The market for rare whiskeys has appreciated by 540% in the last decadeaccording to the luxury investment index of the most important real estate consultancy in the United Kingdom.
The single malt is positioned as an object of desire for luxury investors. In recent years, su collectible value has increased in greater proportion than the price of a barrel of Brent crude oil and than gold, placing it between financial analysts and brokers comor one of the most coveted assets to invest and sell today.
According to the consultant’s index Rare Whiskey 10, Last year, more than 172,000 bottles of scotch were sold with a value of 75 million pounds sterling (about US $ 99 million), which means an increase of 29.97% compared to the record of 2019 (57 million pounds sterling), achieving an increase of 19.88% compared to the record of the same year with almost 144 thousand bottles of whiskey sold.
Why invest in a Scotch whiskey?
Many collectors decide to invest in Scotch whisky. The increase in the value of whiskey by 582% in the last ten years is accompanied by a revaluation of single maltaccording to a report in The Wealth Report by real estate consultancy Knight Frank.
It has given it the category of profitable asset, even more lucrative than art pieces. In addition, this report includes whiskey as a luxury investment for the first time, whose value multiplied by 40% in 2018.
This phenomenon occurs worldwide and is very similar to the art market. What is particular is the scarcity and rarity that makes these items become highly coveted and increase their value within the collectors’ market.
According to the Knight Frank Rare Whiskey 100 Index, a report that reflects the evolution of prices of 100 of the most sought-after bottles of Scotch whiskey at UK auctions, the value of these spirits has risen by almost 600% in the last decade.
The trend of Whiskey Money (invest in whiskey) stems from a passion for fine and rare single malts. Whiskey is the new “liquid gold” and the reflection of an ancient tradition. Its value increases over time and depends on its rarity or scarcity: the more difficult it is to find, the higher its cost.
How much does a luxury scotch cost?
These spirits originate from six protected regions of Scotland: Highland, Island, Islay, Lowland, Campbeltown and especially Speyside. Unlike other Scotch whiskeys, the single malt are made with malted barley in a single distillery, they are also distilled at least twice a year in copper pot stills and aged exclusively in regional oak barrels for at least three years.
A couple of years ago the record for the most expensive bottle of whiskey in history was broken: The Macallan 1926 Fine & Rare Collection 60 Year Old, which was auctioned live by Sotheby’s for $1.9 million. It is a museum piece distilled in 1926, which was bottled in 1986.
The spirit from that special barrel was enough to fill only 40 bottles in the first edition, of which 24 were intervened by artists of the stature of Sir Peter Blake and Valerio Adami. That same expression of The Macallan was sold 15 years ago for US$ 20 thousand.
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