIDE THAT LONDON!  

This is where it all started folks! 13 years ago Eddie why he always had to travel down to London for whisky festivals and thought ‘why can’t I do one here in York?’

So that’s we he did, and who would have thought all these years later we would be ‘Bringing Whisky to the People‘ all over the UK?

York and Yorkshire events are always close to our heart (as well as our home) and we enjoy bringing events with ‘nowt farted about wi’ to the region. Coupled to the fact we have really pushed the boat out in order to make you feel ‘right special’ and are hosting it at York’s ‘world-famous’ Racecourse, this should be unmissable! 

The event takes place from 12pm-5pm
Click HERE for 2 FOR £50 tickets & HERE for half-day tickets.

FINAL FEST OF 2014 – 6TH YEAR IN MANCHESTER

Our final (possibly…) Whisky Festival of the year sees us return to the lovely Bridgewater Hall in central Manchester. Along with Newcastle, this has become one of our largest events and is always packed to the gunnels with whiskies and punters. It always seems the good people of Manchester can never get enough of a good thing. All the usual Whisky Lounge regalia including classes, white and black token dram tokens and more whisky to sample than you can shake a fist at. This is your chance to taste the latest releases, some old favourites as well as some special bottlings that the exhibitors will be showing as ‘Under the Counter’ drams. Exhibitors old and new will be on hand to show you why everyone is talking about whisky.

Definitely the whisky event of the year in Manchester!
The event takes place from 12pm-5pm
Click HERE for 2 FOR £50 tickets & HERE for half-day tickets.
 

PLEASE REMEMBER THIS OFFER IS ONLY OPEN TO THE NEXT 75 CUSTOMERS FOR EACH FESTIVAL!

FOR THOSE NOT IN THE NORTH

For those of you not based in the North, or unable to make it to any of these events, we do have our upcoming World Whisky Review series in September. Promising to be the best yet, you can have a look HERE for details…

Any road up, that’s it for now, but we hope you have a great bank holiday weekend, if you’re not working, and we look forward to seeing you in the not too distant. 

Sláinte,
Eddie, Amanda and Joe
The Whisky Lounge Team

BOWMORE’S MUCH ANTICIPATED LIMITED EDITION, DEVILS CASKS, RELEASES SECOND EDITION

The global hysteria of Bowmore’s Devils Casks is back with the second release in the series 

Bowmore , Islay’s first distillery, is proud to announce the  second release in its sell-out Devil’s Casks series.  

Matured exclusively – and unusually – in the finest first fill sherry casks, the second small batch release of Devil’s Casks is still mischievous. Having mellowed under a cloak of smooth velvet and sublime sherry cask indulgence, it reveals even more of Bowmore’s devilish dark side. This small batch release is, quite simply, devilishly good! The expression gets its name from a legend nearly as old as the distillery itself. It was claimed that the Devil was once spotted and chased through the town, eventually hiding away in the distillery. After searching, the Devil was nowhere to be seen, having made his escape in a whisky barrel. 

Rachel Barrie, Master Blender, Morrison Bowmore Distillers, said:

“The first edition of this expression was one of the most sought after whiskies of 2013. This second small batch release will no doubt emulate that success thanks to its devilishly tasty dark side, in debt to the first-fill sherry casks it has been carefully mellowed in.” 

Product details:

RRP: £60.00

Retailing: Available at specialist whisky retailers globally

Tasting notes:

Colour: Deep mahogany

Nose: Breathe in rich sherried sweetness with dates and sultanas smothered in the indulgence of treacle toffee, pecan and maple syrup.

Taste: Sip the sublime velvet taste of dark chocolate fudge infused with sherried dark fruit, sea-salt and walnut oil.

Finish: Savour the long-lasting finish with sun-dried raisins and salted treacle.

NOTES

Bowmore

The best-balanced Islay Single Malt whisky is the perfect reward after your outdoor experience. Founded in 1779, Bowmore is the oldest Distillery on Islay, one of the Scottish isles, which make up the region known as the ‘Islands’ in the lexicon of Whisky. The other regions are the Highlands, Speyside and the Lowlands. Islay malts are famous for their characteristic smokiness and Bowmore is no exception; we carefully smoke our malt and use skills handed down from generation to generation to craft a perfectly balanced Single Malt.

Bowmore’s adherence to traditional production methods helps to shape the character of our Single Malts. We’re one of only a few distilleries anywhere which still produces its own floor malted barley, hand-turned by traditional wooden malt shovel and hand drawn machinery. For our whiskies we draw water from the Laggan River, with its rich peaty overtones, and it’s the same Islay peat that fires the malt-drying kiln.

