THE investment performance of Scotch whisky dipped in the first half, pulled lower by over-supply, the proliferation of new-start whisky auction houses, and a decline in the performance of The Macallan, writes Scott Wright.

Rare Whisky 101, the whisky analyst, broker and investment consultant, said the Apex 1000 index showed its first-ever half-year loss, dropping by 0.26% compared with a rise of 9.91% during the same period last year. It defines Apex as the broadest measurement of the market.

Publishing its 2019 half-year report, Rare Whisky 101 said while Scotch performed less well than traditional investments such as the FTSE 100, Brent crude and gold in the first half, Scotch has “significantly outperformed” those asset classes over the mid to long term. It notes the value of whisky has increased by 160% since December 2014, with The Macallan the most dominant distillery by both volume and volume.

The half-year report for Rare Whisky 101 reveals Springbank as the top distillery in the investor rankings, followed by “silent” distilleries Brora and Glenugie. Despite the dip in whisky’s investment performance, 71,544 of bottles of single malt were sold at auction in the first half, up 43.9% on the same period last year. The value of collectable single malt hit a first-half high of £25.9m, up nearly 60%.