In recent years there has been a boom in the whisky industry, with particular interest around older bottlings. This has caused the cost of older whiskies to increase and most distilleries are keeping their stocks close.

One result of diminished stocks of older whisky has been the recent distillery releases of un-aged bottlings, either as special limited editions or as in the case of Macallan, an entire new core range.

An important fact to remember is that age is not the only factor determining a good whisky. Some excellent younger single malts are being bottled, particularly by independent bottlers like The Ultimate Selection.