advantages of a dodgy memory. cha-ching!!

[Ken Gargett]

a bloke recently got a call from the mccallan distillery. they were wondering what he planned to do with the cask of whisky he bought from them back in 1988. he paid $6,500 at the time and then completely forgot all about it. seems he bought it on a whim and then never gave it another thought. 

the distillery thought that perhaps he should provide them with instructions. apparently he got quite a shock, having completely forgotten it. so it is going up for sale. 

it is expected to top $500,000. which would be a world record. actually, they expect it to go for quite a bit more than that. the previous cask record was for a mccallan from 1991 which sold quite a few years ago for $574,000 and given the increase in top whisky prices in recent years, who knows. 

sitting by the phone waiting for the call to ask my instructions on all those pre-castro cigars i bought which i have forgotten about. 

[GoodStix]

'80s Macallan... if that's in good wood, major drool.  I miss the days when us mere mortals could buy great sherried Macs.  I'm sure I'm not alone here 🙂

[Ken Gargett]

1 minute ago, GoodStix said:

'80s Macallan... if that's in good wood, major drool.  I miss the days when us mere mortals could buy great sherried Macs.  I'm sure I'm not alone here 🙂

you are not alone. 

[riderpride]

I hope he sampled it first. I could definitely use $500k, but I can also use some fiiiine Mac and a sweet story to tell. Maybe find someone who's going to sell it and snag a bottle or two and make slightly less cheddar. 

I assume his wife answered if he decided to auction immediately?

Cheers!

[Nevrknow]

23 hours ago, riderpride said:

I hope he sampled it first. I could definitely use $500k, but I can also use some fiiiine Mac and a sweet story to tell. Maybe find someone who's going to sell it and snag a bottle or two and make slightly less cheddar. 

I assume his wife answered if he decided to auction immediately?

Cheers!

Agreed. I would have to put some kind of an " I get 2/? bottles stipulation" on it.

[BrightonCorgi]

Obviously not a person who is in need of  money.  $6,500 for cask of whiskey 30+ years ago was a sizable check.

I'd take a bottle or two after the auction.  What is the annual evaporation on a cask, 3%?

[GoodStix]

4 hours ago, BrightonCorgi said:

What is the annual evaporation on a cask, 3%?

Varies greatly depending on where in the world (climate), but in Scotland the angels' share is roughly 2% per yr.

[Ken Gargett]

8 hours ago, BrightonCorgi said:

Obviously not a person who is in need of  money.  $6,500 for cask of whiskey 30+ years ago was a sizable check.

I'd take a bottle or two after the auction.  What is the annual evaporation on a cask, 3%?

that was ny thought. if you can shell out that sort of money back then, you are not looking for change down the back of the couch.

agree with goodstix. closer to 2% but lineball and would vary a little even throughout scotland depending on cellar conditions and temp. does not mention topping up so assume that was not happening - would imagine that it does not happen with top whiskies. one also assumes that they tested it as if it had gone dud during that time, can't imagine mccallan would want it out there. 

[Kitchen]

Well it made it to the news, unless there was another bloke with a dodgy memory that also bought a cask in 1988 and forgot about it.  Final sale price was $1,295,459.68

[Hammer Smokin']

who spends $6,500 and forgets about it? 

also, clearly I'm uneducated but, who sells something then holds onto it for 34 years? 

finally, who has the same contact info from 1988?

 

[Jack]

16 minutes ago, Hammer Smokin' said:

who spends $6,500 and forgets about it? 

also, clearly I'm uneducated but, who sells something then holds onto it for 34 years? 

finally, who has the same contact info from 1988?

 

Uh, guilty - when it comes to cigars and wine.

It's a UK thing m8.

When your home doesn't have any numbers in the address and has been passed down for six generations.

[Hammer Smokin']

what about the purchasing and then holding onto it? 

is it normal to buy booze and have the seller hold onto it (with the buyers contact info) for 34 years? 

is this like an online humidor thing? (which also eventually came to an end). 

Can you buy booze and keep it at the distillers location for an unlimited amount of time?

[Jack]

3 minutes ago, Hammer Smokin' said:

what about the purchasing and then holding onto it? 

is it normally to buy booze and have the seller hold onto it (with the buyers contact info) for 34 years? 

is this like an online humidor thing? (which also eventually came to an end). 

Can you buy booze and keep it at the distillers location for an unlimited amount of time?

"Hello - I'd like to purchase a cask of your finest grade Whisky."

"Thank you for the inquiry.  Please understand that it will be several years before we get to your cask and then we also recommend that you allow it to age in our warehouse for at least 12 years before bottling."

--

It's sort of an old school liquor/wine/cigar thing.  I believe it's still similar (though not quite as long) for first growth French wines (see: French Wine Futures.)

It was common to have your tobacconist purchase you cigars and then keep them for aging - sometimes for decades if you forgot.  Get lucky and you can go downstairs at JJ Fox in London and you'll see what I mean.

--

No clue if this is still a "thing", but for cask purchases of whisky, I would be surprised if it was not.

[Ken Gargett]

14 minutes ago, Hammer Smokin' said:

what about the purchasing and then holding onto it? 

is it normally to buy booze and have the seller hold onto it (with the buyers contact info) for 34 years? 

is this like an online humidor thing? (which also eventually came to an end). 

Can you buy booze and keep it at the distillers location for an unlimited amount of time?

that would have been the deal and factored into the price at the time. not unlike buying wine en primeur though obviously for longer here. i have bought sparkling wine that i knew would not be ready for many years. the winery would provide updates and then disgorge at a time we agreed. about ten years from memory. 

this way, with the whisky, the distillery gets its cash upfront and does not have to sit on a product for many years, wearing the costs and interest. the purchaser (assuming they remember) would get the whisky for a discounted price. everyone wins. in theory. 

as for the six grand, the money some people have these days... 

always remember back in my legal days in the 90s acting for a liquidator and they were selling luxury units on the beach at main beach, gold coast. one woman (the family name would be well known to qlders and might even be foh clients so no names) said that they should toss in the display furniture. the liquidators said no, it was worth $70K. the woman was completely puzzled at this and i remember her response. "but that is just a round of drinks". she didn't get the furniture and i do not think she was at all bothered. 

[Hammer Smokin']

appreciate the info! all details I was completely unfamiliar with. 

I bet there are a shit ton of cases where the purchaser dies and the "goods" just stay with the distiller. 

[Ken Gargett]

Just now, Hammer Smokin' said:

appreciate the info! all details I was completely unfamiliar with. 

I bet there are a shit ton of cases where the purchaser dies and the "goods" just stay with the distiller. 

no doubt it happens, and with wine/cigars. but a reputable producer will have kept in touch and arrange things with the heirs.