Tallisker Whiskey 1964 value?

Rossdoc81 · 19-05-2012 2:25pm #1

Hello,

I'm wondering can anyone help me out here.
My father has a bottle of 1964 Tallisker scotch whiskey from the Isle of Skye. It was given to him by a friend about 15 years ago. Its unopened and all the labels on it are perfect.

My sister is getting married soon so the plan was to drink it on the day of her wedding. But if its worth a few pound it'd be better to sell it off and help pay for the wedding, as we not exactly a family of whiskey connoisseurs!

We are wondering how much this is worth as its now 48 years old, as we have completely no idea.
Thanks

johnnyskeleton · 19-05-2012 2:42pm

Rossdoc81 wrote: »

Hello,

I'm wondering can anyone help me out here.
My father has a bottle of 1964 Tallisker scotch whiskey from the Isle of Skye. It was given to him by a friend about 15 years ago. Its unopened and all the labels on it are perfect.

My sister is getting married soon so the plan was to drink it on the day of her wedding. But if its worth a few pound it'd be better to sell it off and help pay for the wedding, as we not exactly a family of whiskey connoisseurs!

We are wondering how much this is worth as its now 48 years old, as we have completely no idea.
Thanks

How old is the whisky? Scottish whisky usually has two numbers on the bottle - the year it was distilled and the number of years it was matured before sale (unlike some Irish whiskeys which have the date of bottling).

If it was given 15 years ago it could be a 30 year old talisker bottled in 1995 or thereabouts. If you post up a picture of the label it might explain it a bit more.

Talisker is fairly collectable but is still going so doesn't command stupid prices. The more recent bottles of talisker 30 are selling for about £2-300stg. You might get more than that from a collector because it was released a few years ago, but the whisky in the bottle hasn't changed since it was first released so it is not quite like selling a 48 y.o whisky.

Bottom line, you're probably not going to make a dent in the cost of the wedding with it. Will your sister appreciate the whisky? Will the significance of the friend giving the whiskey make any difference to her? Would she rather sell it and buy a few nice bottles of champagne instead?

IrishWhiskeyCha · 19-05-2012 2:46pm

Firstly you cannot describe this as a 48yo whisky. It was distilled in 1964 but you need to determine when it was bottled to get the age of the whisky. As once bottled that is the technical age of the whisky no matter how long you have the bottle after it was bottled. Therefore a 12yo of 1964 bottled in 1976 is still a 12 year old today. You bottle is thought to have be gifted about 15years ago so it is at most going to be a 33yo whisky. A common mistake to make but not really an issue in regards to older vintage whisky. Also we will need to figure out if this is an official distillery issuing or whether it has come from an independent bottler. Again this can affect value quite significantly.

However in saying all that this still could be worth quite a bit though as older scotch is in demand but we need to determine what it is exactly to get a proper gauge of value. As Single Malt Scotch whisky is still strong in regards to investment value it might be worth your while following this through.

If you can give us detailed details from the label and better still a picture I sure one of us can help.

Rossdoc81 · 19-05-2012 3:21pm

Thanks for all the replies so far. I understand now how whiskey is aged and that 15-20 years sitting in the bottle may not count for anything.

I've taken a picture and posted it here:
http://www.imagebucket.net/bucket/is.php?i=10794&img=Talisker.JPG%22

There are two number on the bottom of the bottle.
SC295, and 60

It doesn't say when it was bottled, and there is no label on the back. Its a bit strange it doesn't say what year it was bottled.

IrishWhiskeyCha · 19-05-2012 4:20pm

Rossdoc81 wrote: »

It doesn't say when it was bottled, and there is no label on the back. Its a bit strange it doesn't say what year it was bottled.

Not neccessairly it would not be unusual that it does not have an age statement if this is as early as I think it is.

