Over the past few years whisky makers have released a variety of very rare and expensive Scotch whiskies to the marketplace.  The price of these rare offerings is determined by what the market will bear, or in other words, the amount the investor is willing to pay.  It appears that the price has little to do with the cost and time required to produce the bottle but more about who is interested in purchasing it. What has been happening is that there are a number of avid whisky enthusiasts who are willing to part with large sums of cash to claim one of these rare items as their own.

The participants in this market consists of collectors, investors and high-end consumers.  Individuals may take on only one or even all three of these roles.  For example, the same person may try to acquire two bottles, one to keep and maybe sell later, and the other to drink.

Ironically, with the recent surge in whisky’s popularity, distillers have been creating and promoting no-age statement whiskies. Older whiskies are more valuable, but the industry is far from claiming that older is necessarily better.  The older the vintage, the fewer bottles there are available, making it more desirable to those who can afford it, as well as more collectible.

Marketing whisky is about the quality of the whisky and the stories it allows the producers to tell about their brand’s legacy and history.

The media seems to have become infatuated by the so-called investment potential of these expensive bottles and casks.  However, whisky producers shy away from considering them as an investment.  There are people collecting simply for the happiness gained from the achievement of getting hold of a particular brand or vintage item.  However, encouraging people to invest for profit is risky business.  A large outlay of cash doesn’t necessarily provide the opportunity for resale for an increased amount later.

In the same way the price of fine wine will fluctuate up and down, so, too will Scotch whisky.  But just like wine, most people don’t consider it an investment vehicle similar to stocks or bonds.

When it comes to distillers setting a price for their rare releases, the only reference point seems to be the auction houses. If the price is set too high they will be accused of having delusions of grandeur. If the price is too low, the whisky will be quickly purchased and resold.

If you find yourself in the possession of a bottle of Scotch from one of the distilleries that no longer exists, you may have something of great value without realizing it. This list of distilleries includes Brora, Imperial, Littlemill, Port Ellen and Rosebank.

Revenues from the sale of rare whisky is minuscule in comparison to the profit made from the sale of the distilleries’ standard fare.  That is one reason why every distillery doesn’t take part in this niche market. Another being that any of the newer distilleries haven’t existed long enough to have any casks that have aged long enough to enable them to provide such a rare offering.

A certain amount of snobbery exists in the ultra-rare whisky market.  There are those who believe that distilleries, such as Macallan, should not have luxury status because their whiskies are available through grocery retailers in Britain.  Apparently in the view of some, if a distiller makes their product easily accessible to consumers, it raises doubts about its luxury status.

Thankfully, this is not an opinion shared by everyone and that whisky is judged and valued by its quality and flavour.  Proof in point, a bottle of Macallan’s 1926 sold at Sotheby’s for £1.5 million or $2.325 million dollars CDN!

Sláinte mhaith

The western half of Scotland has its roots based in the Gaelic language and given that many whisky distilleries are situated in Gaelic lands, it should be no surprise that their names are often Gaelic as well.  Even some of us who were raised with a Scottish Gaelic parent have difficulty deciphering and pronouncing the names correctly.

I have come up with a list of the distilleries that sport Gaelic names and export their whisky regularly to the Canadian marketplace.  The list is presented in alphabetical order.

AnCnoc Distillery

AnCnoc Distillery, founded in 1894, is situated in Knock, Aberdeenshire. It was originally known as Knocdu (“nock-doo”) from the Gaelic Cnoc Dubh which means ‘black hill’. It later became AnCnoc which simply means ‘the hill’. And is pronounced “ah-nock”.

Auchentoshan Distillery

Auchentoshan Distillery was established in 1823 and is located at the foot of the Kilpatrick hills, close to Clydebank. In Gaelic its name translates to ‘Achadh an Oisein’ which means ‘corner of the field’. It is pronounced as “ock-un-tosh-un”.  The distillery’s motto is “Challenging to say, easy to drink”.

Bruichladdich Distillery

Bruichladdich is located on the wild Rhinns, located on the west side of the Isle of Islay.  It was originally founded in 1881. The name is derived from the Gaelic words ‘brudhach’ and ‘chalddich’ which together translate to ‘brae by the shore’. The name is pronounced as “broo-ick-laddie”.

Bunnahabhain

Bunnahabhain Distillery, founded in 1881, is located near Port Askaig, on the north side of the Island of Islay. Its name is derived from the Scottish Gaelic for ‘mouth of the river’, Bun na h-Abhainn.  It is pronounced “bu-na-ha-venn”.

Caol Ila Distillery

Caol Ila Distillery is located on the northeastern shore of Islay. It was founded in 1846. The name derives from the Gaelic ‘Caol Ìle’ which means ‘sound of Islay’ and is pronounced as “cull – eela”.

Cragganmore Distillery

Cragganmore is in the Speyside region near the village of Ballindalloch.  It has been in existence since 1869. The Gaelic form of its name is creagan mór, which translates as ‘great rock’. Cragganmore is pronounced as “kra-guhn-more”.

Glenfiddich Distillery

Glenfiddich was founded in 1886, in the Highland community of Dufftown, Banffshire.  Glenfiddich is Gaelic for valley of the deer and is pronounced “glen-fidd- ick”.

Glenmorangie Distillery

Established in 1843, Glenmorangie is located in the Highlands, about 60 kilometres north of Inverness. There is debate as to whether the name was derived from Gleann Mòr na Sìth, which means ‘valley of tranquility’ or Gleann Mór-innse, which refers to ‘valley of big meadows’. In either event, Glenmorangie is pronounced “glen-muh-ran-jee”.

Lagavulin Distillery

Lagavulin, founded in 1816, is located at Laguvulin Bay on Islay. Its name is an anglicization of the Gaelic lag a’mhuilin which means ‘hollow by the mill’. Lagavulin is pronounced “lagga-voolin”.

Laphroaig Distillery

The name Laphroaig means ‘beautiful hollow by the broad bay’, which makes sense as the distillery, which was founded in 1815, is situated along the south shoreline on Islay.  Laphroaig is pronounced as “la-froyg”

Tamdhu Distillery

Established in 1897, Tamdhu Distillery is located in the Highlands in the village of Knockando. Its Scottish Gaelic name translates to ‘little dark hill’ and is simply pronounced “tam – doo”.

Tomintoul Distillery

Tomintoul Distillery is located in the Speyside whisky region, inside the Glenlivet estate. The distillery is named after the nearby village of Tomintoul, which is the highest village in the Highlands of Scotland.  Tomintoul is by far the youngest distillery in the group, established in 1964. The Gaelic translation of its name means ‘the hill of the barn’ and is pronounce “tom-in-towel”.

In Closing

I think I now have a better understanding as to why my father always drank Glenlivet; it was very easy to pronounce, even for a Scotsman!

Sláinte mhaith