Spot the difference: Why is this £450 whisky only £63 on Amazon?
This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement.
These two bottles might look identical from the outside, but their prices are wildly different. Raid your piggy banks and head down to The Whisky Exchange and a 16-year-old Lagavulin bottle will be plucked off the shelf in return for £450 of your savings.
Or, if you'd rather, you could just log on to Amazon and take advantage of a discount, and there'll be a bottle on your doorstep the next day for £63.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdOf course, it's not that simple though. The bottle on Amazon is brand new, in a pristine presentation box, and it will have been bottled relatively recently.
The bottle at The Whisky Exchange, however, was bottled by White Horse Distillers in the 1990s. And that makes it rather special for collectors. And that makes it expensive. Very expensive.
It does, however, mean you're given a disclaimer. Because of the bottle's age, The Whisky Exchange says: "This is an old bottle and the closure may have deteriorated - care should be taken when it is being opened.
"The item is sold as described and we do not accept liability for the state of the closure."
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad
For whisky collectors, that might not matter. Because the value is in the exclusivity of the bottle, not the whisky itself. It's likely it will never be consumed.
Whereas, the intense, peaty, fruity flavours of a 16-year-old Lagavulin, widely hailed as a connoisseur’s choice, are yours for the taking in the Amazon bottle.
Or you could just sit on it for 30 years. But don't count on it to top up your pension.
🔥 Free Samsung tablet? Don’t miss this Sky Mobile Galaxy S25 deal (aff)
Snap up the brand-new Samsung Galaxy S25 5G and Sky Mobile will throw in a Galaxy Tab A9+ worth £259 – absolutely free! This offer - which we wrote about in detail here - runs until 26 June 2025, but once it’s gone, it’s gone. You’ll get Samsung’s most powerful phone yet – built for gaming, streaming and multitasking – from just £30 a month with zero upfront cost.