28 bottles of whiskey on the wall: The house bought by a whiskey collection

The man who resisted drinking his 28 bottle whiskey collection and sold the collection to raise money for a deposit on a house, shares his amazing story.

THE story of Matthew Robson’s whiskey collection has become worldwide news after he was able to sell them to secure a deposit for a house.

In an unconventional tale of a man buying his son whiskey each year for his birthday, the 28 bottle collection of Macallan single malt sold at auction for £44,000 (€47,519), giving Matthew a sizeable house deposit.

Speaking after the sale, Matthew said “I feel happy that it’s sold because I can start getting my foot on the property ladder but part of me is sad because it would have been nice to keep them and pass them all into my kids at a future date.“

And Matthew has moved quickly, “An offer has been accepted for the flat we were wanting to buy and we are just waiting on solicitors and other legalities to finalise and then with some luck we will be moving in in a month or two.”

And now Matthew is continuing the tradition started by his father, “I already have started my new collection starting with this years bottle, and I am hoping to hand it down to kids in the future when the time is right.”

Father, Pete Robson, opened up about the amazing journey this father and son duo have shared together, “I am absolutely delighted that Matthew has used his collection wisely and it makes me very proud as a father that I have been able to help in some small way. 

“I believe the collection has already started for the  3rd generation but the 2nd generation have decided they want to provide for their own children. So the tradition will be continued.”

Whiskey broker Mark Little, who sold the amazing collection, answered a few questions:

How surprised are you that the collection sold for over its expected value?

“It never ceases to amaze me how strong the market is for Macallan.  To be able achieve such a good price for Matthew is incredible and it is great to think how this money will set him and his family up for the future.”

Do you think this may spark more interest in people wanting to collect whisky as they do wine – which tends to be more well-known?

“The market for rare and collectible whisky is still in its infancy – it has only just transitioned from being merely a ‘drink’ to collectors item in the last 10 years.  This is what is really exciting to collectors as there are so many collections yet to be discovered.  As such I can only see the market for rare whisky growing for years to come, especially for casks which are an under-explored area.”

How is the interest in this collection: How many bidders have participated so far?

“There was international interest with potential buyers in Singapore, Hong Kong, New York, London, Berlin and several Italian buyers.”

What makes Macallan so popular among connoisseurs?

“Macallan epitomises the transcendence of single malt whisky from being just a ‘drink’ to being a collectors item.  Macallan bottles are collected in the same way Rolex watches or Hermes handbags are collected; they are bought because of what they say about the person that owns them rather than how well the items performs their function.”

Has there ever been – at least to your knowledge – a similar Macallan collection out on the market place?

“We have not seen such a complete vertical of Macallan on the market for a very long time.  We have also never seen one sold as an entire vertical before – quite often they are split into individual lots before being sold.”

Where are the current highest offers right now and what might be the final price, that will make it?

“The sale is now complete.  Matthew accepted a £44,000 offer and the buyer has now signed the contract and full payment has been received from the buyer.  We have arranged a courier to collect the bottles and they will be with the new buyer by the end of the week.”

We wish Matthew a wonderful time in his new house and hope that the tradition started by his father will provide the same success for his children.

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