As anyone who loves single-malt whisky knows, even the most readily available drams—such as Macallan 18 Year Old and Lagavulin 16 Year Old—have seen dramatic increases in prices. The phenomenon is even more pronounced among the rarefied out-of-production classics, such as the 1964 Black Bowmore, a whisky that was first released at 27 years old in 1993 and priced at about $130 a bottle. By 2006, the remaining liquid from this same barrel, then aged to 42 years, sold for $4,200 per bottle.
It is no wonder whisk…