Scotch Frequently Asked Questions

Under construction!

For a (very) little Scotch dictionary, click here.

I have a very old bottle of a blend that I can't find anymore. I would love to replace it. Do you know where I can get some? Do you know it's history?

Blends just don't have the history that the distilleries do. The fact is, they are the product of either a large corporation that owns or has agreements with several distilleries, or they are the product of a business arrangement made at that time. If it's the former you can probably track it down in the Edinburgh pages. If the latter, there is a vail of secrecy over who provided who with what. The distillers don't want their lesser cuts bottled as pirate single malts, so they don't disclose private dealings to speculators. Independent blenders religiously guard their better malt providers lest they lose them to another blender, or their "secret recipe" be discovered by calculating proportions bought from different distillers.
Take up a more profitable line of enquiry, like who exactly dealt the death blow to Custer, or Government coverups of UFO abductions.

I've heard of a rare single malt, where can I find it?

I can only point you to the SMWS or to your local store. If you have seen a private bottling of a distillery that normally doesn't have a distribution channel, realize that it is the result of a private business arrangement, and not something that your average distributor would stock or even ever have the oppurtunity to stock. If I have it listed I can look up the bottler's and importer's name, that's about it.

I'm thinking of buying brand Glen XXX 11.5 year old. Is it any good?

If it's not in my list, I probably haven't tried it. I could look it up for you and tell you what the Edinburg pages have to say, but you could do that too.

I have an old bottle of X. How much is it worth?

I have no idea. I'm not a dealer or trader or even a collector. I have no books on values, if there is such a thing. Scotch does not age in the bottle, so it does not improve in taste over time like some wines. It may degrade due to photochemical reaction, so it could lose all value. Keep it in a cool, dark place.

That's a lot of Scotch you have listed there. You must be quite the boozer, Ken.

Most of the listings are my tastings of miniatures, which is why many popular Scotches that don't come in miniatures just aren't there. I rarely have more than one drink a week, or one at a time. I sip it to taste it, not drink it to quench my thirst. If I'm thirsty I'll have a 7up, Pepsi or an Orange Juice.

I think I'll e-mail Ken anyway!
Better yet, I'll fill out the Surfer Survey!

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My head feels woozy, I'd better go home.

Copyright © 1996 Ken Marsh All rights reserved.