Bowmore Distillery’s close proximity to the sea is also vital in determining the final character of our spirit. The legendary Bowmore No. 1 Vaults is where most of our whiskies spend their long lives resting quietly in the cool, dark, damp cellars below sea level, oblivious to the waves thrashing the Vault’s sea-facing wall.

They mature in oak casks, previously used for bourbon, sherry or claret, gradually developing rich and mellow flavours.

It’s this combination of peat, barley, sea breeze, water, wood, people and tradition that together create the perfectly balanced warm and smoky character of Bowmore Single Malt Whiskies.

The Bowmore domestic product range:

• Bowmore Small Batch

• Bowmore 12 Years Old

• Bowmore 15 Years Old ‘Darkest’

• Bowmore 18 Years Old

• Bowmore 25 Years Old

Islay

Islay is the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides, and is also known as “The Queen of the Hebrides.” Its mild climate and rich peaty soil make it ideal for creating whisky, and despite having a population of not much more than 3,000, it’s home to no fewer than eight distilleries.

Aultmore 11 Year Old Provenance 46% | 70cl

Tasting Notes.

Toffee’d. grassy and citric in a clean lemon-y way on the nose. Anticipate palatewise a real vanilla toffee “hit” with a peppery freshness and softening late oiliness. The finish is distinctly smoked – subtly spiced – with a sprinkle of caster sugar.

Tasting notes by Douglas Laing.

Price: £33.33 ex VAT
£40.00 inc VAT

Braeval 12 Year Old Provenance 46% | 70cl

Tasting Notes.

The nose opens attractively spiced with a bees wax quality and develops to flamebee’d ornage zest – crepe suzette style. The palate is warming, still spicy with more orange qualities – now infused in warm caramel. The long finish remains zesty before running drier to lemon pith.

Tasting notes by Douglas Laing.

Price: £36.67 ex VAT
£44.00 inc VAT

Tasting notes by Douglas Laing. 

BUY TICKETS

Price: £15.00
Date: Thursday 11th September
Time: 7:00PM
Location: N&P Cellars

Enjoy whisky cocktails with the man who regularly consults on cocktail styling for the BAFTAS and Film Premieres, Wayne Collins! The Cocktail mastermind. Just £15.00 per ticket!

A rare opportunity to taste newly released Dark Origins from the Highland Park distillery and other special aged whiskies from their Orkney cellars, whilst learning how to mix Highland Park malts to achieve diverse flavour experiences, and perfectly balanced cocktails.

Scottish Field Distillery Visitor Experience of the Year 2014

The Famous Grouse Experience at Glenturret Distillery, Crieff are absolutely delighted to have been nominated for this fantastic award but they need your help to win. You can vote for them until 3rd October here

Mortlach Rare Old

After months of speculation and waiting (and hoarding of the Mortlach Flora and Fauna) the new whiskies from Mortlach are finally here. Well, the first one is – Mortlach Rare Old.

The new range: Rare Old, Special Strength (exclusive to travel retail), 18yo and 25yo

It’s the entry-level bottling for the new range, which will be completed by 18 and 25 year old whiskies as well as a travel retail exclusive, and is very much a statement of intent. While most people’s only real exposure to Mortlach has been through the Flora and Fauna bottling, there’s a lot more to the distillery’s character than heavily sherried whisky.

Mortlach uses a complex distillation process, where some of the spirit is distilled twice, some three times, and some maybe even four by some explanations, averaging out to ’2.81 times’, as stated on the front of the new bottles. It’s similar to what they do at Springbank and Benrinnes, but even more involved and difficult to explain, with a third spirit still, called the Wee Witchie thanks to its pointy-hatted shape, adding a new level of complexity to an-already-difficult-to-understand process. Whatever the method, they end up with three styles of spirit – medium bodied; light and delicate; meaty and sulphury – which are mixed together before they fill their casks.

The Rare Old takes the big sherry feel of the Flora and Fauna and tempers it with some lighter whisky to show more of the variation that we’ve seen in independent bottlings of Mortlach. It uses a combination of first-fill American and European oak casks, as well as some refill and rejuvenated casks, to give a glimpse at the spirit itself, as well as the cask character.

Mortlach Rare Old, 43.4%, £56.95

Nose: Hazelnuts, spicy cinnamon, raisins, candied orange and floral touches up front. There’s quite a lot of sweetness, with some dry, leafy notes balancing barley sugar and vanilla fudge.
Palate: Thick and oily, with dark chocolate, real maraschino cherries, dark wood, plump raisins, freshly sawn oak, spicy cinnamon (almost to Hot Tamale levels), liquorice and biscuits – garibaldi biscuits with cherry jam?
Finish: Spicy cinnamon hangs around, with raisins, more cherry, toasted oak and a bit of barrel char.
Comment: Lighter than the old Flora and Fauna, but still packed with flavour: sweeter and fudgier than before, but with a good slug of sherry-cask-matured whisky in the mix.

