Listen up buddy, here’s some good advice for free. Great tasting whisky is not expensive; you just need to know where to look.
Firstly, you need to work on your game. We’re gonna put those dead presidents in your pocket to work, you understand? If you shop online, tap into stores’ Twitter accounts and keep a lookout for flash sales and discounts. As prices skyrocket, these are now a thing: do yourself a favor, and use ‘em, okay? And hey, take advantage of the seasonal markdowns during the holidays and Father’s Day.
And another thing: don’t pay top dollar to multinationals or exorbitant prices for young juice from shiny new distilleries. You’re paying their shareholders, the paychecks of all those sales and marketing people, being a patsy for some guy whose dreams are bigger than his bank account. Let some other sucker do that, your job is to part with as little green as possible. Here’s what you’re gonna do. Seek out the family-run companies that offer a fairer deal for their bottles. Whisky makers like Glenfarclas and Springbank, and independent bottlers like Gordon & MacPhail.
If you can access whisky auctions without getting stung for delivery, actually be at the action, then play them from both ends: save money, and make money. Bid for cheap mixed lots forsaken by those with more money than sense and bag yourself a tidy haul of malts and blends. You’ll spend way below retail, my friend, way below. Just do your math before you bid. Then get a few auctions under your belt, become a player, and you might get a shot at the big time: the opportunity to buy a really hot bottle. You heard about the Yamazaki Sherry Cask 2016? Even if it’s more bucks than you can spare right now, take a risk. Because the next thing you know, those guys flipping it for profit have funded their whole year’s drinkin’ with just one deal. Why not you, am I right?
Okay, wise guy, that’s enough from your Uncle Jonny. Be good to your mother and stay out of trouble, will ya? Now, go on, get outta here.
