Whisky investments are an increasingly popular alternative investment. There are three ways you could put money into whisky. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. Its own sources of excitement, and potential return. And in each case, you should consider the possible risks, as well as rewards.
Invest in bottles of single malt:
A lot of people get into whisky investment by buying and holding whisky bottles. Rare limited editions from popular brands are particularly sought after. Certain whiskies can perform well. You may be familiar with the whisky auction sites. And you might have read news about famous sales. In February 2020, a bottle of 60-year-old 1926 Macallan sold for a hammer price of US$1 million.
Whisky cask investments are increasingly popular. Particularly as the cask market has opened up. A key difference between investing in casks, versus bottles, is maturation. For bottles, the hope is it becomes rarer, and so more valuable. Because whisky continues to age in a cask, the flavours develop further. It becomes a new, or at least improved, product. So, as well as other market forces, casks have the advantage of this fundamental increase in value.
You do need to make sure you buy a quality cask at a fair price from a reputable broker. It's important that you own the cask; you, yourself. And you need to make sure it's stored safely, and is insured.
Last but not least, you could invest in a distillery. Now this doesn't mean buying your own distillery – we can but dream! Rather, you could buy shares in a distillery. Either one of the big, publicly traded, companies. Or, some of the small distilleries occasionally launch crowd-funding campaigns. It can be an interesting way to see how their business develops over time.
As with all shares, and unlike the previous two examples, shares are intangible assets. Some shares are easier to sell than others. Publicly traded companies are listed on stock exchanges. Smaller distilleries may not have an open market for their shares. If the company does well, you could get a return. If the company fails, you could lose your investment.
All investments, whisky included, can fluctuate in value over time. They can go down and up. And past performance is not a guarantee of future performance. But, we can help you learn more about whisky investments. Here at Spiritfilled, we're experts in whisky casks. We buy and sell casks every day. We've written a free guide on How To Invest In Whisky Casks here. And if you'd like to talk to us directly, you can contact us here: https://www.spiritfilled.co.uk/