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Press Cuttings

As seen in...

The New York Times

A New, Full-Bodied Fraud Comes in a Whisky Barrel

Clay Risen

“There’s a whole range of different types of cask scams, from the mild to the just evil.”

Financial Times

On The Trail With The Whisky Detectives

Alice Lascelles

“For too long the industry has been marking its own homework”

The Telegraph

The secret world of high-end whisky fraud – where getting scammed could cost you millions.

Tim Moore

"The market for vintage spirits is booming, but so is the one for fakes. Meet the experts helping enthusiasts avoid a costly mistake."

Video - The Curious Bartender

How Fake Whisky is Made, Rare Whisky Market, Valuation, Authentication

More Press Cuttings

The Whisky Botschafter

The Whisky Botschafter

The Whisky Botschafter

Eine True Crime Story

Whisky & True Crime Story

Interview by Ina Verstl

"If you make an internet purchase, make good forensic use of whatever information is available (such as photos) as part of the sales process ... and think hard about buying from any auction that doesn’t have a fraud policy.”

Noble & Co

The Whisky Botschafter

The Whisky Botschafter

Noble & Co

Annual Whisky Intelligence Report

Interview by Duncan McFadzean

Those investment people that

caused the astonishing peaks

in prices, they've walked away.

They're simply not in the game.

It's not a question of seeing if

they'll come back. They've gone.

So the next time, it's going to be

a whole new market.

Whisky Invest Direct

The Whisky Botschafter

Whisky Invest Direct

Chivas Regal XX Bottle

Age Still Matters

Interview by Tom Bruce-Gardyne

"At the moment there's a bulge in stocks of young whisky, and a shortage of old whisky, but that bulge is going to move along,"

Whisky Magazine

Whisky Invest Direct

Whisky Invest Direct

Wisgy Decanter & Glass

Independent old and rare spirits consultancy Wisgy launches

Launched by industry expert Isabel Graham-Yooll, Wisgy aims to support prospective whisky investors to access the old and rare spirits markets. Graham-Yooll and her team of specialist consultants will provide independent, tailored advice.

Whisky Invest Direct

Whisky Invest Direct

Whisky Invest Direct

Isabel Graham-Yooll

Wisgy In The Jar

Tom Bruce-Gardyne

The explosive growth of whisky's secondary market has sucked in all manner of low-life peddling counterfeit bottles and fictional casks. To protect investors in these murky waters there's a new consultancy in town as Tom Bruce-Gardyne reports …

Whisky Magazine

Whisky Invest Direct

Whisky Invest Direct

Man looks at whisky bottles (whisky auctioneer, pats collection

How to build a whisky collection – with meaning and feeling

Interview by Millie Milliken

“There are different types of collector,” agrees Isabel Graham-Yooll, auction director of Whisky.Auction. “Some people are embarrassed – it’s almost a pejorative term for that nerdy kid at school. But in whisky it’s not seen the same way.”

The Spirits Business

The Spirits Business

The Spirits Business

Old and rare rum

Is rum ready to take off at auction?

Interview by Nicola Carruthers

"I don’t think there is a lack of transparency, but there is this confusion because so many different countries have developed a rum tradition independent of others. The same happens with whisky; rules in Kentucky are different than on Islay, but you wouldn’t say that causes a lack of transparency."

Brummell Drinks Club

The Spirits Business

The Spirits Business

Old and rare Chartreuse

Vintage vermouth, antique Amaro and the joy of old liqueurs

Interview by Chris Madigan

"We’re talking about simple cocktails people make at home – negronis, martinis and so on – not flashy, complex recipes. So, the difference you can make with one or two of these [vintage] ingredients is astonishing."

The Spirits Business

The Spirits Business

The Spirits Business

Vintage negroni

Old school: why vintage spirits are the new trend

Interview by Georgie Collins

"The primary appeal of vintage spirits and liqueurs is that each bottle is a chance to experience drinks from our parents’ or grandparents’ generations."

The New York Times

That $1,000 Bourbon You Bought May Be a Phony

Clay Risen

“I saw one collection that was in its entirety fake, and it had all been gathered 20 to 30 years ago. There are some really well-known fakes that keep popping up.”

Financial Times

How To Spot a Fake Whisky

Alice Lascelles

"The suspect had genuine and fake bottles there but it was clear he was manufacturing his own line of fakes too"

City A.M.

The Spirits Business

City A.M.

Vintage spirits and liqueurs

Cash in the Cellar: The New Market for Old Liqueurs.

Interview by Simon  Thomson

"The best value comes from looking for unfashionable liqueurs that are not as popular as they were in our parents’ day. Old kummel and kirsch for instance can currently sell for less than their modern-day equivalents."

Class.

The Spirits Business

City A.M.

Pie chart of values of bottles at auction

Why old whisky became the preserve of investors not bartenders.

Interview by Hamish Smith

"Some of the biggest Japanese whisky producers have been forced to discontinue products due to an inability to sustain supplies. Others have tackled stock shortages with increased usage of imported whisky."

The Spirits Business

The Spirits Business

The Spirits Business

Illustration of suited man removing a mask

How the industry is tackling fake alcohol.

Nicola Carruthers

“Pyramid‐style investment frauds are also a problem – fuelled by online chatter and hype. Ordinary casks, of little or no investment value, are being traded at highly inflated prices.”

Radio Clippings

BBC Radio 4

Casks of Kilchoman whisky

The Food Programme

The Wild West of Whisky: From Cask Investments to Dram Scams.

