Rare whisky outperforms wine and gold as 2015 investment

Rare whisky has outperformed other investments such as wine and gold, enjoying a record year in 2015.

The leading index for scotch whisky, the Rare Whisky Apex 1000, rose by 14% last year, outperforming wine, which fell by 0.4%, gold, which declined by 10%, and many of the world’s leading equity indices. The FTSE 100 index in London lost 4.9% in 2015, while on Wall Street, the S&P 500 edged up 0.7%. In China, the Shanghai Composite gained 9.4%.

The whisky market is booming: the total value of rare whiskies sold at auction in the UK last year was £9.6m, up from £7.6m in 2014, according to consultancy Rare Whisky 101. Interest in whisky as an investment has steadily grown, partly fuelled by collectors in east Asia. The Japanese whisky market boomed last year, with the Rare Whisky Karuzaiwa Index rising by nearly 75% in nine months. Bottles that sold for £350 12 months previously fetched more than £3,000 when they were resold. A bottle of 1960 Karuizawa sold for $HK918,750 (£81,560) at auctioneers Bonhams in Hong Kong in August, an auction record for a Japanese whisky.

As new releases of aged whisky become increasingly rare, the importance of age and value has grown. The older the age and the earlier the vintage, the better – even relatively poor quality old-aged scotch is becoming more valuable. The 10 most desirable distilleries for investors now include seven that are no longer operational.

Source: www.theguardian.com