Quote:
Originally Posted by Flacker
...now I have a pressing desire to grab a bottle of Lagavulin on the way home work.
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Well, you better do it soon, as chances are it will be more expensive next year. There is a big problem brewing in the single-malt world caused mainly by the shortage of bourbon, sherry and port oak casks and the warehouse space for aging. Scotch companies have been successfully cultivating the idea of the older-age Scotch being better than younger-made Scotch for the last 50 years or so. The fact is – they really are smoother and more refined. The conundrum is that they didn't expect expensive Scotch to become so popular. The demand for older Scotch is higher than what they can reasonably produce. By law, no malt components of the Scotch with a stated age on the bottle can be younger than the age stated. The solution: marketing a lot of new Scotch without stated age under different "models". Bruichladdich distillery purchased and revived by a savvy entrepreneur from bankruptcy has pioneered making new Scotch and calling it "funky" names. Older distilleries are following. Older Scotch is used increasingly for making the "ageless" new spirits under new names with bottle descriptions saying something to the effect "25-yr Scotch was used in making this spirit" etc.
National Post and New Yorker both published reports on this situation. Long story short, fine aged single-malt Scotch will likely become rarer and more expensive in the near future, so stocking up is not such a bad idea.