What Affects The Price Of Manager’s Dram Whisky
Selling Manager’s Dram 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 Manager’s Dram whisky quickly, stress-free, and for the best price. We make selling whisky online easy with Mark Littler Ltd.
The History Of The Manager’s Dram
United Distillers (now Diageo) began releasing very limited bottlings of their whisky to their team in the 1980s. Each individual bottling was specifically chosen by a different manager of each of the distilleries owned by United Distillers, they were then made available only to employees of the distilleries. Therefore, the only real chance many collectors had of getting their hands on one of the tasty offerings was if they were then sold by a company employee.
Diageo has continued the trend with the release of Managers’ Drams from all its 27 distilleries. Its single malt distilleries include famous brands such as Lagavulin, Caol Ila, Oban, Talisker, Clynelish, Glen Ord, Cardhu, Gragganmore, Royal Lochnagar, Dalwhinnie, Glenkinchie and Blair Athol.
The bottles are traditional tall bottles, and most have a screw cap. They are 70cl in volume and vary in proof according to the distillery. A 15-year-old bottle of 1990 Caol Ila became famous after French author and noted whisky blogger Serge Valentin rated it very highly; it is currently valued at around £7,000.
As well as the aging information and tasting notes, the bottle labels also feature information about who that Managers’ Drams were selected for and given to.
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The Six Factors That Affect The Price Of Manager’s Dram Whisky
There are six factors that will affect the price of your bottle of Manager’s Dram. 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 Manager’s Dram 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 Manager’s Dram whisky?
In order to provide you with an accurate valuation please provide as much of the below information as you can.
There is more information about each section below the form.
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.
Bottle Selling FAQ
“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.”
Kim Hendrickx, via Google
“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.”
Duncan Chambers, via Google