By Colin Hampden-White
This month has seen quite a bit of change in the leaders in Scotch whisky and we have added a tenth position as the volume for Macallan has risen recently. Dalmore is still riding high with great values as well as volumes being achieved. Bowmore has had a good month and overtakes Springbank. In the mid field everything is still very tight with only small percentages separating the brands. Notably Macallan has joined the list and not in last place, having had good volumes at auction with older bottles gaining in value.
As always, if I were buying at auction, I would be looking for rare, limited editions and single cask bottlings from good independent bottlers or official bottlings. I would also take a look at some of the brands that have done well historically but might not be on the top list at the moment, like Ardbeg and Mortlach. These might be a good bet for the future.
This page is always a pointer, and in no way should be taken as a proven way to invest in whisky. Like all investments, they can go down as well as up. Please do your own research as well, and if this informs that research, I’m glad we are helping.
When I started collecting, I bought nearly every release from the English Whisky Company, which were around £50 to £200 a bottle. They released quite a few bottles in their first few years. Apparently, the market thought too many, and I would have lost 50% of what I spent had I sold them. Luckily, they tasted great! On the converse side, I bought a bottle of Hanyu Joker from the card series for £215 which is now sold at auction for around £3,000. I have many examples of bad and good investments. The trick, like any investment portfolio, is to be diverse. Have a broad portfolio and hopefully the winners will outweigh the losers.
Dalmore 8%
Bowmore 3%
Rosebank 1.5%
Clynelish 0.5%
Yamazaki 1%
Springbank 1.5%
Karuizawa 2%
Glendronach 1.5%
Macallan 1%
Bunnahabain (base)
Above all, when I invest in whisky, I buy whisky I love. For example, if you don’t like peaty whisky, don’t buy Islay. At the end of the day, if it goes wrong, you can always drink it!
Bottles to Watch
Balvenie Tun 1509 Batch 6
A discontinued whisky with very few bottles remaining.
Size: 700ml
ABV: 40%
Find here: £225
Invergordon 50 year old
At 50 years old this is very special and is only cheap because it is grain whisky. I reckon grain whisky is going to become more and more expensive and there were only 328 bottles of this one produced.
Size: 500ml
ABV: 47.5%
Find here: £349.95
Clynelish 23
With only 187 bottles produced from this well respected and well followed distillery. This should be a good bet.
Size: 500ml
ABV: 47.3%
To compare this list to last month’s click here and if you want to find out more about Scotch whisky then don’t forget to watch The Three Drinkers do Scotch Whisky on Amazon Prime now!