Answers.Body: <p>As an avid whisky fan, and having worked in a distillery and visited most Scottish distilleries, I can tell you this:</p>
  
  <p>It's incredibly easy - pretty much all the distilleries have 18 year old single malts. It's not rare at all, in fact I don't think I'd class them as "premium" in that way. For many of the whiskies I like I'll buy the 12, 15 and 18 year old. Amusingly enough, many of these whiskies are also available in supermarkets and even local shops. </p>
  
  <p>There are a few I'll hunt down that are considerably older, but they really do command a premium. These are the kind that usually go to collectors, or are available through specialist groups, such as the <a href="https://www.smws.com/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Scotch Malt Whisky Society</a>.</p>
  
  <p>If your question is because you plan on a whisky tour and you want to know if you can find these whiskies in the distilleries, then yes - no problem. </p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2018-02-28T14:17:28.440Z
Answers.Text: Gah, I'm jealous. Send me a bottle?
Answers.UserDisplayName: Cdn_Dev
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2018-02-28T08:35:00.020Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2018-11-06T07:59:19.987Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2018-11-06T07:59:19.987Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Rory Alsop
Body: <p>For the purpose of definition we'll call 'rare 18 year old Scotch' bottles that aren't really common in foreign markets like Canada. </p>
  
  <p>What I wonder is, if we're talking about that type of high-grade Scotch, how easy is it to find a bottle if you were visiting distilleries or liquor stores in Scotland directly.</p>
  
  <p>In other words, when distilleries produce premium product does it tend to mostly stay in country, or are some of these whiskies just produced in such low quantities that getting your hands on it anywhere is rare?</p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2018-03-05T09:07:53.643Z
Comments.Text: It's incredibly easy to shop old Whiskey from Scotland and Ireland. I never had a problem finding old bottles in a well sorted store here in Germany; and if they don't happen to have them, you can always order online on amazon or at a whiskey reseller. If you need some links, I can give them to you.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Horsty
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2018-03-16T12:14:31.337Z
Comments.Text: A friend of mine in Naples says his corner shop sold even rarer ones, like the Octomore!
Comments.UserDisplayName: Rory Alsop
Tags: <scotch>
Title: How hard is it to get rare 18 year old Scotches directly in Scotland?
UserDisplayName: Cdn_Dev
ThreadText: # How hard is it to get rare 18 year old Scotches directly in Scotland?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2018-02-27)
  
  For the purpose of definition we'll call 'rare 18 year old Scotch' bottles that aren't really common in foreign markets like Canada.
  
  What I wonder is, if we're talking about that type of high-grade Scotch, how easy is it to find a bottle if you were visiting distilleries or liquor stores in Scotland directly.
  
  In other words, when distilleries produce premium product does it tend to mostly stay in country, or are some of these whiskies just produced in such low quantities that getting your hands on it anywhere is rare?
  
  **Tags:** scotch
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: It's incredibly easy to shop old Whiskey from Scotland and Ireland. I never had a problem finding old bottles in a well sorted store here in Germany; and if they don't happen to have them, you can always order online on amazon or at a whiskey reseller. If you need some links, I can give them to you.  
  > **username_2**: A friend of mine in Naples says his corner shop sold even rarer ones, like the Octomore!  
  
  ---
  
  ## 1 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_2 on 2018-02-28. Score: 10 | Accepted answer
  
  As an avid whisky fan, and having worked in a distillery and visited most Scottish distilleries, I can tell you this:
  
  It's incredibly easy - pretty much all the distilleries have 18 year old single malts. It's not rare at all, in fact I don't think I'd class them as "premium" in that way. For many of the whiskies I like I'll buy the 12, 15 and 18 year old. Amusingly enough, many of these whiskies are also available in supermarkets and even local shops.
  
  There are a few I'll hunt down that are considerably older, but they really do command a premium. These are the kind that usually go to collectors, or are available through specialist groups, such as the [Scotch Malt Whisky Society](https://www.smws.com/).
  
  If your question is because you plan on a whisky tour and you want to know if you can find these whiskies in the distilleries, then yes - no problem.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_0**: Gah, I'm jealous. Send me a bottle?  
  
  ---
  
  