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Major Scotch whisky collection set for relocation to Scotland

SWI The Valentino Zagatti Collection in the NetherlandsSWI
The Valentino Zagatti Collection is currently housed in the Netherlands

Plans have been drawn up to relocate one of the world's finest collections of Scotch whisky from the Netherlands to Scotland.

Scotch Whisky Investments intends to showcase the Unseen Valentino Zagatti Collection in a new museum planned as part of a major development in Fife.

The collection features more than 3,000 bottles and close to 300 whisky brands.

It includes a rare whisky which was bottled in 1843 and gifted by a father to his daughter for her wedding day.

Whisky asset management firm Scotch Whisky Investments (SWI) took over the collection along with a group of investors in 2015.

SWI The centrepiece of the collection is a rare whisky bottled in 1843SWI
The centrepiece of the collection is a rare whisky bottled in 1843

It is currently on display at an exhibition building in Sassenheim.

The bottles were amassed over 60 years by Italian collector Valentino Zagatti.

SWI said it sought to "showcase the history of, and educate people about single malt Scotch whisky, as well as promote investment in the commodity".

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The Valentino Zagatti Collection

SWI Valentino Zagatti (pictured left)SWI
Valentino Zagatti (left)
  • 97% of the collection is Scotch whisky
  • About a quarter of the bottles are from three distilleries - Glenfarclas, Macallan and Glen Grant
  • Several bottles were produced during World War Two
  • There is one bottle of Australian whisky
  • 22 bottles were distilled in the 19th Century.
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The museum features in proposals unveiled by SWI for a mixed-used development in Falkland, which will include a new corporate headquarters building with restaurants and hotel accommodation at the site of the former St John's Works.

There are also plans for a "small number of cottages" on the north edge of the site.

The 3.64-hectare plot was occupied by a manufacturer of paper bags before its factory was closed in 2013 and subsequently demolished.

SWI said the Falkland development formed part of a multi-million-pound investment in Fife, including a single malt Scotch whisky storage and bottling facility in Glenrothes.

It is launching a consultation on its proposals, after which it intends to submit a planning application.

SWI director Keith Rennie said: "Our vision as a company is to showcase and educate people about single malt Scotch whisky, as well as promote investment in the commodity and provide new facilities for Falkland.

"Through this activity, complemented by the expansion of our facilities in Glenrothes, considerable employment and tourism opportunities will be delivered not just for Fife, but for Scotland as a whole."