Pour it or store it? 10 rare whiskies to get your collection started – from Irish and Indian single malt to Kentucky bourbons and 50-year-old Scotch
- Forget Jameson and Jim Beam, rare whiskies and bourbons are growing rapidly in demand as an investment not just a tipple of choice
- Maverick distiller Mark Reynier who revitalised Bruichladdich Scotch is now producing Waterford Single Farm Origin
A proper sherried malt is a beautiful thing to behold. Burgundy liquid brimming with the richness of over-ripened stone fruit, it balances aromatic intensity against structural nuance. While a seasoned whisky enthusiast might count one as the ultimate dram, savvy investors see it as an ideal asset. The Macallan 25 – a bottle exhibiting all of the aforementioned attributes – retailed for US$900 in 2013. Today, you won’t find it for under US$2,000.
Rare whisky has outperformed every other luxury asset, including fine wine, soaring some 564 per cent in the last decade, according to Knight Frank’s “Wealth Report 2020”. Rising demand from Asian investors has led to marquee auctions – even provoking cyberattacks – of bottles expected to top US$2 million.
The Scotch whisky market isn’t the only one susceptible to the surge. For the better part of the 21st century, the price of virtually all aged spirits has soared. As a result, financial indices of exclusively distilled liquid commodities, and even some linked wealth funds, promise average returns of 12 to 15 per cent per annum.
Ultimately, it’s all meant to be drunk. But whether you’re just getting into the whiskey game or are a veteran collector, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to decide whether the latest limited release at your local liquor store is worth sipping now or saving for later.
The obvious answer is to do both. Sneakerheads refer to the behaviour as buying “one to stock and one to rock”. For the boozehounds out there, I humbly offer: “Store it or pour it”.
The exceptional whiskies below constitute some of the highest quality liquids to hit the market over the past several years. They encompass a wide range of regions – from unexpected bourbons to decades-old Scotch to new world Indian malt – a broad spectrum of spirit to create a collection with a story worth telling and a value expected to keep growing. Prices listed are retail, although they can vary widely, especially for the more limited releases.
Assuming you can only procure a single example of each, we take a look at whether it’s best to keep a cork in ’em – for now.
Amrut Fusion Single Malt (US$70)