A whiskey cask purchased by a British man for about 130 pounds (approx. 240,000 won) some 55 years ago has become a hot topic as it has been listed for sale at around 270,000 pounds (approx. 500 million won).
According to the BBC and other sources on the 30th (local time), Angus Kerr, an 81-year-old retiree living in Surrey, UK, bought an oak cask filled with Glenrothes single malt whiskey for 130 pounds in 1971. It was intended as an investment to secure tuition fees for his children.
Kerr, a former commodity trader, decided to make the purchase after hearing about a company selling casks filled with new whiskey at the time. He explained, “I figured that even if I lost the money, it was an amount I could afford, so I decided to invest.”
Initially, Kerr planned to resell the cask in about five years to make a profit. However, the company that sold the cask went bankrupt, cutting off all contact, and he thought his investment was effectively lost.
Kerr recalled, “I threw my hands up and thought, ‘Well, that was a foolish thing to do.’” Since then, he lived having forgotten about the existence of the cask. However, a few years later, an unexpected contact arrived. A company in Glasgow contacted Kerr, stating that storage fees for the whiskey cask were overdue. Through this, he learned that the cask, which he thought had vanished, was still being safely stored.
Consequently, Kerr recently contacted whiskey broker Mark Littler and decided to put the cask up for sale. It is reported that the cask contains enough whiskey to fill about 287 bottles.
The whiskey spirit was filled into the cask on January 2, 1969, and has been aged for 57 years. It is known to be the oldest existing Glenrothes cask.
Tasting experts who sampled the 57-year-old whiskey praised it, saying, “The taste and quality are truly fantastic.”
The expected selling price for the cask has been set at 270,000 pounds (approx. 500 million won). This is about 2,000 times the initial purchase price.
Broker Littler remarked on the cask, “Casks of this age rarely come onto the market from private collections.” He added, “It is impressive that even after 57 years, the alcohol by volume (ABV) has remained at 42.2%, and the oak flavor has not overpowered the whiskey's inherent character.” He continued, “It’s a rare case. I’ve never seen a cask bought without proper paperwork from a bankrupt company sit in a forgotten warehouse for decades and end up as the oldest listing.”
Kerr said, “The alcohol content could have dropped too low, or the oak flavor could have become too strong, resulting in a terrible taste, so I’m really relieved.” He then joked, “The person we need to find is someone like Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos, who wouldn't think twice about 270,000 pounds (approx. 500 million won).”
The sales proceeds are set to go to his family. When asked how he plans to use the proceeds, Kerr stated that he plans to share them with his children and 8 grandchildren, adding, “We won’t have any trouble finding places to spend the money.”
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