Investing in Whisky? Follow these Tips

Collecting whisky as an investment can be incredibly lucrative. But you need to know what you’re doing. Here are five practical tips for investing in whisky.

Just like with crypto investing, it’s essential to keep a close eye on new developments. Only then can you anticipate the market. You’ll know, for instance, when you’re holding liquid gold and when you’re not.

The whisky world is constantly in motion, with something new happening every day that can move prices. Don’t just follow the headlines make sure the secondary market holds no secrets for you either. Auctions often feature stunning gems you might snag at a relative bargain with a bit of luck.

So which whiskies should you buy? There’s no simple answer, but there are a few useful pointers. Cask strength whiskies or expressions with an age statement generally make better investments than 40% ABV releases with no age on the label.

It also pays to know who the major whisky makers are. Which brands are hot, and which bottlings from their history are interesting investments?

Take The Macallan, for example. A bottle of the Fine & Rare 60 Year Old can fetch a hefty sum on the secondary market. The same goes for a 55-year-old Japanese whisky from Yamazaki.

Whiskies from closed distilleries or long-forgotten ghost distilleries are also highly compelling. Some shuttered distilleries are still relatively under the radar, and their whisky is still fairly easy to find. Because production has ceased, these bottles can become very valuable over time.

On top of that, new collaborations emerge every year, leading to (sometimes extremely) limited expressions that can be worth a lot. This is something to watch closely.

Not every limited edition whisky is instantly valuable. In fact, many never become valuable at all. “Limited edition” simply means the distillery produced it in limited quantities: a very broad concept.

Does the limit apply to the specific batch the bottle comes from? Are there 200 bottles or 10,000? The more bottles there are, the less each is worth. And if a distillery suddenly decides to release a few more batches, the investment value can collapse like a house of cards.

Investing in whisky isn’t like investing in crypto. Where bitcoin might be at $100,000 today and $50,000 tomorrow, whisky behaves differently. A bottle usually doesn’t appreciate dramatically in the first few years. The same goes for a cask.

Just as the water of life must mature for at least three years before it can be called whisky, it often takes a few years before an investment pays off. Value rises as whisky becomes scarcer.

Moreover, younger whiskies are generally less appealing to collectors than older ones. A three-year-old cask will typically be less lucrative than an eight- or ten-year-old. Once again, patience is a virtue.

If you invest in whisky, this is a key point to watch. The bottles you buy must be stored with the utmost care. Below are a few guidelines.

Always store bottles upright. Whisky isn’t wine. Avoid prolonged contact with the cork to minimize the risk of leaks. If you’re storing whisky long term, it’s enough to briefly invert the bottle now and then to keep the cork moist.

Keep your whisky cool, dry, and dark. Where you store it is crucial for both the liquid and its packaging. Ensure your investment bottles are kept out of the sun. Sunlight can discolor the label and fade the packaging, and it’s harmful to the whisky itself.

Make sure your bottles are safe and secure. If you want to sell a whisky for top dollar, it’s vital that it’s in pristine condition. A scratch, dent, or tear in the packaging can be disastrous for value, let alone a damaged cork or label.

With these tips, you’re ready to begin your whisky investment journey. One last note: there are companies that can guide you along the way. You can seek advice from them, and it’s even possible to purchase an entire cask—or a share of one. One such company is Spiritfilled in the United Kingdom.

Their team will gladly help you navigate whisky and whisky investments, specifically focused on buying and investing in casks.

At the Braeside Bond warehouse, you can purchase your cask of the water of life, store it securely, and track the status of your investment through an app. If there’s a safe way to invest in casks, it’s undoubtedly through Spiritfilled.

On this page you’ll find more about Braeside Bond, and here you can find our earlier “investing in whisky” articles.