Whisky Forum - Limits

sorren · Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2014 8:32 pm Post subject: Limits

I was just thinking about when I first started my " collection " of malts, I remember thinking Â£20-£30 pounds was a profound amount to spend on a bottle, people used to say they would spend Â£50-70 pounds on a bottle and I'd laugh at them, now its my turn to be laughed at, I then realised I was spending Â£70-£100 per bottle on a regular basis, then that was doubled and on occasion Â£300+ , now I look at malt and just think I need to have that bottle... Then look at the price, so my question to you is when did you realise your budget was on the up and what do you consider your limits to be ?

Diademo · Master Of Malts Joined: 22 Aug 2012 Posts: 1255

opelfruit · Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2014 9:10 pm Post subject:

I don't have a collection per se, I buy what I plan to drink and I buy more than I actually drink in practice so bottles do build up. The bottles I have unopened (only about a dozen or so) were all bought with the intention of drinking and they will be drunk at some point, to this degree it limits my spending - if I were buying to speculate and for investment purposes then I would spend a massive amount more with the intention of long term returns.....but I detest it.

From the usual start out (~£30) the first bottle I bought that I thought was expensive was a Balvenie 15 SB (about Â£50 I think at the time) and a Dalmore Cigar Malt (about Â£65). From there is took off and I think my average bottle spend is about £100. I'd go up to Â£200-£300 for something special but for my usual drinkers i wouldn't really go over a ton. I could easily spend Â£300-£500 for a daily drinker but I'm not prepared to as it think it's a bit excessive.....and my wife would start finding things to buy Very Happy

I'd say recently that I've pulled it back at bit and I'm starting to explore cheaper malts that I skipped when I went up to older ones. Working through things like the Glencadam range for example and the prices are much lower but I'm enjoying the whisky more than most of the more expensive bottles.

I remember a few years back when my spend was about Â£60-£70 a bottle I saw 2 bottles of Yoichi 20yr 1990 vintage in a shop near me and had to have them, they were Â£250 a pop and I got both - I had to have them and didnt really give it a 2nd thought. I wouldn't do that now though and over the last 6 months my average bottle spend has dropped to about Â£50 (however, quanity has probably doubled!!)

................it is quite easy to get carried away though as we all know.
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"Too much of anything is bad, but too much good whisky is barely enough."

sorren · Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2014 9:13 pm Post subject:

I agree there are some fantastic bottles at sub Â£100 but there are some very good bottles above this bracket, I suppose it all depends if you believe something rare and old is worth the extra money.. Just for the privilege of trying it..

opelfruit · Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2014 9:15 pm Post subject:

sorren · Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2014 9:22 pm Post subject:

Let me add that my " collection " is not a collection for the intention to be sold for massive profit, most is for drinking, some will be given to my daughters as they were bottled in their birth years and on the day they were born, some may be sold to fund further bottles, ( before this thread turns into something else ) I have bought quite a few old and rare bottles to drink with friends on special occasions, I agree with you opelfruit that there are some really good drinking whisky for a lot less than Â£100..

sorren · Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2014 9:25 pm Post subject:

That's so true opelfruit, it's horrible when you get an expensive bottle and it's rubbish, or not what you expected....

opelfruit · Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2014 9:26 pm Post subject:

don't worry I wasn't accusing you of being an investor Wink

_________________
"Too much of anything is bad, but too much good whisky is barely enough."

sorren · Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2014 9:29 pm Post subject:

I just wanted to clarify the " collector " bit, I know it upsets a lot of people, I just can't drink it fast enough Laughing

Alastair · Posted: Sun Dec 14, 2014 12:38 am Post subject:

Today i normaly dont go much over Â£100 for the collection which i will drink one day, i look at it with the view that you dont need to go much higher in price to find some of the best whiskies. 2 or 3 years ago my top limit would have been around Â£60-£70

I find whisky events as well as reviews and feed back on sites like this invaluable when buying the more expensive whiskies but i have noticed recently standard whisky events have less and less of the Â£70 - Â£100 range whiskies available to sample

ralfy legend · Posted: Sun Dec 14, 2014 8:08 am Post subject:

Well for me its Â£50 tops for now as im racing through all the entry levels as quick as i can, but buying from Â£25 to Â£50 and looking and waiting for the deals is fun and just the way it is at present, now i can afford a Â£100 bottle as ive got four bottled now for xmas for now the limits are in place.

TyWebb · Member Joined: 24 Jul 2014 Posts: 13 Location: Florida

I live in the States (so I'll convert USD to GBP @ 1/1.57).

35 GBP (or less) will get me the following:
Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban or Lasanta
Highland Park 12
Balvene 12 DW
Laphroaig 10 or QC
Glenfiddich 15
Aberlour 12
Dalmore 12
For 1 pound more I can get Glenfarclas 12 or Glendronach 12.
These are my 'everyday go-to drams'. The first three are always on-hand.

50GBP (or less), brings in the follwing:
Balvenie 14 Caribbean Cask
Ardbeg Uigeadail
Laphroaig Triple Wood
Highland Park 15

The magic price here in the States for me is $80 - $100 (50 - 64 GBP). Here's what a C-note gets me (with some change in many instances):
Laphroaig Cairdeas (I've got the 2013 port-finished offering)
Glenmorangie Nectar D'or
Aberlour A'bunadh
Highland Park Dark Origins (haven't tried this yet...is it that much better than HP12 or HP15?)
Dalmore 15
Lagavulin 16

With this list and these prices, I rarely exceed 65GBP and the large majority of my purchases are in the 35-50 GBP range.

sorren · Posted: Sun Dec 14, 2014 5:02 pm Post subject:

Some nice bottles in that list, I find myself buying a few of those on a regular basis ( not too regular ) but I was thinking about those special bottles we treat our selfs to, be it to drink now or save for a rainy day in our twilight years..

Newby · Single Malt Member Joined: 25 Apr 2014 Posts: 35

My most expensive bottle was the last I got, about GBP 55 for Ardbeg Ug.

Only started drinking whisky this year so before that Glenfarclas 15, Glenfiddich 15, Ardbeg 10, Balvenie DW are the only bottles I've ever owned..

Wanted to buy something around the 80 level recently, but wife not too happy about it, and to be fair there's enough cheaper stuff to be working through!

TheWM · Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2014 7:50 pm Post subject:

Carrying over from the other thread re: best drams - I'm a collector (of sorts).

I've never actually sold a bottle but wouldn't rule it out. But - I finished my Spirit of Asama recently. I paid Â£50 odd quid for it. I've noticed that auction prices are x4 what I paid for it!

The question I ask, is can I afford to not worry about what the market is doing (i.e. if it benefited me financially to sell, should I?).

With kids and an ever increasing 'want' list, the answer is finely balanced and I do not think there is ever a right answer.

But going back to the question, for my everyday drinking, my limit has slowly increased from Â£30 to Â£50. For the collection I will 'happily' spend Â£300+ but, I personally don't think I can justify drinking that until I have financially got to a place where (for example) I won't bat an eyelid paying Â£20 for a dram in a bar.

My average spend is often brought down by buying cheaper bottles in Aldi or similar. I think there are still excellent drams out there under Â£80, but increasingly less so - although I have branched out to bourbon and other whiskies, to try and seek out value.