This bottle is unlikely to have an L code which is what Johnny was refering to. I cannot see the proof but if it is 70% proof it is the old proofing of alcohol in the UK and would equate to 40% abv. This proofing is pre 1980's. so you whisky will be no more than in it's 20's in age. It is also bottled by gordon & mcphail whom are independent bottlers. However if it is an early bottling as I think it is it will command a decent premium over what is avail;able now. I'll have a scratch around and post back but I'd be recomending going to specialist retailers and auctioneers for values. At this stage it could be anything from 3-500Euro.

Rossdoc81 · 19-05-2012 4:52pm

Its says on the label that it is 100% proof. You cannot make it out in the photo.

johnnyskeleton · 19-05-2012 6:35pm

Rossdoc81 wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies so far. I understand now how whiskey is aged and that 15-20 years sitting in the bottle may not count for anything.

I've taken a picture and posted it here:
http://www.imagebucket.net/bucket/is.php?i=10794&img=Talisker.JPG%22

There are two number on the bottom of the bottle.
SC295, and 60

It doesn't say when it was bottled, and there is no label on the back. Its a bit strange it doesn't say what year it was bottled.

Peversely, this bottle would be more valuable to a collector than a 30 year old whiskey, even though the stuff in the bottle probably wouldn't be of the same quality. Therefore, you might be disappointed as to the quality if you open it (its value is in being an unopened bottle and for some people to taste a whisky of a different era is an experience) but you might get a few quid for it.

Try contact a specialist retailer like the below:

http://www.royalmilewhiskies.com/product.asp?pf_id=0040000004448

or celtic whiskey shop.

However, just be careful about this type of bottling as here is one that sold at an auction:
http://whiskyauctionhistory.com/cgi-bin/auction/history.pl?&path=i/im1001/&pic=10013994&item=HM540&auction=2010-01&bid=1855&mini=0zzzzz

with a different label and different top.

Overall, probably better to sell than to drink but it's completely subjective so you will have to make up your own mind.

IrishWhiskeyCha · 19-05-2012 6:38pm

Going on the basis it is a UK bottle that would make this about 57% which would make this a cask strength bottling of anything between 12-18years but that is just an educated guess. If a US bottling 50% abv. I am guessing it is a UK bottling though. Also these Gordon b McPhail releases are pretty much as close to distillery bottling of this time or would command a similar price. They are still considered independent bottlers today though.

I would suggest that you contact a fwe of the following.

whiskyauction.com (Usually get good prices but charge at least 20% premium)

McTears Auctioneers Glasgow. Regular Aucitioneering charges

http://www.scotchwhiskyauctions.com/ (Not sure on charges here)

Also specialist retailer The Whisky Exchange in London (Would be a straight deal for cash if offered)

quick googles will throw all these up

Best of luck and I'm thinking you should not accept less than 500Euro but that is just my personal guess and I'm not an expert in this field

johnnyskeleton · 19-05-2012 6:39pm

I should also say that I have neither the money nor the inclination to be buying whiskies of this kind so my views would be far more conservative than what a rich collector might pay.

Brockagh · 19-05-2012 8:47pm

A collector would pay between 500 and €1,000. Sterling is strong at the moment, so you could do well.

Rossdoc81 · 19-05-2012 9:15pm

Thanks to everyone for the replies so far. I've passed all the info on to my father so far and he's happy that now we at least know something about the bottle.

We still don't know when it was bottled. Is there any chance it could have been distilled, and bottled in 1964?

johnnyskeleton · 19-05-2012 9:33pm

Rossdoc81 wrote: »

Thanks to everyone for the replies so far. I've passed all the info on to my father so far and he's happy that now we at least know something about the bottle.

We still don't know when it was bottled. Is there any chance it could have been distilled, and bottled in 1964?

No, whisky has to be aged at least 3 years beforebeing bottled so it's not that. In a normal single malt it would be a mix of a few barrels, not necessarily of the same age. You could contact Gordon & macphail and ask them although they probably could only give you general information (if they give you anything). It probably wouldn't have been profitable for them to age the whisky much longer than 10 years though.

Tallisker Whiskey 1964 value?

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