Cataloguing your spirits collection

A serious spirits collection without a catalogue is just a shelf. Cataloguing is the highest-leverage thing a collector can do — it protects value, improves drinking decisions, and turns a pile of bottles into something you can insure, sell, or pass on with confidence.

What every entry should include

• Distillery and bottler — independent bottlings need both.
• Age statement and vintage — or NAS with bottling year.
• Cask details — type, number, outturn if known.
• ABV and bottle size — matters for valuation and duty.
• Purchase date, source, and price paid — your cost basis.
• Current market value — refreshed quarterly from auction comps.
• Condition — fill level, label, capsule, presentation.
• Location — which cabinet, which shelf.
• Photos — front, back label, capsule, any defects.

Why photographs matter

Photographs are non-negotiable for two reasons: insurance claims and resale listings. A bottle with a clean photographic record sells faster and for more, and any insurer will ask for visual evidence before paying out on a loss.

Track tasting notes alongside value

The collectors who get the most out of their collections separate "investment" bottles from "drinking" bottles deliberately, and keep tasting notes for everything they open — flavour, finish, what they paired it with, when they'd revisit. Over years, this becomes the single most useful record you own.

Spreadsheets versus a dedicated app

A spreadsheet works until it doesn't. The moment you have more than fifty bottles, want live valuations, or need to share access with an insurer, you'll feel the seams. A dedicated app (like Proofed) handles the lookups, photos, location, and live market data that a spreadsheet quietly won't.