Collecting Whisky & Co.

So because this is an informative Blog and it is dedicated to those who, like myself, have passion for the product, it is imperative to give some advice to the collector. I have started collecting empty bottles around 1979 and stopped in 1986 when i moved to the USA to be a Musician. When my family asked me to come back as they needed my help, in 2001 right after September 11, I thought it was the perfect time to embrace my Country again.

Soon after i went into the dusty moldy cellar where i had placed my long forgotten bottles and started looking them up on the Internet. At that time there was close to nothing regarding value of bottles or online shops, but with a bit of work I found out that what i spent for had at least tripled in value and there I got hit by the bug again. Yes, PROFIT!! I LOVE IT!! I know this is so not Politically Correct but trust me, only a hypocrite-full of himself-righteous liar can honestly say that he really DOES NOT care if the bottle he bought is now worth 10 times more, he only does it for the drink. Bullshit. We all feel smart, we all feel more secure knowing that the 100 euro we spent could (at least potentially) be turned into 500 only a year later, and yes I do not do it FOR PROFIT, I don’t buy today to sell tomorrow, but it’s really nice to know, anything happens I will not leave my kids a bunch of stamps or Swatch watches they know not what to do with, I will leave them something that, if they don’t have my passion, they can sell and buy their education and maybe a roof on their head with! And come on! The face on your accountant’s face or your banker when you tell him that “yes, I invested on something that brings me 20% a year and if I want to I can just drink it”, it’s priceless! I have seen many bankers or stock people come and ask me to invest in Whisky for them. I always tell them I cannot do it, but it’s a nice feeling when these “professionals” come and ask ME!

Many times when i sell a bottle to somebody they feel compelled to say “Really Diego ! Its not for resale, I will drink it”! Like if making a profit was a crime, something to be frowned upon, and I tell them, you bought it, you do what you want with it, throw it against the wall, drink it, sell it, it’s YOURS. I Will be the first one to say that the state of Whisky prices nowadays is just too much, ridiculous, but then I go and buy an electric bicycle and it cost 2000 euro, I go to buy a curtain for my veranda and it cost me 4000 euro! SO why not 3000 for a 1960 40 years old Laphroaig? That took a lot of time and care to make, and the pleasure it will bring is enormous and can be shared with others. Maybe it was under-valued before!

So I will go against the tide and say, do collect, put them away, don’t drink them all, you never know, you might need some money, you will love looking at them every day, like I do, for me it’s therapy, I feel down one day and go and look at my cabinets and remember where I got this one and the guy who I bought this one from was so and so… it’s not a crime to collect Whisky and it’s not a crime to profit from it, as long as you have passion for the stuff, go for it. If you do it JUST for profit, if you couldn’t care less if it was Whisky or car parts, then stay away from me, I want to at least have a dram and a conversation with you!

This week my son, 6 years old, asked to start his collection, he of course likes miniatures, he knows the names of the Distilleries and stuff like that, and his eyes shine when he gets a new one. That’s what it’s all about. Shine.