The Mortlach Rare Old is available from The Whisky Exchange now, and the 18 and 25 year olds will be appearing later in the year.

Originally published on The Whisky Exchange Blog – Mortlach Rare Old

JAPANESE WHISKY A SELLOUT AT BONHAMS

HONG KONG AUCTION

A bottle of Yamazaki-50 year old fetches HK$257,250

Bonhams Hong Kong continues to take the lead in the sale of rare single malt whiskies in the city with a successful auction of Japanese and Rare Whisky on 15 August.  The 200 lots of Japanese whisky on offer were snapped up with great gusto, resulting in a sellout with every single lot sold. The whisky sale, which also included 64 lots of Scottish single malts, totaled HK$6,564,898, with an overall 97% of the lots sold.

Spirited bidding among the whisky aficionados in the packed saleroom and online drove the prices of their favourite malts above their presale estimates, proving that the demand for rare single malt whiskies and in particular Japanese ones remain at an all time high.  As expected, the highly collectible Yamazaki-50 year old, one of the rarest and oldest Japanese single malt whiskies of all time and the true connoisseur’s dream, fetched HK$257,250, 70% above the presale low estimate of HK$150,000.

Other prized Japanese whisky scored equally well, with Hanyu Ichiro’s Playing Card series from the silent distillery also achieving prices above presale estimates. A set of ‘Royal Flush’ featuring Ace of Clubs, Two of Clubs, Three of Clubs, Four of Clubs and Five of Clubs sold for HK$159,250.  While the set of ‘Six Full House’ consisting of Six of Hearts, Six of Diamonds, Six of Spades, Five of Hearts and Five of Diamonds achieved HK$100,450.

Collectables from Karuizawa, another renowned Japanese silent distillery, attracted their equal share of bidders.  Leading the pack were the Karuizawa命之水 black and white series which sold for HK$116,375 and the extremely rare Karuizawa-1965-21 year old in a crystal decanter which fetched HK$104,125.

The most coveted Scottish single malt remains the Macallan.  The top lot of the sale went to a bottle of Macallan 55 Year Old limited edition in a Lalique crystal decanter which achieved HK$294,000 after intense bidding.

Also hotly contested were the extremely rare Macallan 1948 – 51 year old and the Macallan 1951 which sold for HK$153,125 and HK$147,000 respectively.

Not one to rest on its laurels, the Bonhams Hong Kong wine department is actively seeking consignments for the next Fine and Rare Wines, Cognac and Single Malt Whisky Auction to be held on 18 November. Consignments will close on 30 September. More liquid treasures will go to block at the next sale to quench the thirst among collectors for the finest wines, spirits and the ‘water of life’. 

Notes

Bonhams, founded in 1793, is the world’s third largest international auctioneers of fine art and antiques. The present company was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son & Neale. In August 2002, the company acquired Butterfields, the principal firm of auctioneers on the West Coast of America. Today, Bonhams offers more sales than any of its rivals, through two major salerooms in London: New Bond Street and Knightsbridge; and a further three in the UK regions and Scotland. Sales are also held in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Carmel, New York and Connecticut in the USA; and Germany, France, Monaco, Hong Kong and Australia. Bonhams has a worldwide network of offices and regional representatives in 27 countries offering sales advice and valuation services in 60 specialist areas. For a full listing of upcoming sales, plus details of Bonhams specialist departments go to http://www.bonhams.com/.

The Springbank 21 year old single cask ‘Renegade’ is now available to order at The Whisky Shop. Only available while stocks last.

This spectacular Sprinbank has been specially selected and bottled by Mark Reynier, the former owner of Bruichladdich Distillery

Springbank fans will know that a 21 year old Springbank of any form is rare enough at the moment, but this incredibly unique bottling goes a step further and offers an opportunity to taste the influence of different maturation environments.

This single cask of Springbank was matured for 13 years at Springbank and then moved to the warehouses at Bruichladdich for the remaining 8 years of maturation. With Bruichladdich being much more exposed to prevailing Atlantic winds and foreshore influences than at Springbank’s warehouses in Campbeltown, some additional “maritime” influences have been imparted to this already exceptional whisky. Matured in Sherry Hogshead number 118.

One of only 219 bottles available. Bottled at 46% volume. Springbank whisky is widely classed as one of the most collectable single malts in the world and this limited edition offers collectors an exciting opportunity to add to their collection.

£250 Click here to buy