Join us on a treasure hunt, not for lost jewels and gold, but for golden drops that are now just as valuable as gemstones.
We are talking about the now legendary Lost Distilleries of Scotland - the long-closed, but still highly sought-after distilleries.
Let's start with a bit of history; in the 1800s there were over 200 distilleries in Scotland. From 1945 onwards there were around 130 distilleries left and whisky sales were increasing year after year, up until 1980. In the early 1980s sales fell drastically, there was a large stock of whisky that had been produced but could not be sold. Ultimately this meant that by 1984 many distilleries had closed.
If you look closely at the closed distilleries of the 80s, it wasn't a question of quality, but instead an unhealthy combination of politics and bad economics.
Until the late 1980s, most of the whisky sold worldwide was blended whisky. Single Malt did not have a significant market share and sales figures were very small.
When the cuts came and the economy had to be trimmed, distilleries whose whisky could not be used in Blended Whisky were simply closed - especially if they were small or remote distilleries.
This was long before anyone could have predicted that Single Malt Whisky would become a worldwide phenomenon, with whisky lovers from all over the globe seeking out all the different single malts from Scotland to find their very own favourite.
Currently, there are stocks of whisky from around 30 of the closed distilleries, and prices are rising with each new bottling released.
The most important question you can ask
Which distillery will disappear first?
There is no information on how much whisky is left from the individual distilleries, and sometimes you discover it when it is too late; prices at distilleries such as Brora and Port Ellen have in recent years risen from around 12-1500 kr. per bottle to prices around 10,000 and upwards - a fantastic return, but also a testament to the vanishing small stocks that remain. The demand for these is increasing rapidly and over the next few years it will undeniably be over forever when the stocks run out.
Of course, quality is an important parameter when buying whisky that is over 30 years old; at TastingClub we only buy from the renowned producer and distributor Gordon & MacPhail (G&M), who also produce excellent Single Malt themselves. G&M has bought up many of the remaining stocks from the closed distilleries and from time to time releases bottlings of these - our experience is that there is never anything to compromise on the quality. Unfortunately, these bottlings are in vanishingly small quantities, so the latest bottling of Port Ellen was only available in just under 3,000 bottles worldwide, which have already been snapped up.
Another exciting distillery is Brora (pictured above) which was previously known as Clynelish. The distillery, which dates back to 1819, ironically became a victim of its own success. When, due to high demand, a new, modern distillery was opened in 1967, the new distillery was allowed to take over the name Clynelish, while the old one became Brora. After several years of ailing finances, it finally pulled the plug in 1983. Since then, demand has increased steadily and today Brora is one of the most sought-after Lost Distillers, with a large fan base.
There is no doubt that Single Malt Whisky from the closed distilleries is a good investment that will fetch very high auction prices in the future. We are pleased to present a limited selection of the closed distilleries, which of course will not come back once they are sold.
You can find the selection here: Lost Distilleries
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