A Scotch Dilemna

[Los Feliz Slim]

OK, so whiskey threads are the new tipping threads, I know. But all the scotch experts are here, so I'm giving it a shot. If it gets moved somewhere else, so be it.

Last week a client of mine gave me a bottle of Bowmore 25 year old Scotch. I looked it up online, it's around $280 at Bevmo. The problem is that I'm not a big Bowmore fan. The Bowmore Darkest Sherry Casked is supposed to be pretty good, and I couldn't stand it. My tastes run more towards Laphroaig, Talisker, etc: drier, less sweet, kick-you-in-the-teeth style scotch.

So, I figure I can just take this bottle to my local liquor store, where they know me ( [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]), and trade it for a high-end bottle I might like more. I go in there, and they say it's illegal and won't do it. But, in the process, they're like "Holy [censored], that's an unbelievable bottle of scotch, it's really hard to get, don't get rid of it, just keep it, it'll be worth five bills in two years." And I'm like, that's great, but I'd like to drink some damn scotch tonight and I'm not dropping $200 on a bottle myself.

Of course, all their raving about the scotch got me thinking that maybe I should just keep it and drink it. Sitting on it for a few years so I can sell it just seems odd to me, and then I've got to wait two years or whatever.

Ideas/thoughts? Anybody in LA want to buy a sweet bottle of scotch at a discount? In closing, here's something you don't see a lot of in the EDGD, a poll:

[Kneel B4 Zod]

are you reasonably certain you could sell it for $500 in 2 years? how would you go about doing this?

before I decided to keep and sell it I would try to figure this out.

[Los Feliz Slim]

The "it'll be worth $500 in 2 years" information comes solely from liquor-store guy, who seemed to know what he was talking about. Not only do I not know if it will actually appreciate, I have no idea how I'd go about selling it.

[El Diablo]

LFS,

Whatever, man. You can find much better investments than this, so keeping it to sell later seems silly.

I think it's pretty reasonable that if you're gonna drink a really high-end scotch that is a special treat, to do one that you'll really like.

Figure out a way to trade it for two $100+ premium peaty bottles, older Laphroaigs/Taliskers/etc. Those are still super-premium bottles that will be really enjoyable for someone like you who enjoys the basic bottlings of those. I most often drink the standard Laphroaig and 12yo Balvenie. But from time to time I'll have some older cask strength Laphroaig or 21yo Balvenie and they really are a special treat.

I would sell or trade it. I don`t think it will increase all that much in value in only a few years as it is avalable from the distillery.

Look for Laphroaig 30 (a little more expensive I think) or Ardbeg Lord of the Isles (around the same price) instead.

They are both getting excellent reviews, and would probably suit your taste a lot better.

[firstyearclay]

Drink it. You might be dead in 2 years waiting for $200 that may never happen.

Trip report please.

[Slow Play Ray]

great news! i am available to help you drink it.

[xadrez]

Bowmore Darkest is terrible. Probably one of the worst I have ever tried, and the only that I did not finish.

That being said, the other Bowmore expressions I have tried (Bowmore 12, 17, Cask Strength, and 1989 Special Edition) have all been truly excellent. I say drink it.

If you must to trade it, try doing so for a bottle of something in the same price range, like Laphroaig 30 or Talisker 25, both of which are amazing.

[MrMon]

Bowmore Legend is the worst Scotch I have ever tasted. It defines the word "green" in a Scotch. But I love the 17, and I've got a Darkest on tap. I'll report on that later.

Bowmore 25 at $280 is way overpriced. You can get it for $160 at The Wine Specialist in DC according to wine-searcher.com. If your local store won't take it in trade, and they don't have a stock of it themselves, I'm sure they know who would be interested among their customers. Just tell them that you want someone to buy something else at the store to trade you for it and to contact you. If you're a good customer, I'm sure you'll get a call.

As for it being worth more in a few years, doubtful. It's not like they can't make more, and it doesn't get better in the bottle like wine. Unless it's out of production, and I doubt that, there's no reason for it to increase in value.