Some Say 'Old Is Gold,' But Does A Whisky Ever Go Bad?
Yes, but rarely.
Whisky is one of the easiest spirits to store. You don’t need strict acclimatisation as wine demands. That being said, some collectors like to save every drop of whisky, even if it’s the last dregs of the bottle; having that much air in a bottle often leads to oxidisation unless it’s a very high ABV whisky.
As for the value of whisky in relation to age? There are some expressions that whisky geeks as myself prefer in their ‘adolescence.’ Take Port Ellen Distillery’s single malt, for example; I much prefer young Ellen to old Ellen! It all boils down to individual preference. Very old whisky can have too much influence from the cask, which results in a very ‘woody’ product.
Because The Price Of Whisky Rises Exponentially Each Year, Is Sooner A Better Time to Buy Whisky Than Later?
It depends on your intentions. Today you get many collectors who buy whisky not to enjoy themselves but for the sake of flipping prices.
While it’s true that we’ve never seen a bigger growth in the Scotch whisky industry as now, I wouldn’t recommend buying whisky for the sake of reselling it at the highest price possible. Witnessing whisky auctions is mindboggling — I can’t even begin to describe what’s going on in the industry! But a bubble is inevitable. What goes up has to come down.
