Rare whisky has been on a rapid increase in its value across the last decade. According to Knight Frank's 2021 Wealth Report, rare whisky saw a 478% growth in value over the past decade. This exceeds the likes of luxury items including; cars, wines and handbags.
Recently, two rare casks of scotch whisky were sold at Sotheby’s auction house for a total of £1,750,000. Each of these casks was a ‘ghost cask’ of drams left over from the two closed distilleries. The first of these is a 1982 vintage from Brora and the other is from 1979 from Port Ellen.
What Is A Ghost Distillery?
These are distilleries which have long since disappeared from productive life, but whose whiskies still exist before stocks eventually run out. Much like Brora and Port Ellen, whiskies produced at these distilleries are highly desired as they hold casks that are irreplaceable, making them extremely rare and valuable.
Examples Of Ghost Distilleries
1) Port Dundas
Founded in 1811, the distillery was the largest in Scotland, located just outside of Glasgow.
The distillery quickly procured a reputation for producing some of the best quality malts, turning out gallons of Scotch.
Diageo uses the very low supply of Port Dundas in its rare whisky releases such as the Johnny Walker Blue Label Ghost.
Independent Bottlers have also happily used this near-depleted supply of whisky in various expensive releases.
Region: Lowlands
Founded: 1811-2010
Owner: Diageo
2) Glenury Royal
Although Glenury Royal, founded in 1825, got off to a rocky start with a fire and a distillery worker's death in the first year of opening, Glenury Royal has procured a title for itself as some the most sought after whisky.
Official bottlings of the East Highland Single Malt Glenury Royal are few and far between, making them a valuable addition to any collection.
Region: Highlands
Founded: 1825-1985
Owner: Diageo
3) Brora
As Brora closed over 40 years ago, the number of Brora whiskeys is extremely limited. The most available bottles are vintages of the 70s and 80s with anywhere between 15 and 35 years of maturation.
Region: Highlands
Founded: 1819-1983
Owner: Diageo