Jaega Wise and producer Robbie Armstrong explore cask investment programmes, counterfeits and even burglary – as bad actors enter the world of whisky to make a quick buck.


Published Articles

Fraud Advisory Panel

Fraud Advisory Panel

Fraud Advisory Panel

150 years of whiskey fraud

The recipe for artificial Cognac is given as follows:

¾ Ib. Aether Acetic

½ Ib. Spirit Aethrens Nitrosi

8 ¾ litres real French Cognac

½ Ib. Tincture Quercus Cortic (from 1Ib. Of Cortic Quercus and 2Ib of Alcohol).

To be mixed with a quantity of purified alcohol, so as to obtain 165 litres of liquid at 54%.

Barley Magazine

Fraud Advisory Panel

Fraud Advisory Panel

Pile of empty whisky casks waiting to be filled

The strange case of the whisky that never was

By Nick Morgan & Isabel Graham-Yooll

"Yes, what I'm helping you to buy has poor-ish provenance. And the ownership documentation is charmingly archaic. But on the plus side, there is an attractive lack of transparency. Yes, of course you can see all the terms and conditions. But don’t worry too much about the detail, everyone’s at it, just sign here."

More Press Cuttings

The Morning Advertiser

The Fraud Advisory Panel

The Morning Advertiser

Unbranded bottles and glasses

How to spot fake alcohol

Nikkie Thatcher

Advice on how to spot fraudulent alcohol has been unveiled in a new report from the Fraud Advisory Panel.

The Spirits Business

The Fraud Advisory Panel

The Morning Advertiser

Lit up back bar of bottles

EU loses €3 billion annually to fake alcohol

Melita Kiely

Fake wine, beer and spirits cost the European Union (EU) €3 billion (US$3.2bn) in lost sales every year, according to a new report.

The Fraud Advisory Panel

The Fraud Advisory Panel

The Fraud Advisory Panel

Fraud Advisory Panel

What's your poison?

The true cost of fake alcohol and how to catch the culprits.

The Fraud Advisory Panel is the voice of the counter-fraud profession, committed to tackling fraud and financial crime.

The Spirits Business

The Spirits Business

The Fraud Advisory Panel

Illustration of icecream cones

A new lease of life

Interview by Tom Bruce-Gardyne

“What’s astonishing is how spectacular old liqueurs are – that’s the bit that would just explode people’s minds if they knew.”

Published November 2021

Whisky Magazine

The Spirits Business

Whisky Magazine

Isabel Graham-Yooll

Caskaway: Isabel Graham-Yooll's desert island drams

Interview by Martha Crass

"It’s always been whisky; even before it was whisky, it was whisky."

BBC News

The Spirits Business

Whisky Magazine

Miniature bottle of 1919 Springbank Campbeltown Single Malt Whisky

Springbank whisky miniature sells for £5,600 at auction

“We have seen a wonderful renaissance in the appreciation of rare whisky miniatures."

Architectural Digest

Architectural Digest

Architectural Digest

Whisky being poured from a decanter into a glass

Planning to start a whisky collection? Here are 3 tips on how to get the best deal at an auction

Interview by Nivedita Jayaram Pawar

"As whisky bottles get older they become rarer as many are lost. This means the older bottles are highly sought after as not many exist in the world."

The Spirits Business

Architectural Digest

Architectural Digest

Luxury Cognac

How luxury Cognac is attracting whisky collectors

Interview by Owen Bellwood

“Interest in Cognac is definitely growing. In the secondary market and the auction market people are becoming more educated.”

Maxim

Architectural Digest

Reader's Digest

Liquid gold, old and rare whisky and Cognac bottles

Liquid Gold: Inside the booming world of high end spirits auctions

Interview by Nicholas Strecher

"The liquid has to be good. If no one is drinking them because they’ve all heard it’s not that good and they just plan to resell it, then it doesn’t really work"

Reader's Digest

The Herald Scotland

Reader's Digest

Whisky being poured into three Glencairn glasses

How to start investing in whisky

Interview by Nick Moyle and  Rich Hood

"I believe that whisky is, first and foremost, for drinking so the liquid inside the bottle is the most important thing. New shiny limited releases in presentation boxes may look good, but will they stand the test of time? If the liquid is good, then you can safely assume there will still be demand for it in the future."

The Herald Scotland

The Herald Scotland

The Herald Scotland

Whisky collectors use the appliance of science in the battle against fakes

Interview by Sandra Dick

Whisky collectors use the appliance of science in the battle against fakes

Spear's

The Herald Scotland

The Herald Scotland

How to invest in whisky

Interview by Spear's

"Traditionally you split the whisky buyers into three – investors, collectors and drinkers – and that is just not true,’ she says. ‘There are some that will only be interested in one aspect, but for the most part people are doing all three, even if they don’t realise."

Older Press Cuttings

Rob Report

Scientific American

Scotchwhisky.com

Is Your Rare Whisky a Fake?

Scotchwhisky.com

Scientific American

Scotchwhisky.com

Sophisticated fake whisky setup xposed

Scientific American

Scientific American

Scientific American

Catching Whisky Fakers

Whisky Advocate

Scientific American

Scientific American

How One Auctioneer Helped Police Catch a Whisky Thief

Press Enquiries

For any Wisgy media enquiries, requests for commentary from Isabel Graham-Yooll, clarification or information, please contact our Wisgy team using the link below.


Topical commentary is available in Wisgy Weekly.


Commentary on press releases and latest industry news can be found in our Journal.

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