The Collector
On provenance, the secondary market, and the responsibilities of the cellar.
A bottle of single malt whisky acquired today is, in the most literal sense, acquired from the past. The 25 Year Reserve currently shipping was distilled in the autumn of 2000. The Founder's Dram 1994 predates the mobile telephone in meaningful use. The whisky was made by hands that may no longer be at the still. This is the first principle of the cellar: you are buying time that has already been spent.
Every bottle dispatched from Glen Ardmore carries three pieces of documentation: a hand-numbered label, a certificate signed by the master distiller, and a sealed wax stamp keyed to our internal ledger. The ledger is paper. It has been kept continuously since 1887 and is held in the office at the distillery. We will, on written request, authenticate any bottle bearing our name against this ledger. There is no charge for this service. We consider it part of the sale.
We do not participate in the secondary market and we do not recommend purchase through it without verification. The principal auction houses — Bonhams, Sotheby's, Whisky.Auction — are reputable; private sales between collectors are increasingly less so. Counterfeit Highland single malt is a known and growing problem. If in doubt about a bottle bearing our name, write to us before you buy.
On the question of whisky as investment, we offer no view. We made it to be drunk. That some bottles appreciate is a matter of arithmetic, not intention.
Single malt does not improve in the bottle. It does, however, deteriorate under the wrong conditions. Bottles should be stored upright — never on their side, as with wine — at a stable temperature below eighteen degrees Celsius, away from direct light. The cork should be moistened, briefly, once every twelve to eighteen months by inverting the bottle for a few seconds. A well-kept bottle will outlast its owner without complaint.
We are sometimes asked whether a rare bottle should be opened. We have a settled view: yes. A whisky unopened is a whisky uncompleted. If you wish to preserve the moment, photograph the seal before you break it. The bottle becomes more interesting, not less, once it has been poured from. So does its owner.