What Affects The Price Of Adelphi Whisky
Selling Adelphi whisky can seem like a daunting prospect. After all, there are so many ways that you can sell whisky. But which way is the most effective? And, how can you get the best price for your whisky? Well, that is where we come in.
At Mark Littler Ltd we can help you to sell your Adelphi whisky quickly, stress-free, and for the best price. We make selling whisky online easy with Mark Littler Ltd.
What To Look For
Adelphi bottles are traditionally tall standard-sized bottles with a cork stopper, the label is small and simple, usually found at the base of the bottom, rather than in the middle. They are generally presented in a black or wooden box, depending on the age (1950s editions are usually in wooden boxes). In 1992 they produced some bottles for sale in Harvey Nichols, which are presented in tartan boxes.
In 2015 they also produced a hybrid whisky which consisted of both Japanese and Scotch malt, called The Glover, some older releases in this collection are shorter, decanter-style bottles. This collection is named after Scotsman Thomas Glover who emigrated to Japan and set up the Japan Brewery Company; this would later become known as Mitsubishi.
A 1964 bottle of 32-year-old Adelphi Springbank recently sold for £4,000.
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The Six Factors That Affect The Price Of Adelphi Whisky
There are six factors that will affect the price of your bottle of Adelphi. These are the age of the whisky, the bottling date, the vintage, whether it is a single cask edition, the level of the whisky and the condition of the label and box.
Age of whisky
This refers to the number of years the whisky has spent maturing in the cask, not how long it has been in the bottle. The age is indicated on the label and can vary from 3 to well over 30 years old.
Most collectible bottles are over 10 years old and value usually increases with the age of the whisky. Whisky over 30 years old is the most sought after as it is the rarest.
Any whisky bottled at over 50 years old is highly desirable and a very limited number of distilleries have released whisky over 50 years old.
Bottling date
This relates to when the whisky was bottled. As bottles from a specific year are consumed, the remaining bottles become rarer, so even a ‘standard’ malt released in the 1980’s can become sought after.
If vintage is not stated bottle volume can be an indicator of bottling era. Bottles from the 1970s and earlier use fluid ounces (FL.OZ). In the 1980s standard bottles size was 75cl and in 1991 the standard size (in the EU) changed to 70cl. Note that standard bottle size is still 75cl in the USA, and other bottle sizes are occasionally used, in which case you will have to use other indicators.
Distillation year
The distillation year might also be described as the bottle vintage, and refers to the specific year in which the whisky was distilled (made). It is one of the most important factors that can impact the price of your collectible whisky.
In general, the earlier the distillation year the more collectible your bottle of whisky. Bottles from the first half of the 20th century are highly valued by collectors and fetch a premium. That being said, the bottler is also important, and so two whiskies distilled in the same year, at the same distillery, but bottled by different bottlers will vary in value.
Label & packaging
The label on a bottle of collectible whisky is very important and should be in pristine condition to fetch the highest value. If the label is damaged in any way, such as scratching, blemishing, pealing or mould, then this will have a negative impact on the value.
The box condition is almost as important as the label condition, and the correct box is very important to collectors. A bottle with a damaged or marked box will be worth less, and a bottle without its original box could be worth up to 30% less.
Level
The level of the whisky has a large impact on the value. On almost all bottles it should be well into the neck, a level in the lower half of the neck is worth less and levels into the shoulder will significantly impact the value.
Older bottles are more prone to a drop in level as the bottles were not intended for storage. A drop in level implicates the long term storage prospects for any collector but as alcohol is more volatile than water it is the alcohol that will evaporate first, which impacts the flavour.
Single Cask Bottlings
Single cask bottlings are generally more sought after, as by default they are unique and usually of a significantly limited edition. Look out for numbers on your bottle like XXX/250, with the second number generally being less than 500, which would indicate a single cask edition.
Longer edition numbers such as XXX/5000 are often also collectible. These longer numbers usually indicate that the release is a vatting of a number of casks.
How We Can Help Sell Your Adelphi Whisky
Private Sale
Our brokerage service is a simple, stress-free way to sell whisky. We will broker the sale between you and one of our buyers. For this service, we charge a 10% commission (inc. VAT) of the final sale price of the item. This avenue is fast and simple. We will take care of everything for you.
