'I wish I could say that I fell in a whisky barrel when I was younger or that I lived in the middle of the Scottish Highlands as a child… But I didn’t.' When asked how her passion for whisky began, our in-house whisky expert, Anne-Sophie Bigot, told us that her love story with whisky started 5 years ago in Scotland. Her journey has led her to work at various distilleries and even open her own whisky bar. Today she curates the weekly Whisky auctions together with her team and ensures that only the best whiskies are included. So how did she get from discovering her love of whisky in Scotland to curating our weekly Whisky auctions? Read her story below.
How did your passion for whisky begin?
I wish I could say that I fell in a whisky barrel when I was younger or that I lived in the middle of the Scottish Highlands as a child… But I didn’t. My love story with whisky began more than 5 years ago, when I first stepped foot in Scotland for a quick city break with my Scotland-born partner. As proper tourists, we went to visit a distillery and couldn’t miss a tasting. This distillery happened to be Auchentoshan (near Glasgow). If it wasn’t the first whisky I ever had in my life, it was definitely the one that made me appreciate the amber nectar and motivated me to embark on my discovery journey.
Our in-house whisky expert, Anne-Sophie Bigot, began her whisky journey 5 years ago in Scotland
What is your experience? How did you become an expert?
I was studying Chinese at university, not really knowing what I wanted to do with my life (I even went to an art school before which wasn’t a success either), when I first thought I could turn my passion for whisky into a potential career.
I still finished my degree in Chinese and then completed a Masters in hospitality & tourism management, during which I chose to focus on whisky tourism. More specifically studying how to enhance the visitor experience in distilleries. I went to live in Scotland for a while to improve my whisky knowledge, worked in a few distilleries & other whisky-related positions and was then offered a job, straight after my studies, on behalf of a French whisky distributor, where I only stayed for a few months before creating my own business.
Before coming to Catawiki, Anne-Sophie worked for various distilleries, a French whisky distributer and various other whisky-related positions
Beside this, I kept educating myself for years by attending all sorts of whisky festivals and tastings, reading hundreds of books and visiting many distilleries in many different countries.
More importantly, I created my own blog, The Whisky Lady, 4 years ago, which was a very important factor in my whisky education and enabled me to meet fellow whisky enthusiasts, share with like-minded individuals and receive tons of whisky to taste and review. I also recently opened my own whisky bar, along with my partner, in Toulouse, France: ‘The Hopscotch Pub & Brewery’ - oh yeah, we also brew our own beers too! We host whisky tastings and taking care of the whisky selection and events there. We’ve only been open for 5 months, but the response has been amazing so far!
What makes Catawiki a trustworthy place to buy whisky?
Each and every bottle that goes online every Friday has been checked by an in-house whisky expert. Each of us has our own specialities, so when one of us is struggling with one specific bottle, there’s always someone to help. We all complement each other in terms of whisky knowledge which is very important so that there’s no grey zone!
Another important fact when buying on Catawiki, you can always check a seller’s reputation and records so that you don’t buy out of the blue - if there’s been any problem with a particular seller, it would be mentioned. It makes the whole buying process very trustworthy!
We also have a secure payment method that makes transactions very safe and an excellent Customer Support team to offer help in 7 languages in case there’s any issue with your purchase - which doesn’t happen a lot!
We auction around 400 bottles every week in different themed auctions (Exclusive Whisky, Closed Distilleries…), that’s a huge amount of bottles every year!
Each and every bottle that goes into our weekly Whisky auctions has been checked by one of our in-house whisky experts
How do you decide what lots are suitable for auction?
It would be pretty boring to tell you all about excise seals, tax stamps and glass code science here… But we know what to look for! That’s also why we are very picky and ask for good pictures.
Basically, we’re after genuine collectible bottles, so we don’t auction generally available references - if you can find a bottle at your local supermarket, it won’t appear on Catawiki (unless it's offered as a combined lot with a less common bottle). We aim to offer only limited editions, closed distilleries, old vintages… Everything you cannot easily find. Our buyers come from everywhere in the world, so we also need to take that into account: a bottle you can easily find in France or in the UK may not be available in Japan or Singapore for instance!
To be auctioned, bottles have to be sealed and in good condition, depending on their age obviously - we’re not expecting a 1940s bottle to look as pristine as a new release!
We aim to offer only limited editions, closed distilleries, old vintages, etc. in our weekly Whisky auctions… Everything you cannot easily find
What do you do for buyers and sellers?
Make them happy! Our end goal is that both the seller and the buyer are satisfied with their experience using Catawiki. As experts, we’re here to help them make the most out of this experience.
When it comes to sellers, we’re here for advice regarding their product: how to take good pictures, what information to highlight, how to best divide a combined lot, choose the right auction category, give estimates etc. Some sellers even have my personal phone number. It’s very important for me to remain available and build strong relationships... and I always enjoy a good whisky talk!
When it comes to buyers, each week, my aim is to build the most rich, diverse and interesting auctions to suit all kinds of whisky collectors: those interested in new releases as well as those into 1980s Scotch blends, closed distilleries, or other golden liquids. We also work hard with sellers on prices to reflect real market value and ensure shipping costs stay reasonable; and trust me, that’s a tough job!
Anne-Sophie aims to make all buyers and sellers happy by making sure they get the most out of their experience at our Whisky auctions
What lot would you like to see in the auction?
We’ve recently been offered a very interesting prohibition rye whisky from Canada, a 1925 bottling, and as an expert, this is really exciting to see, but very hard to estimate! Those bottles are real pieces of whisky history, like some kind liquid time capsules; they fascinate me. So obviously, I would love to see more of those crazy, unique, rare, old bottles: pre-prohibition whiskey, early 1900s Scotch whiskies… But I’m also very much into new innovative limited releases, and I’m sure I’ll see plenty of those coming in as the new wave of craft distilleries is slowly coming of age...
What was your favourite lot ever sold on Catawiki?
I hate the 'favourite' questions… It’s like when people ask me about my favourite whisky... There are so many different whiskies I love, each with their unique style and qualities, each designed for a different time and mood, I never know what to say and finally come up with this stupid answer: the next one I’ll be offered.
Will your whisky be the next one offered and become Anne-Sophie's new favourite? She and her team are always on the lookout for rare, limited edition, unique and special bottles of whisky to include in our weekly auctions. So if you have any bottles like this, why not offer them up for auction? Don't forget to keep an eye on our weekly Whisky auctions to see the fantastic selection brought to you by Anne-Sophie and her team each week.
You might also like these articles: