No, old whiskey isn’t always expensive. And when we’re talking about old whiskey, we’re not talking about age-statements on the bottle, although those don’t guarantee value either.

What makes some old whiskey more valuable than other old whiskey?

It’s often the pedigree. There have been thousands of distilleries to make whiskey in the US and abroad. If we just limit it to the US for expediency, we can say that some distilleries have had historic runs of epic distillations and those generally drive up the price.

Do people drink these old whiskeys?

Yes, generally speaking with only a few rare exceptions, the value of rare and vintage whiskey comes from the quality of the juice in the bottle. Demand for the expressions is created by people that want to drink the whiskey. After the available supply dries up, demand continues and those folks lucky enough to still have some bottles left are able to reap the rewards.

How does anyone know what this stuff tastes like?

There are many enthusiasts out there that have been drinking vintage rare whiskey almost exclusively for a very long time and thanks to them we have some great reviews online. But, the easiest way to know what any of this stuff tastes like is to seek out a local bar restaurant that has a vintage whiskey selection and try it for yourself. Checkout our post on where to try old whiskey.

How do I know if my old whiskey is expensive?

You can try any of the avenues to sell your whiskey that we talk about in this entry “selling your whiskey“, or you can always email us here and we’ll cite any recent auction prices for you and give you relevant data if you’ve got something good and if you don’t, we’ll break the bad new to you too.