MACALLAN CASK MADNESS: HOW A £500K ‘INVESTMENT’ WENT WRONG
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- Опубліковано 8 кві 2024
- *PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS NOT INVESTMENT ADVICE
In this eye-opening video, we delve into the world of whisky cask ‘investments’ and uncover the shocking story behind a £500,000 Macallan deal gone awry.
Join us as we explore the highs and lows of whisky cask ‘investments’, revealing important lessons for anyone considering this niche market.
Whether you're a seasoned investor or simply curious about alternative assets, this video offers valuable insights into the realities of the whisky cask market and the importance of due diligence.
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With all this lack of transparency and unscrupulous sellers it must be difficult to run a business with integrity. Well done Jake for being thorough and protecting your brand.
it's definitely a minefield Jan and I appreciate your support and kind words. I recently found out that someone I've known for a couple of years and helped a lot has been taking advantage of private clients with little to no knowledge of the space - just goes to show how careful you need to be
Well done Baron. I'm depressed, disappointed but, sadly, hardly surprised. Seriously, how abysmal is this industry when a seller can just call a thing what they like? It's insane. The cask industry is the freaking Wild West and people without any knowledge whisky are being suckered into these investments. I know you have commented passionately about this previously and I have also been watching Mark Littler's excellent breakdowns of this shady world. It would appear that some tougher regulation is being introduced and not a moment too soon.
There are shameless swindlers involved in this 'Investment' boom. Adverts for cask investment are everywhere and people that don't even drink whisky are tempted to spend/invest a fortune. I said it was the Wild West and I'm reminded of the Victorian gentlemen in Trollope's novels risking everything on a railway line in a continent they've never seen. What could go wrong? The answer is everything. Let's contemplate that word. 'Everything.' Nothing good can come of it.
I don't include a good egg like you or Mark in that analogy and well done on your due diligence. You literally have to see the barrel and the whisky to be sure. Right now it's a goldmine for the swindlers. Cheers. WT
tougher regulation is definitely needed! and you're spot on about it being like the Wild West - every man for himself unfortunately. the good thing is that the distilleries by and large haven't gotten involved, but unfortunately that doesn't stop their brand names being dragged through the mud. unfortunately it will get worse before it gets better, but such is life.
appreciate the support as always WT. sláinte
What an incredible story and important lesson for all of us. Well done for checking. You are a real mensch, a righteous hero in the industry. You were right to be cautious especially when you realised that the whisky looked and tasted like an Ex--Bourbon cask. A dead giveaway.
I'm sure that you know that a Sherry hogshead up until the late 1990s is rare indeed. My understanding is that almost all hogsheads were made from Ex-Bourbon barrels until quite recently. So much so that up until the 2000s, if the description said "hogsheads" then you could pretty much guarantee that it was Ex-Bourbon. So, again, this was a huge red flag here.
The part of the story, which is really weird, is when you said that the then owner "requested" that the warehouse add "sherry" to the description. What???????????????????
Was this the official Macallan warehouse or an independent bottler? The warehouse almost certainly knew that the description was false and that the motive for doing so was to raise the price by misrepresenting the description. If this is not already illegal, then it should be. You have highlighted a huge potential hole in the current law.
Lastly, being an expert in whisky Kashrus, I found your comment about it not being kosher highly amusing. Ironically your use of the word "kosher", meaning in slang, all up front and honest is in reality back to front, as a Sherry hogshead would make the whisky not kosher and the revelation that it was a Bourbon hogshead would make it potentially suitable for observant Jews to drink, ie "kosher".
*Correction* After checking, according to my notes from Stuart MacPherson, Edrington's former cask expert, it seems that there were indeed orders of Sherry hogsheads from Tio Pepe bodega on a regular basis in the 1990s. That must have been quite unusual and innovative at the time. Sorry, my initial assumption was wrong!
thanks for the support Reb, although I was just doing my job as anyone in my position should. you're right, majority of casks from pre 2000 would be bourbon and even now it remains the most common style, however, there are sherry casks from the 90s and even 80s out there.
you're right, massive red flag with the requested change in ownership and something I remain shocked by. incredible that this sort of thing takes place - obviously not in an official Macallan warehouse
@@RebMordechaiReviews ah, just seen this. not at all, you're still on the right lines. you can see how difficult it can be to asses though as provenance wouldn't have been a thing back then; the distilleries would simply know what they have and bottle it accordingly
Great comment from my good pal and a great thread. I sound a bit snobbish for adopting this term but I am a bit of a sherry connoisseur. The dark arts of whisky are comfortably equalled and surpassed by the centuries old traditions of sherry. The combination of the two, as all three of us know, is like a mediaeval labyrinth. I have visited Andalucian sherry bodegas and talked to them about their casks. The answers are always interesting. Some of them have nothing to do with the whisky industry. The whisky industry gets prepared staves from businesses that never sell sherry on the market. Glenfarclas got found out for buying from such a few years back. I know one bodega that "leases" it's casks to Suntory (Bowmore, Ben Nevis).
