My name is Marcel van Gils, born in 1953 and I run a dental office in the Netherlands. I started collecting single malt whiskies around 1995. At first I collected just about everything with a cork stopper or screw cap, but gradually shifted to Laphroaig.

Old Laphroaigs are rated among the best single malt whiskies ever. I visited the distillery several times. It’s a fascinating place drenched in history. A past, that has seen difficult family affairs, legal disputes, but also long lasting marriages and friendships. A distillery born out of a very clannish family who knew their trade: the Johnstons.
In 2002 I bought the (empty..) 1978 cask HRH Prince Charles signed during his famous stay on Islay in 1994 and that really made the collection going. Take a look in the “HRH Cask” section and find out more about this special cask, which is now back in Laphroaig's museum.

During the years I met lots of very enthusiastic people all over Europe, who drink, collect and trade whisky, and they helped me on my way. The internet proved to be a great tool for collecting. Under the “links” button, you will find several internet links that can help you on your quest for old and rare whiskies.
In 2011 I sold a big part of my 'independants', it was just getting too much. I still hold all the rare original bottles. It is getting increasingly difficult finding 'new' bottles. Either I already have them in my possession or the vendor asks silly prices. One of the disadvantages of the internet...

Of course there is the everlasting discussion that whisky was made for drinking and not collecting. I feel that collecting whisky is a valuable addition. Without collectors no one would know how old whiskies looked and tasted. In my opinion the single malt whiskies from the fifties, sixties and seventies are better than the ones now distilled and bottled. For novice drinkers no problem, but veterans know better. Causes? It could be the change in production methods (e.g. steam vs. coal fired stills, stainless steel vs. wood), the shortage of good (sherry) casks and larger percentages whisky to the single malt market, maybe environmental reasons. Managers forced to think in terms of "yield", marketing and shareholder value in a fierce competition in a rapidly expanding but crowded market. For let’s get one thing straight: making whisky is tough business. It always has been. History shows constant rise and fall, expansions and closures, closely related to economic upswings and downturns. Romantic ideas about making whisky only exist in the minds of us, whisky nutts. In order to survive it’s a multinational business, no matter what the PR boys and girls of the distilleries like us to believe. Something Bessie Williamson already was aware of in the 1960-ties. But let’s not be overly dramatic about it: a lot of distilleries wouldn’t exist today without the funds of (often foreign) multinationals and produce decent stuff.

It's good that some of these great, old bottles are kept for history and drank on the rare occasion.

Illustrations by Hans Dillesse