@Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington @cascode totally agree. To me, buying for the purpose of “invest” makes no sense. These are highly fickle, highly illiquid (ironic). Better off buying stocks than these bottles , if the purpose is “investment “

@cascode I don’t know who these people think they are going to sell to - although auctions in Europe seem to be getting an unfair share of desirable, overpriced bottles (vs Kentucky and our shady Facebook trading/selling schemes). I know KY allows individuals to sell to licenses bars/retailers but person-to-person sales are still technically illegal. Regardless, I agree whiskey tastes better when actually consumed (despite the growing trend to not actually drink it).

@cascode Damn economics. Relatively inelastic supply means huge price and scarcity swings with a small change in demand. Kicking myself for not buying multiple bottles. Always wanted to try it but said “it will be there when I am ready, no need to buy now.”

@Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington Following on from the last posting, the most infuriating thing is that this is all just driven by fashion. Springbank makes great whisky but no more so than many other distilleries. It’s their small size and the unique position of doing 100% of the process in-house in a highly inefficient traditional manner that makes them glamorous and being lauded by influencers both professional and amateur has not helped. The crazy thing is that there are scores of expressions from other producers I’d rate just as highly as the best Springbank, Longrow or Hazelburns and in a blind tasting I’d wager most people would not rate Springbank so highly anyway.

@Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington I don’t know about other markets but over here we have always received Springbank in two allocations per year, around March and September. Their output is comparatively small but demand used to be low and even things like the 16 year local barley would sit on the shelves for a long time and you could get most releases without hassle. What has changed is the presence of investors who buy multiple bottles with no intention of ever drinking any. The legitimate enthusiasts who just want some of the juice are then forced to join in on the frenzy as well. Treating whisky as a commodity like this is infuriating 😡

@cascode the word “allocated” has the same effect on me as hearing nails on a chalkboard - the fact that Springbank seems to be rolling out in “allocations” on multiple European websites and gut-wrenching prices here make me think I need a Springbank alternative

I'd be happy to pay silly money for any Springbank if I could just get hold of some. This morning the main retailer in Australia sent out a note to subscribers that the first allocation for 2022 was here - sales limited to 1 bottle of each expression per customer. I was in the shower when this popped up in my email and by the time I read it 20 minutes later everything has sold out. It's a mega feeding frenzy every time now and if you're not on line the the second word comes through you miss out :-(

@Slainte-Mhath to be fair, I sold 3 of the last local barely for a small profit because I hate them and rob from whisky in the 6 wanted them more than me. I sold the 3 well under the auction price of 1. F this investment stuff. But he did buy my backup springbank 25 :)

@Slainte-Mhath I think that Local Barley in 2018 was the last Springbank I bought. And yeah—$150 or so was what I paid. $1000+ seems ridiculous

It's even worse with the Local Barley. I bought mine in 2018 for about $150, auctions prices are north of $1000 now. Not sure if I am going to open the bottle, which sucks. I never bought it as 'investment'.

They're still the same ~100 depending on exchange rates from the UK, but yeah US prices seem to be heading towards 300 for no apperent reason. It's NOT the stores marking them up at the places I shop.

@Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington wait , really? I’ve not bought Springbank in ages. Is an 18 at $230 now considered a bargain ? The last time I bought Springbank was maybe 5 years ago—-I knew they got pricier more than normal whiskey, but didn’t realize it climbed that much

$230 sounds like a relative bargain!