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A beginner’s guide to selling whisky

How do you sell whisky bottles?

Are you looking to sell whisky but don’t know where to start?
At Mark Littler LTD we make the selling process as simple as possible by handling all of the logistics, paperwork and fully insured shipping.

We can help you sell your whisky bottles in three ways:

1. Through a brokered private sale
2. Through specialist on line auctions
3. Through our unique brokerage shop

Our aim to achieve the best possible price for your bottles; afterall, you can only sell once. By giving you all of your options you can be sure you are making the right decision.cask brokerage service.

Over 500 Five Star Reviews
We have over 500 five star reviews of our service across Google, Yell and Facebook, so you can sell with the upmost confidence.

How to sell whisky with Mark Littler
Simply fill in the valuation form and we will provide you with a valuation for your bottles and advice on how best to sell. All of our advice is without obligation.

Looking to sell a cask of whisky instead? We also have a dedicated cask brokerage service.

Expert Whisky Valuation

Use the form below or send images of your bottle to our WhatsApp or Email

2021 Bottle Valuation Form
Images Of Your Bottle (stood upright ideally)

Maximum file size: 10.49MB

How do you sell whisky bottles?

Is bottled whisky a good investment?

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 70% 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.

Shop Macallan Mark Littler

The final option is selling your whisky through the Mark Littler Ltd 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 Affects The Value Of Your Whisky

50 Balvenie

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.

Macallan

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.

Port Ellen

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.

22 Brora

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.

The Yamazaki

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.

Macallan

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.

natural variation causes significant difference in cask value

Postage Service

We make getting your bottles to us simple.

We have a fully insured postage service. We send you specialist packing materials and instructions together with a pre-paid returns label so that you can ship your bottles back to us quickly and safely.

For large collections and very high-value bottles we also have a hand-courier service available.
Learn More…

Excellent
5.0
Based on 402 reviews
Excellent,quick and efficient service. I would definitely use them again if the need arose.
Very happy with service I received. The packaging for conveying the precious cargo gave every confidence the bottles would travel safely. Updates on the current subdued market conditions guided me with respect to a realistic asking price.
When I contacted Mark Littler and team they couldn't have been more helpful in explaining the process of valuing and selling silver. The communication was outstanding and it was so quick from start to finish. Thank you Mark & Katy for all your help.
Mark is brilliant at his work.Always answers phone calls and emails and keeps updating.i recommended Mark Littler for his expertise.
I contacted Mark Littler regarding a bottle of whisky I'd inherited after my parents passed away.Not being a whisky drinker myself didn't prevent me knowing the brand name was a whisky of quality.I'd not a clue what it was worth, or where, or who I could trust to sell it for a fair price?In my internet search, I stumbled upon the Mark Littler website. Reading through the website and the associated customer reviews gave me the confidence to contact them.After a few initial enquiries I felt that this company were the people to find me a buyer for my bottle.I did wait a while due to market fluctuations, but I was in no rush to sell and finally my bottle sold at a respectable price that I was happy to accept.From initial communication through to the courier transportation and supplied special protective packaging and the subsequent photographing and storage of my bottle it was all carried out with extreme professionalism and care.I must say above all else I found the company to be very trustworthy and honest and their expertise shines through.I would definitely recommend Mark Littler as the best place to go when looking to buy or sell whisky.Rest assured you will be in good hands from first contact to advertising through to final sale.
We wanted to sell a pocket watch and used the valuation form on the Mark Littler site. Katy was quickly in touch and then followed up with the strongest offer from interested parties, which we accepted. The process was very easy and Katy was very quick to respond to any queries and with payment once the watch was received.
I sold a Pocket Watch through Mark Littler Ltd and was delighted with the service I received from Katy and her team. The sale was concluded very quickly and funds received within days. Well recommended and thanks again!
Very professional, friendly service from Mark and Katy with an extremely good outcome from selling my whiskies. Would definitely recommend Mark Littler Ltd.
Thank you to Mark Littler and his team, for the the way my sale was dealt with. They soon secured a buyer at a good price and then kept me informed throughout, until the sale was completed.The service they offer in posting and insuring the item in transit is very good value and makes it all hassle free! First Class!
Mark Littler LTD & especially Katy have been amazingly helpful, really professional, speedy and openly honest in all their communication, the whole proces of seeking their advice and guidance with selling some jewellery, has been excellent. Without a doubt I would highly recommend and happily use their service again. Absolutely outstanding, considerate and thoughtfully caring. Thank you.
What a wonderful company to use, their expertise was really appreciated. Despite market conditions they were able to achieve an overall excellent price for my collection. I would have no hesitation in recommending Mark, Katy and the team.
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Verticals & Large Collections

In 2020, we made headlines around the world when we sold a vertical of Macallan 18 Year Olds for one of our clients.

Pete Robson bought a bottle of Macallan 18 year old every year since 1992, as a birthday present for his son, Matthew. The collection consisted of 28 bottles by the time Matthew decided to sell the collection through our brokerage service.

We sold the collection to a private buyer in Asia for £44,000. Matthew planned to use the money to put down a deposit on a house.

As such, a yearly birthday present from father to son turned out to be a brilliant investment that will now help Matthew put a foot on the property ladder. It also serves as a visual history lesson that details the development of Macallan, an internationally renowned whisky brand.

We have also sold a vertical of Port Ellen Annual Releases, and we are currently selling the ultimate Collector’s Collection of whisky for £86,020. Learn More…

Learn More…

Macallan Whisky Collection

Expert Whisky Valuation

Use the form below or send images of your bottle to our WhatsApp or Email

2021 Bottle Valuation Form
Images Of Your Bottle (stood upright ideally)

Maximum file size: 10.49MB