Our low-down from the Lowlands

22 November 2023

Our low-down from the Lowlands

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All our articles are designed to be informative and easy to digest for our existing and potential customers. Whisky values can go down as well as up. When buying a cask, spend only what you can afford to put at risk. Please get in touch with any questions you may have at sales@macinneswhisky.com. No question is a silly one...

 

Last week, Founder Jon and Marketing Director Ben travelled to the Lowlands of Scotland. Over a few days, they visited bonded warehouses, enabling MacInnes' customers to see the location of their casks during maturation. Jon also took the opportunity to discuss whisky casks, resulting in the acquisition of excellent new casks at a very affordable entry price for new customers looking to dip their toes into the market.

Renewing the love of Scotland – and its distilleries

Whisky Distillery
Whilst in the Lowlands, the pair took time for a tour of Glenkinchie, a Lowlands Distillery owned by Diageo, and one of four constituent single malts in the renowned blended whisky Johnny Walker. "On our tour around the Glenkinchie Distillery, it was fascinating to hear again that 80% (at least) of Scotch single-malt whiskies end up in blended whisky, such as the Johnny Walker." Jon Hook

Scarcity as a result of blending
This becomes really interesting for investors in single-malt casks, as the value of those casks begins to rise when the volume of available casks remaining has reduced, and scarcity (of a particular whisky, from a specific year) begins to bear an impact on the potential price an interested party is prepared to pay to own it. Blended whiskies account for around 85% of overall whisky sales – in 1980, that figure was 99%, so the past forty years have been great for the single-malt market.

Keeping an ear close to the ground

Whisky Casks

Spending time in Edinburgh and the surrounding areas was an excellent opportunity to learn more about businesses involved in bottling and storing whisky, including bonded warehouses that would allow MacInnes and its customers to visit and sample their own whisky.

For a Scottish whisky to be called Scotch when it's bottled, the whisky must remain stored in Scotland for the entire maturation period. Moreover, unless a cask owner is prepared to pay duty before the whisky has matured, let alone before it is ready for sale in bottles, the cask must remain in a bonded warehouse.

We're looking forward to building on this in the coming months so that 2024 can present an even greater opportunity for clients seeking to fully appreciate the tangible nature of owning a cask of whisky.

Constructing the perfect experience

Ben and Jon

Squeezing even more into their few short days, Jon and Ben met with travel and experience partners. Neil, pictured, runs a business that offers clients 'money can't (usually) buy' trips. They reported it was great to hear how the world of whisky compels whisky lovers of all budgets to experience Scotland and its distilleries in such varied ways.

To learn more about the trip or discuss the new casks added to our stocks, email us to schedule an appointment, either in person or by phone. You can also telephone the team on 0207 100 7321.

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