Yes that’s right, as mentioned in an earlier post, it’s the last well kept secret in this word of Scotch Single Malts. For some reason, unless a bottle has a Vintage statement on it, it’s worth 5 times less.
For example a Dalmore with a 1973 Vintage statement can sell for over 800 Euro, but the 12yo, also distilled in the early 70’s because bottled in early 80’s, you can still pick up for under 200. Same juice, different price. A Glen Garioch with a 1965 statement can sell for almost 1000, but a 10yo bottled in 1976 without the vintage printed on the label, sits unsold for 195 euro on an online shop. That’s just a couple of examples, let’s go into more details….
Imagine if the Lapphy 10yo above had a vintage stated on the label, let’s say this was bottled around 1989 (I could be wrong… Marcel?) so it would have a 1978 distillation date, the same bottle would sell for close to 1000 euro for sure.
Same for the Highland Park and the Springbank. And the Laddie. These and many other “Low cost” malts deserve a chance and my advice is to buy them up as you find them because they were produced in a time when making good Whisky was a serious deal, there was no rush to produce, fermentation time was long and care for the choice of casks was primary concern.
So look for them and let us know, post your tasting notes here if you can so we can build a sort of database for people who would like to taste good whisky for a fair price.
