Is Whisky Investment Savvy? Tips to Watch Out For

Is investing in whisky a smart move? That question somewhat depends on how you go about it. We're here to provide some pointers to consider when diving into whisky investment.

If you're considering investing in whisky, your journey often begins with the selection of a whisky barrel. But how do you choose the correct whisky barrel to place your investment in? And that's just the beginning of your journey into whisky investment. These tips should make the process easier for you.

With more whisky barrels than ever in various warehouses, the whisky industry is a fascinating market for people eager to own their barrel. There is a vast selection, but not every choice is equally smart or favourable. Let us tell you more about investing in whisky barrels. What should you pay attention to when choosing a whisky barrel?

Hundreds of thousands of spirits are maturing in barrels worldwide. A significant part of this, for instance, is kept in ex-bourbon barrels. These virgin oak barrels can be used only once by makers of the American divine drink and are then often shipped to Scotland for reuse.

This makes these barrels affordable for Scottish distilleries, and they are also abundantly available. Therefore, the barrels are far from rare. Investing in a bourbon barrel is not necessarily a bad thing. The chance that your investment becomes highly valuable is just less than for a rarer barrel or an incredibly popular barrel like a sherry barrel.

If you're aiming for a premium whisky for your investment, it is often wise to opt for a popular but less commonly used barrel. As, in most cases, your whisky needs to mature for several more years, it's also crucial to keep an eye on trends in the whisky world or even stay ahead of them.

An important factor to consider when investing in whisky barrels is the age of a barrel. It's not so much about the barrel itself but primarily about the spirit or whisky inside it. This is also evident with bottled whisky, and there's a clear reason for this. The whisky was distilled several years earlier and has since been stored.

If you invest in a new make spirit, it's much cheaper to purchase a barrel than when you invest in a five-year-old whisky.

So what's wise? That depends on what you exactly aim to achieve and how much patience you have. If you buy a new make spirit in a barrel and can wait 10 years, it's usually relatively cheap to go for this option.

If you want results quickly and only have, for example, two years but still want a 10-year-old whisky, the costs are obviously much higher. Then you're paying for a whisky that has already been maturing for 8 years, and the costs of that are naturally higher.

Several factors can influence the value of your investment. If you opt for an established name like Laphroaig (Williamson) or Caol Ila, it will cost more and yield better returns than if you purchase a whisky from an unknown distillery.

Having talked about the age of a barrel, it's crucial to consider where you purchase your barrel. Should you opt for unusually popular distilleries like Caol Ila or select a more obscure distillery?

When you decide to purchase a whisky barrel somewhere, be careful about what kind of barrel you're buying and most importantly, where you're buying it. News recently broke that hundreds of investors fell foul with whisky barrel investments. They had invested in barrels at the Australian Nant distillery.

When a takeover party emerged, it turned out that the barrels were tampered with. In one barrel, there was nothing, another barrel contained just a small amount of spirit, and yet another barrel was so diluted with water that it could no longer be called whisky. You wouldn't want to experience this. You would want to buy a barrel from a reliable party.

For that reason, we can recommend the Scottish company Braeside Bond, just an hour's drive away from Edinburgh (and you can even visit!).

At whisky barrel purchases, sound agreements between buyer and seller are vitally important. This is conducted extensively at Braeside Bond. The company serves a broad audience from businesses to individuals. An expert team assists them in purchasing a whisky barrel. Included in this is advice about purchasing and about bottling.

With Braeside Bond, it's always possible to personally visit your purchased whisky barrel in the warehouse, something not all companies can offer. Meanwhile, you'll always be kept informed about the status of your whisky barrel(s).

Regular samples are taken from the barrel, which you can taste. There's even an app that you can log into anytime. This app nicely shows the status of your barrel(s), like its location in the warehouse.

Braeside Bond offers possibilities to buy a barrel from about 2000 euros. This includes storage, insurance, and advice.

Would you like to know more about the possibilities and receive free and non-obligatory advice? Find out everything here.

On this page, you'll find more about Braeside Bond and here you can find our previous 'whisky investment' articles.