A man whose father gifted him 18-year-old whisky for his birthday every year is using the vintage liquor collection to buy a home in the UK, according to a media report. Matthew Robson from Taunton was born in 1992 and every year his father Pete bought him a Macallan Single Malt, spending 5,000 pounds on 28 bottles, the BBC News reported.

Today, whisky connoisseurs value the collection at 40,000 pounds (Rs 39 lakh). A year-wise continuous chain of rare whisky is called a vertical and they are very rare to find, especially a set that spans across such a long period. Mathew says at first he viewed the gift as “quirky” and they came with the express order “never open them”.

“It probably wasn’t the best gift for a young boy but now it has become quite the nest egg,” the 28-year-old was quoted in the BBC report. His father Pete, 64, who is from Milnathort in Scotland, said the first bottle — a 1974 vintage — was bought to “wet the baby’s head”, referring to the drinks consumed with family and friends after the birth of a child.

“I thought it would be interesting if I bought one every year and he’d end up with 18 bottles of 18-year-old whisky for his 18th birthday,” Pete was quoted. “It wasn’t the only present he got from us. It was just meant to be a unique present but it was a little bit of luck that we kept it going,” he said.

The collection is being sold by whisky broker Mark Littler. “The value of Macallan has risen massively over the last five to 10 years. To have such a vast collection of bottles is the real selling point of these,” Littler, said, adding that offers were pouring in from the US and Asia.