Is the whisky from an in-demand distillery?
Like all things, there are distilleries that are more favoured than others. Distilleries that are closed or demolished (also known as the “Lost Distilleries”) often attract more interest as there simply will not be any new whiskies released from these distilleries. Great examples are Port Ellen, Brora, Rosebank and St Magdalene. The list goes on and on…Then there are the fan-favourites like Macallan, Springbank and Ardbeg that are always in demand with whisky lovers the world over.
In addition to a distillery’s OB (“Official Bottling”), there are several independent bottlers (“IBs”) out there that bottle some really excellent whiskies. So if you can’t find a distillery bottling of Port Ellen for example, look out for the Old Malt Cask Port Ellen bottled by Douglas Laing.