The Macallan in Lalique collection presents whisky aged for 50-plus years in custom bottles crafted by master crystal artisan René Lalique. A somewhat similar decanter sells for £85.00 (around $120) on Glencairn’s website. The bottle information is engraved on each decanter, individually numbered, and hand finished with a silver stopper,” according to the press release. Old Rip Van Winkle 25 year old came in “an extra special vessel…a handmade glass decanter from Glencairn Crystal Studio. “The companies know what customers get excited about: excessively aged spirits, especially when it comes to bourbon, in a nice box.” “Putting whisky in a crystal bottle that costs $300 itself is obviously a driving point ,” says Bachman. But is the pricy box creating the pricy whisky, or are producers choosing to put high-priced whisky in a fitting package? Consumers who spend thousands on a single bottle of whisky seem to be motivated by packages that reflect that prestige, and these can add to the cost. Lavish packaging is often a key component in extraordinarily high-priced whiskies. Teeling’s pricey 34 year old single malt comes in an opulent wooden box enhanced with gold trimming and accents. The companies will then use that as an excuse to price higher.” “So they have to blend several casks at the same age. “With scotch whisky, when you’re getting stuff that’s really old, like 50 year old Macallan, the alcohol content is sometimes so low in the casks, you couldn’t do a single barrel expression as it wouldn’t legally be scotch due to the lowered proof,” explains Alex Bachman, owner of Sole Agent, a broker of rare and vintage spirits. As the volume of liquid in the cask diminishes, in damp climates where alcohol content drops over time, so does the ABV of the whisky. The lower yield from older casks isn’t the only factor that influences prices. He explains that the price is also an escalation of what Teeling had previously charged for its 30 year old ($2,000) and 33 year old ($4,000) single malts. “It was either ravaged by the angels or the guys working at the warehouse knew what was a good one ,” he says, referring to the angels’ share, or the evaporation of liquid from a wooden cask. “It was just one cask and we were surprised there was so little left in it,” Teeling notes. With only 38 bottles for sale, the suggested retail price is $5,000. Jack Teeling founded Ireland’s Teeling Whiskey Company, which recently released the 34 year old Vintage Reserve single malt, said to be one of the oldest Irish whiskeys ever produced. In a time when transparency has become one of the biggest buzzwords in the whisky world, not many companies are willing to share insights on the pricing schemes for their most high-end offerings-though a few in the business did. But in the case of the rarest and most sought-after whiskies, these conventional formulas go out the window. Add in a little margin for profit, and you’re all set. The standard whiskies we see on the shelf carry prices that are based on real-world numbers: the cost of glass, grain, storage, taxes and tariffs, labor, shipping, and marketing. “Everybody seems to have a proprietary pricing method,” Mollica says. He’s a whisky retail expert, yet even he can’t put his finger on what exactly influences the price of a bottle. Running the liquor purchasing for a control state that sees a lot of well-heeled tourists passing through, Mollica-who oversaw almost $865 million of alcohol sales in 2017-is able to get his hands on some of the rarest, most expensive whiskies on earth, like Glenmorangie Pride 1974 ($5,799) and Glen Grant 50 year old ($13,999). Mollica, chairman of the New Hampshire Liquor Commission. “I don’t feel there’s a real rhyme or reason to what they do,” says Joseph W. How do companies set prices on old, limited, or in-demand whisky? Do they use some algorithm that takes into account age and quantity? Do these prices show the actual cost of production? Or is it just a guessing game by the liquor companies, trying to maximize profit on their rarest offerings? They’re all whiskies, made from grain and aged in barrels-so why such a massive disparity? Meanwhile, Old Rip Van Winkle 25 year old hit the market last year at $1,800, while Michter’s Celebration-a 33 year old bourbon-has a recommended retail price of $5,000. Yet number 10, Glen Moray 18 year old, comes in at just $90, while number 15, Kentucky Peerless Straight Rye-a 2 year old craft whiskey-is $125. Number 3, Wild Turkey Master’s Keep Decades-a mix of bourbons aged between 10 and 20 years-costs $150. High demand is just one of the factors driving up the price of Pappy Van Winkle.Įxamine some whiskies from Whisky Advocate’s 2017 Top 20.
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