Auction
At Mark Littler Ltd we can also help you to sell whisky via auction. We have teamed up with the country’s leading online whisky auctions to help you to sell whisky at auction without the hassle. This is a great option for lower-value bottles, or if you do not mind taking some risks.
Shop
The final option is selling your whisky through our one-of-a-kind online shop. On our shop, we broker the sale of high-value bottles for our customers. Your bottle will sit amongst rare and expensive whisky and our advertising campaigns aim to draw the eye of whisky collectors everywhere.
What is the price of your Adelphi whisky?
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The History of Adelphi
Owned by Keithlconer and Donald Houston and based at Charlestown in Fife, Loch Katrine Adelphi Distillery was built 1826 by Charles and David Gray on the banks of the River Clyde just south of Victoria Bridge on the northern edge of the Gorbals.
Adelphi Distillery Limited specialises particularly in bottlings of sing malts free of additional colours or chill-filtering. They bottle around 50 each year and they also release the Fascadale range in small batches from undisclosed island-based distilleries with various ages.
Its origins can be traced to 1825 and the first incarnation of a distillery bearing the name in the Gorbals, Glasgow. At the very beginning, it was established by David and Charles Gray who then gave it a name change after pipework was built to carry water to Glasgow from Loch Katrine. Thus, it became Loch Katrine Adelphi. Although it started using Loch Katrine water in the 1860s, the new name was put in place later in the next decade.
Ownership of Adelphi changed to Messrs A Walker and Co in 1880, they were owners of two existing distilleries in Liverpool and Limerick. Walker and Co injected new capital and expanded works to include the making of grain spirit as well as malt. In 1886 Loch Katrine Adelphi became one of the largest distilleries in Scotland with an annual output of over 500,000 gallons.
After the Grays, during the 1890s, A Walker and Co took over the ownership. At the start of the 20th century, though, distilling stopped when it was bought by the Distillers Company. It was only in 1993 that Jamie Walker, Archibald Walker’s grandson, reopened it for business as an independent bottler that he then sold in 2004 to the Donald Houston and Keith Falconer.
In 1906 The Great Gorbals Disaster occurred in which one of the washback vats at Adelphi’s distillery collapsed, flooding the neighbouring street with hot whisky; one man drowned, and many others were injured. The following year the distillery ceased production of whisky to focus on maturation. In 1971 the Loch Katrine Adelphi was demolished.
In 1993 Jamie Walker, the great-grandson of former owner Archibald Walker, revived the Adelphi name as an independent bottler and release several rare malt whiskies. Ten years later, Walker was approached by two prospective clients looking to purchase a hogshead; they ended up buying the company. In 2014 the company restarted whisky production at a newly constructed distillery; Ardnamurchan Distillery.
The company has become known as one of the best bottlers of limited-edition single malts and rare single casks. Their goal is always to find those small number of casks that are sources of the ultimate whisky, in terms of maturity, rarity and flavour. As all casks and their contents mature differently, each has its own character, meaning that you will never come across two from Adelphi that taste the same.
Send us details about your bottle directly via email or use the form below.
We contact our international network of customers for the best offers.
If you decide to proceed with an offer we issue you with a contract.
Send us your bottle. We have a fully insured courier service available.
We complete the sale with the buyer and send your funds via BACS.
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Testimonials
“I found Mark’s details online after looking to sell a collectable bottle of whisky. I was going to use a well know auction site but Mark secured an offer higher than the highest estimation from any auction house, within days, even after the 10% commission was deducted. Communication was perfect; punctual, to the point and polite. Collection and delivery were taken care of by Mark and instruction was clear and easy to follow. Payment was received to my bank within days of posting the bottle. I can’t recommend Mark enough; he runs a tight ship gets top end offers from his clients and delivers quickly.”
Rod Fountain, via Google
“Mark has been very helpful in helping me sell a bottle of whisky which was given to my father many years ago. He was very professional and was always quick to reply to my questions. Not knowing anything about whisky, Mark was there to offer some good advice and I believe he is very knowledgeable about his work. The sale was done very [quickly], and the money was in my bank account the next day. I would highly recommend his services.”
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“Wow, what a refreshing change it was to meet Mark. He was the consummate professional with an approachable and warm personality who clearly had an in-depth knowledge of his subject which he used to give me a first-class service when I wanted to sell a whisky collection. For anyone who is considering any similar specialist whisky transactions I can certainly recommend him without reservation.”
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