Gold Magazine February - March 2013, Issue 23 | Page 98

whisky

DISTILLERIES ON DISPLAY

S

pecialist
website,
Whisky
Highland,
provides an index
guiding both the
curious and the
connoisseur in the
right direction in
search of the top

distilleries which have
produced notable
collectable bottles.
Rather than assessing
retail whisky sales, the
data was collected
from UK auction
values. Taking
into account four
variables – the total

value of collectable
bottles sold from that
distillery, the highest
single bottle price
sold, the average
price per collectable
bottle and the
highest percentage
gain in value for
collectable bottles

– the index displays
the distilleries with
the most profitable
market activity as of
the fourth quarter of
2012. With the highest
attainable score
being 100, the top
ten distilleries are as
follows:

4

Ba
lve
nie

1

e
or
lm
Da

5

2

M
ac
al
la
n

Brora

3

len
El
rt
Po

95.10

95.10

90.70

90.55

87.40

9

Glenfiddich

6

10

Bo
wm
or
e

Gle
nliv
et

7

8

eg
db
Ar

Mortlach

86.00

85.75

83.60

The eye-opening numbers do not stop
there. Whisky Highland also reports that
the top 250 investment grade whiskies
grew in value by 183% between 2008
and 2012, with the top 10 gaining 297%
in value over the same period. In need of

82.70

79.00

further consolidation? The March 2012
record sale at an auction in New York of
a hand-blown bottle of Glenfiddich Janet
Sheed Roberts Reserve – a 55-year-old
rarity, being only one of 11 produced for
the public – garnered €70,580 which

constituted a 26.6% increase on the
previous record set just four months prior
in December 2011.
So far, so good; the numbers are moving
fast, and they’re moving in the right direction. The hearts of collectors and investors
may be dizzied with a love of whisky, but
their vision is clear: wade into whisky’s
waters with knowledge and know-how.
The key to successfully navigating the
whisky market is, of course, being able to discern which bottles are – or will be – of value.
Specialists advise that commemorative, single cask, discontinued lines, limited editions, special releases and small
batch bottling are of primary attraction
to investors and collectors. A fortune,
likewise, need not necessarily be spent
on any single bottle to see a significant
return. Ardbeg Very Young, for example, cost €30 when released in 2004; it
now regularly sells for €200 to €250.
A bottle of Glenfiddich Mary 2 – of
which only 250 examples were produced
in celebration of the Queen Mary 2’s
maiden voyage from Southampton to
New York in 2004 – is a classic example
of a vintage single cask limited release.
Its original retail price stood strong at
€200; even more stalwart is its current
selling price which is in excess of €600.
The examples are endless. Moving into
more awe-inspiring digits, Dalmore’s ‘Drew
Sinclair’ 62-year old whisky is demonstrative of the intensifying thrall that whisky has
over its admirers. With only 12 individuallynamed bottles released, Dalmore’s ‘Drew
Sinclair’ may boast an economic maturation
of over €120,000 in ten years. One bottle was
recorded as having sold for €26,000 in 2002,
with another being acquired in exchange for
€41,700 in 2005. The latter months of 2011
saw another bottle sold in Singapore: this time,
an anonymous Chinese businessman invested
€149,000 in a Drew Sinclair. The Director of
Rare Whisky at Dalmore, David Robertson, is
one of the select few to have tasted the whisky,
reporting: “Flavours of honey, Seville oranges,
coffee, bitter chocolate, cardamom, cloves,
ginger and almonds are all prevalent. This is a
magnificent malt, and I can’t help but feel that
the buyer has got a bargain!”
Whether a bargain or not, it was surely an
investment of minimised risk, if only because
of the name attached to the bottle. There are
select distilleries that are unquestionably far
more sought after than others; iconic, even.

96 Gold THE INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT, FINANCE & PROFESSIONAL SERVICES MAGAZINE OF CYPRUS

lifestyle.indd 96

01/02/2013 12:30