@@welshtoro3256 leasing casks sounds like a very interesting business model! thanks for getting involved WT, great to hear your thoughts here. sláinte
Brilliant insight into something I knew nothing about Jake. Thanks for sharing this
thanks for tuning in Brian, glad you found it interesting. sláinte my friend
Wow, such a hectic story, but a great reminder that a Hoggy is not always going to be sherry matured cask. Always pays to dig deeper. Cheers 🥃
exactly that JJ! sláinte my guy
@@TheWhiskyBaron That being said though, a pure ex bourbon cask Macallan would be a vibe.
@@jimmyjazz4605 it was still an epic whisky and arguably the price should remain fairly consistent regardless of whether it's bourbon/sherry matured - Macallan is still Macallan. the issues come when this sort of mis-selling happens as then we're into a world of fraudulent sales and that's unacceptable
@@TheWhiskyBaron Yeah completely agree. I thought ex bourbon cask Macallan would be more sought after. It would be a rare experience.
@@jimmyjazz4605 definitely a rare experience and having sampled this cask, one I can highly recommend! sláinte
excellent video - very, very interesting.
thanks for watching Sean, glad you found it interesting. sláinte!
Thanks for sharing this! Very valuable information considering how much push and hype there is with cask investments.
I am sure you client was happy to have found someone who doesn’t cut corners.
thanks for tuning in and glad you found it useful! sláinte
Springbank is the distillery other distilleries should emulate.
can't say I disagree. what is it about Springbank that you think should be emulated?
@@TheWhiskyBaron Hello, sir! I love that Springbank does EVERYTHING onsite..malting, kilning, mashing, distilling and aging right on the distillery premises. Very old fashioned and absolutely wonderful. Springbank is probably the only whisky you know will be bought as soon as it hits the shelf.
@@CaptainWilloughby777 agreed! I also think that their focus on quality and resistance against producing spirit to their capacity keeps their brand strong as demand grows but supply stays steady and somewhat constrained. I believe they're reaching about 40% of their capacity this year and if you consider how quickly they sell out, you'd understand if they went down a similar route to most distilleries and increased their output
Well said Big Jake.
thanks David! appreciate the support as always
WoW when your talking about spending that amount money on one are make sure I'm buying one from you cheers for posting this
appreciate the vote of confidence Liam, thanks for tuning in as always. sláinte
Still seems to be like the wild west out there. I'll stick to buying my whisky in glass
a wise choice I'd say!
Of all the things to waste your money on, it was a Macallan...almost ten years in the industry and we still go for hype and branding after witnessing the greatest disappointment due to hypocrisy and some of the worst practices in the whiskey world from a company that essentially became grifters...smh
to be clear Jason, we didn't buy this cask ourselves and we didn't source it from Macallan. I appreciate casks from this brand are expensive, but I definitely wouldn't say they're a waste of money - it depends entirely what you're looking for and what your budget is
@@TheWhiskyBaron Be that as it may, at the end of the day Macallan further benefits from undeserved exposure and appreciation which only further encourages them to prioritise marketing above the quality of their whisky. And anyone buying the elixir of life as an "investment" directly contributes to it.
@@jasonolyver6430 I'd argue that this sort of exposure is negative and wouldn't benefit any brand. agreed on your point about investment though - whisky is made for enjoyment so anyone trying to capitalise on this is damaging both the industry at large and the brands themselves
What sort of dumdum would spend 500k on a barrel of IMO) pretty average whisky, without looking at it 😂
many people who owns casks live outside of Scotland or don't have access to visit the warehousing Tony, so I'd say most private individuals that own casks (of Macallan or anything else) would never have seen their stocks. it's also impossible to get access to a cask before purchase without the owners permission which isn't easy when there are often layers of brokers involved in any given deal
Not good at all. I’ve heard plenty of similar horror stories.
shocking to think how often this sort of thing happens. Glad I'm not the only one keeping my eye out for this behaviour and that professionals like yourself are on the scene helping to keep people safe
Well I mean , Macallan is basically just a marketing company pretending to be a whisky company, so I can see this happening.Fancy boxes and, well thats about it. Oh and controlled auctions they help arrange, nothing organic about the hype of this company.
not sure I'd entirely agree with that and to clarify, this situation had nothing to do with Macallan - the cask had been removed from the distillery warehousing
MACALLAN, overrated, overpriced, ..... who still cares about Macallan? If you've visited the new distillery, you'll understand why i feel this way....
it's a shame to hear you say that as I personally love the new distillery. appreciate your POV about it being overrated as there is arguably too much hype around the brand, but I still think they hold a solid position in the industry and deserve respect