The thought of spending more than the average salary on a bottle of whisky to have it sit in a cellar for a few years may seem baffling but it is yet another endorsement of the quality and global standing of arguably Scotland’s leading home-grown product.
These bottles may have gathered dust last year, but they gathered plenty of gains in value too – 25 per cent year-on-year.
Those sort of numbers seem to have brought rare whisky to the attention of professional investors with even funds now being established to buy up stocks of five- and six-figure whisky bottles.
Last month, according to brokers Rare Whisky 101, there was a 94 per cent increase in the total value of whisky sold at auction on the secondary whisky market – i.e. buying one bottle from another collector rather than a retailer. The volume uplift was 54 per cent. The former is clearly driving the latter and that explains why £2 million has been spent at auction in each of the last three months.
As the economic uncertainty brought about by Brexit really begins to bite, it would seem the market for rare whisky is getting interesting at a fortuitous time, but like the master distiller knowing when a cask is ready, investors will have to be wary of how long they hold onto their collection.
Producers such as The Macallan and Dalmore are rushing out big budget releases to tempt investors away from the auction house, and there is a danger that if every distillery pushes out their oldest stocks, not all will hold their value.
And of course, there is always the risk that the temptation to crack open a bottle a pour a dram will prove too much.
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