Retired farmer Bill Garratt with part of his extraordinary 5,000-bottle whisky collection, stored in a converted 100ft-long pigsty in Bedfordshire. | James Linsell Clark / SWNSThis article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement. A retired Bedfordshire farmer has spent four decades building one of Britain’s largest whisky collections, with more than 5,000 bottles now stored in a converted pigsty and valued at £750,000. A retired farmer who spent more than 40 years building one of Britain’s largest whisky collections is selling his extraordinary haul of more than 5,000 bottles for £750,000.Eighty-one-year-old Bill Garratt’s collection includes rare Scotch dating back to the 1800s, valuable single malts worth thousands of pounds, and a huge archive of whisky memorabilia.The collection became so large that Bill was forced to move it out of the family home and into a specially converted 100ft-long former pigsty in Bedfordshire, fitted with advanced security systems to protect the valuable bottles.Bill Garratt’s extraordinary whisky collection includes more than 5,000 bottles stored in a converted pigsty in Bedfordshire. | James Linsell Clark / SWNSInside the purpose-built space are around 1,800 single malts, 1,800 miniature bottles, approximately 500 blended whiskies and thousands of related collectables.Bill says his passion began unexpectedly in 1982 when a friend gave him a bottle of whisky called Jolly Runner.“I liked whisky but it just sort of happened – I stumbled into it,” he said.“Now I’ve got more than 1,800 malts, and together with the miniatures there’s got to be nearly 5,000 bottles in there.“I’ve seen more expensive collections but I haven’t seen a bigger collection. It could be one of the most diverse collections.”The former pigsty where Bill Garratt houses his vast whisky collection, featuring rare bottles dating back to the 1800s. | James Linsell Clark / SWNSAs the number of bottles grew, Bill’s hobby began taking over the family home.“I got to 1,000 bottles in the house and my wife was getting a bit fed up with it,” he said.“We had old pig sties at the time and I adjusted two of them. It’s all in a 100ft-long building now with the extension and its only purpose is to house this collection.”Among the most valuable bottles are rare Macallan releases, including a Macallan Magnifico that Bill bought for more than £6,000 and believes could now be worth considerably more.His collection also features Macallan 26 and ⅔ fluid ounce bottles from 1937 and 1938, each valued at up to £6,000.The oldest bottle is a Choice Old Scotch Whisky produced by R Thorne and Sons Limited in 1894. With little known about its history, Bill considers it impossible to put a price on.Other highlights include a Hanyu The Joker single malt worth around £5,000, a Macallan Diamond Jubilee special edition valued at up to £6,000 and the distinctive Mortlach 70 whisky by Gordon and MacPhail.Bill still enjoys drinking whisky and has a dram around three times a week, with an 18-year-old Macallan among his favourites.He also recommends newer whisky drinkers explore bottles from The Lakes Distillery, The English Distillery in Norfolk and Highland Park.“I’ve been to Scotland quite a bit,” he said. “One time I flew up to Scotland and I brought back 34 bottles, which is why the collection is the way it is.”Bill Garratt with just part of his collection of rare Scotch whiskies and thousands of pieces of memorabilia. | James Linsell Clark / SWNSThe collection extends well beyond whisky itself, with Bill owning around 1,800 pieces of memorabilia.The archive includes Johnnie Walker figures, paintings, photographs, ashtrays, wooden presentation boxes and hundreds of whisky glasses.“I must have 1,800 bits of memorabilia as part of it all,” he said. “There’s just too many to count.”After decades of collecting, Bill has decided it is finally time to pass the collection on.“I’m getting on a bit, I’m 81, I’ve had 40 odd years of enjoyment and I want to pass it on to someone else to enjoy,” he said.“If it wasn’t for my age, I wouldn’t be selling this, no way. You have to see it to believe just how much there is here.”The collection is being marketed with a guide price of £750,000 by whisky broker Mark Littler.He said the collection stood apart because it represented the full history of Scotch whisky rather than focusing only on fashionable single malts.“Most whisky collections are built around single malts. Bill’s collection is different: it tells the story of Scotch whisky itself,” he said.“He has collected its entire history, rather than only its most fashionable names.“Blends feature prominently, and rightly so. Without blended whisky, many malt distilleries would not have survived the twentieth century. A collection that leaves them out tells only half the story.”National WorldPlay Euromillions with 500 lines and 500 Millionaires Raffle tickets
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