Publish Date
March 2026
How to Track What You've Spent on Whisky
Tyler Berry
Whisky Collector
At some point, most collectors have the same thought. "I wonder how much all of this actually cost."
Some people arrive at this thought with curiosity. Others with mild dread. Either way, knowing the number is more useful than not knowing it, even if the answer makes you wince.
Why tracking matters
The obvious reason is budget. If you're spending £200 a month on whisky without realising it, that's worth knowing. Not because there's anything wrong with it, but because informed spending feels different from accidental spending. When you know the number, you're making a choice. When you don't, you're just hoping it's fine.
The less obvious reason is value. Your collection has a replacement cost. If something happened to your shelf, fire, flood, an unfortunate incident involving a curious child, could you tell your insurer what was there and what it was worth? Most collectors can't.
Tracking your spending also reveals patterns you might not notice otherwise. Maybe you spend twice as much in December as any other month (gifting season and limited releases hitting at the same time). Maybe your average bottle price has crept up over the past year without you realising. This isn't about guilt. It's about awareness.
The spreadsheet method
The simplest approach is a column in a spreadsheet. Every time you buy a bottle, log the name, what you paid, and the date. That's it. Three columns.
At the end of each month, sum the price column. At the end of each year, look at the total. You now know exactly what you've spent.
The weakness of spreadsheets is that they only do what you tell them to. They won't calculate your average bottle price, chart your spending over time, or tell you that 40% of your spending went to one distillery. You can build all of this in a spreadsheet, but most people don't. They start with three columns and never get further.
The receipt trail
If you haven't been tracking as you go, your email inbox is the next best thing. Search for order confirmations from the retailers you buy from. Most specialist whisky retailers send detailed confirmations with bottle names, prices, and order dates.
Go back as far as you can. Copy the data into a spreadsheet or just tally it up. It won't capture in-person purchases or gifts, but it'll give you a solid picture of your online spending.
What to do with the number
Once you have a total, resist the urge to judge yourself. A collection worth £3,000 spread over three years is £1,000 a year, which is £83 a month, which is less than a lot of hobbies. Context matters.
The useful thing isn't the total itself. It's what you do with it.
Set a monthly budget if you want to. Track whether you're sticking to it. Notice if your spending is creeping up. Use the data to make better buying decisions: if you've already spent your budget for the month, that limited release can probably wait. Or it can't, and you buy it anyway, but at least you're doing it with your eyes open.
The value question
Tracking what you've spent is one thing. Knowing what your collection is currently worth is another.
Some bottles appreciate. A bottle you bought for £60 might cost £120 to replace today. Others depreciate the moment you open them (from a resale perspective, at least. From an enjoyment perspective, opening a bottle is never a depreciation event).
If you're interested in the current value of your collection rather than just the purchase cost, you need a source of current retail pricing. Checking each bottle individually is tedious. A tool that tracks prices across retailers and updates regularly saves a lot of manual work.
Cabinet tracks it all
Cabinet records the purchase price and date for every bottle you add. Your stats dashboard shows your total collection value at a glance, and a line chart tracks how that value has changed over time.
If you'd rather not see the numbers, a one-toggle setting hides all monetary values across the app. The data stays safe in the background. You just don't have to look at it unless you want to.
And if you do want the full picture, you can export everything to a CSV or generate an insurance report as a PDF.
Track your collection value. It's free.
