Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
WHISKY GALORE
Dad gave his son a bottle of 18-year-old malt every year on his birthday.. now he’s selling them to buy a house
A MAN whose dad gave him a bottle of 18-year-old Macallan whisky every year for his birthday is selling them - to help pay for his first home.
Matthew Robinson, 28, was born in 1992 and proud father Pete, 64, bought a bottle of whisky to celebrate his birth.
Pete was working for a company that manufactured some of the raw materials for Macallan, which made him choose the brand.
And he decided to buy his son a bottle of single malt Scotch every year.
As the brand became more successful, the price went up.
Over the course of Matthew’s life, Pete, of Milnathort, Kinrossshire, spent about £5000 on whisky - but the collection is now worth more than £40,000.
Matthew, who works for a beef manufacturing company, said: “I think it’s been one of the best things he could have done.
“I never anticipated the potential it could have for me in my life.
“I’m looking at buying houses and having that money available to me is a massive weight off my shoulders - especially in these uncertain times. It’s just very special.”
Matthew now lives in Taunton, Somerset, and will use the proceeds towards a deposit for a new home. His siblings were also given similar collections.
Dad-of-three Pete, a manager at a malting firm, said: “Looking at the bottle, I realized that it would be quite interesting to collect 18 bottles over 18 years and then give my son the final bottle, which would be his birth year.
“I also liked the idea that the materials I made would eventually be used in the making of the Scotch. As time went by, I realised the collection was starting to appreciate in value and watched the brand with more interest.”
The collection is being sold by brokers Mark Littler Ltd, with every bottle in its original box.
It is listed online for offers over £40,000. Littler said: “In the whisky and wine world, we call a consecutive run of vintages – a ‘vertical’.
“Normally it would take a lot of time and effort to amass a vertical like this but this is the opportunity for a collector to purchase them all instantly.
“In addition, the Macallan 18-year-old is one of the most sought-after single malt Scotch whiskies in the world, so you’ve got a hot ticket item that is sure to be highly desirable to aspiring whisky collectors and investors.”