15/10/2023
Sabel Whisky, what´s in a name?
How did I get to use the name Sabel as a trademark for my hobby? Actually quite simple. It is named after the street I live in. I am residing in the oldest city of Germany. On the northern side of the Mosel river. So yes, a lot of competition of white wines.
The street I live in is called "Im Sabel". This means freely translated "In the sand" , Sabel being a specific type of sand.
Of course the name Sabel can also imply the weapon, the definition being a heavy, one-edged sword, usually slightly curved, used especially by cavalry. Then there are some variations of writing it, Sabre, Saber but I stick with Sabel
03/09/2023
Almost a year.
So, as my provider told me that my subscription is up for renewal, I was reminded I am running this website for a year now. Many thanks to you, the customers, I would say it has been what I expected. My goal to have my own website, rather then going via auctions seems to pay off.
Of course I do not have the network of Catawiki or eBay, but slowly trying to get my name established.
So what has happened so far? 73 purchases were made. Which is probably close to 100 bottles. All sold without commission so you saved money and so did I. The website is fairly easy to use when a purchase is made, but perhaps for the customer the website can still use some improvement. All shipments were made with DHL and all bottles arrived in good condition. In the beginning I also had to get used to the interface and tricks of my website. But I am feeling comfortable and will likely continue with what I have.
I think the biggest improvement to be made is a search function for you, so you can search in the 100 or so bottles. The seperate sections of Bowmore, Macallan Glenfiddich and Ardbeg are a start, but there is also still a large section of Laphroaig for instance.
For me, I would like to have a template for adding bottles because it still takes about 20/25 minutes to create a page for a single bottle. But I do not want to make short-cuts. I think you still deserve the exact pictures of the bottle you receive and the exact information which bottle it is.
As my opening page states, it is a hobby. More traffic and sales sounds great, but with the current flow I am content. Quality should remain.
Hoping to see you soon in webshop.
19/06/2023
What can I collect?
Collecting whisky is done in so many ways. I started collecting Glenfiddich and focused on a few achievable collections, but at times it seems impossible to keep up. I think I have a fairly complete Glenfiddich Rich Oak collection. Quite some of the 12 year old (the previous design) in various sizes and variations. It is up to you what you want and can achieve.
If you think of investing in whisky, consider that price rises are not that fast. There are the exceptions for certain bottles. But that says exactly what it is, an exception. Not every bottle becomes worth more after release. Recently some bottles are dropping below retail, so that is actually a tip to consider. Not immediately jump on any bottle that is exclusively released.
Wait what the bottle does. Whiskybase is a good indication what people ask, but it is on auction where you get to see the real value of a bottle. Newly released bottles that are supposedly hard to get will rise quickly after release, but will drop if more are released. The Game of Thrones series is a prime example. The prices went way up and it became a quest to complete a serie. Until Diageo dumped a second batch (with no difference compared to the first batch). That really made the prices drop.
The Macallan Harmony Fine Cacao is an example where the price has been rapidly climbing. The few bottles on offer are now selling for over €600, where the original price was under €200. Yet, a "sister bottle" of the Harmony collection, the Intense Arabica is now easily available for around €200. Now the question is, will it go up? If you can miss €1000, you can acquire five or so of these bottles, and when they go up to €300, it is 500 euro in your pocket, or, a free bottle and some cash.
I certainly hope they do go up.
09/03/2023
What to buy?
I do get the question on occasion what to buy, and what not. I can make a few comments, but at the end it is your decision to take.
For the moment I could suggest to look at Caol Ila 25 years old. This years release sees a very big increase compared to last years. I have purchased some in retail or on auction for 130 euro. Now it seems the 2023 release will hover around 400-500 euro. Visit Drankdozijn and see what it does in your country. So now might be a time to grab the previous years releases as they will probably rise in the wake of this year´s release.
A few weeks ago I received an email from a German retailer. They suggested to buy the 12 years old for the regular price. As Glenfarclas would increase the price in the months to come. I cannot recall the exact pricing difference but from around 40 to 60 euro. Not a whole lot, but as well here, the price increase will also effect the 25 years old for instance.
Glenfiddich (the brand I started collecting first) seems to be in a bit of a slum. Of course it is a bit like a Volkswagen. Trusted, but plenty out there. Also their last exclusive release (Grand Couronne 26 years old) seemed impressive and a true winner for the future. Suggested retail was around 580 euro, but I have bought one for 330 and 400 euro. And as this "exclusive" Whisky is still widely available it will not go anywhere up soon. Saw it at an airport for 450 euro, with at least four on the shelf. Perhaps the release of the Mr Potter version (white box) can peak some interest. Perhaps now it is the time to pick up some of the older versions for a low price. Something I still do. One never knows.
Macallan is always a good investment in the long run, but only when you can buy at retail for the new releases. Also keeping up with news of a distillery is something you need to do. In case a bottle is discontinued people will start to buy up the last supplies. Talisker 57 North is such an example, but also Macallan Gold. The Gold retailed for 50/60 euros but fetches an easy 90 euro these days on Catawiki (but lower is still possible)
Hope this helps a bit and I will try to keep these kind of updates going.
03/03/2023
In the beginning....
About 6 months into starting my website, this is a start of communicating some more towards you. From the customers point of view I see there is a need to ask questions. It is about bottles, shipping bottles outside the EU, or suggestions what is a decent buy.
So why did I even start this website. Simply to have a more direct contact with customers and thereby saving auction fees. I am active on Catawiki and eBay (Germany) but auction fees are something to consider. My sales on Catawiki for instance will continue though. Simply because the audience of Catawiki cannot be beat.
The sales of the websites is now in the double digits when it comes to number of orders. During those, I have enjoyed some good conversations. It is great to find a way to send a bottle to a country where in principle one cannot ship to. But with help of family members we achieved this.
This website and the selling (and buying) of whisky remains my hobby. I still have my full time profession in aviation. I do notice on occasion that I am not at home to guarantee a speedy delivery. But I will contact you and see if this is a problem.
Problems. Of course I noticed some restrictions. Most noticeable is the lack of a search function for the webshop. With the number of products reaching 80 and with still many to be added this becomes more and more an issue. The provider does not offer this option and I am still looking for another webshop-provider to switch. Yet I do not want to jump to another and have other issues.
Concluding, I am happy with the start. A lot more work to be done.