Oh
dear, it appears that price of whiskey is climbing through the roof,
mainly because the demand is high. The word “shortage” is enough to make
some people panic. First it was bourbon, then other kinds of whiskey,
and now the high demand has affected the supply of Scotch whiskey!
Booze-loving
Cassandras have been warning of Scotch and other whiskey shortages for
the past two years. In 2014, the main concern was bourbon; as the liquor
experienced an uptick in popularity, distilleries began to struggle to
keep up with demand. The problem was so severe that Buffalo Trace
Distillery released a public statement outlining their efforts to
address the shortage. Wood shortages for making aging barrels compounded
the matter, leading some to call for legal changes to allow Tennessee whiskey barrels to be re-used; this in turn alarmed Scotch distilleries,
who often purchase used bourbon and whiskey barrels for their aging
processes. Prices for older bottles skyrocketed—according to a 2014
Esquire article, a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle 15 that went for $47 in
2007 cost a whopping $982 in 2014.
So what can be
done about it? Distilleries are looking at a variety of ways to
alleviate the shortages, to “ensure no glass remains empty.” Read about
them, and the
various reasons for the whiskey shortage, at Atlas Obscura.
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