Whisky investment: who’s doing it, and how you can get involved

No longer the dusty top shelf option for old men, whisky is back in the spotlight thanks to the likes of David Beckham, Liev Schreiber and even Bob Dylan.

And with a younger audience starting to enjoy a taste for a wee dram, it’s increasingly viewed as a canny long-term investment choice too. After all, with 90 per cent of cask whisky bottled between the age of three to 12 years, it makes sense that any remaining older whisky is in increasingly short supply.

As the quality of cask whisky dramatically improves naturally over time, it becomes more valuable and more sought-after as the years pass.

Last July just one cask of single malt dating back to November 1975 from the Ardbeg distillery on the Scottish island of Islay sold to a female private collector in Asia for £16m. A month before that, a cask of The Macallan 1988 sold at auction for £1m, having been bought 34 years earlier for just £5,000.

Who’s putting their money into whisky?

“We are seeing the age demographic really come down, for both investors and consumers,” says Sam Brooks, MD and founder of cask traders Vintage Acquisitions.

“People love the history of Scotch whisky and whisky in general, they love diving deep into the production process on how it’s made and how distillers differ from each other, and they’re also very keen to get something that’s old and rare that nobody else has.

“Whisky was always seen as an old man’s drink but in recent years it has been thrust into the limelight by the likes of David Beckham who’s become the ambassador for Haig whisky, as well as Conor McGregor, the UFC star who set up Irish whisky company Proper No. Twelve – he sold his major stake for around £430m in April 2021.

“They say that you can’t buy time but you certainly can with whisky. I think people like the romance around that, reminiscing where they were in their lives when a certain whisky was produced.”

Do I need to know about whisky before I get started?

Not at all! Vintage Acquisitions (the trading name of ‘Brooks & Whitaker Limited’) sell to market newcomers, whisky enthusiasts and experienced traders alike… you don’t need a prior knowledge of whisky to get involved.

In fact, the team love to share their experience and market knowledge with clients and promise to only make a recommendation that is right for you and is based on both your objectives and your personal circumstances. You can even pop in to their London HQ to enjoy a dram at their fully-stocked whisky bar while you consider your options.

Furthermore, when you purchase a cask you will be enrolled into the exclusive Vintage Whisky Club, with the chance to attend tasting sessions both in London and north of the border at the distilleries themselves.

How do I go about investing?

“We have a detailed conversation with any prospective clients to determine whether the market is suitable for them, because it isn’t suitable for everybody,” explains Sam. “Then we talk about what they want to achieve by putting some of their money into whisky casks.

“Is it because they are a whisky enthusiast and want to draw samples from the cask throughout its life cycle and then eventually bottle the cask? That will determine what we recommend because ultimately, it will be a matter of personal taste.

“Or, if it’s purely as an investment vehicle, then we will determine how long they want to hold it for and help set a budget that they’re comfortable with.”

As they are stockists more than brokers of whisky, Vintage Acquisitions hold a huge range of whisky casks of varying sizes and age. Thanks to their direct and indirect relationships with top distilleries throughout Scotland that have been built over the past decade, they have access to a variety of quality whisky at the best possible prices.

“We hold between £1m and £2m worth of stock on any given day that is bought and paid for and ready to trade to our clients,” he adds. “We’ve got the widest range of casks, all from distilleries that have got a proven track record of growth.

“It’s the tangibility of whisky casks that people really love, something they can see, feel, taste and enjoy.”

What happens to my cask?

Once you’ve decided on the purchase there are two options for storing your cask. The most straightforward is to let Vintage Acquisitions store it for you in one of its secure HMRC-approved excise warehouse accounts in Scotland, where casks are checked regularly to ensure the correct level of alcohol is still present. Vintage Acquisitions are the custodians of the cask, but you remain the legal owner of the cask through the paperwork you receive.

Or the company, which prides itself on transparency, also supports clients to make their own storage decision and set up their own accounts at approved warehouses and take on the account set-up, storage, insurance and management costs themselves.

Some bonded warehouses, allow you to visit your cask(s) and Vintage Acquisitions can always arrange for you to draw a sample to see and sample what’s inside.

Plans are in place for them to open their own bonded warehouse in Campbeltown, Argyll with space to store 41,500 casks of whisky, which will eventually boast a tasting room, bottling plant and overnight accommodation for clients (with so much to see and do, Campbeltown isn’t a location you visit in a day).

What about when I want to sell up?

When the time is right to sell or bottle your cask, the team at Vintage Acquisitions can walk you through the process, with six flexible options on offer. One choice may be to put the whisky into glass with the group’s sister company, Vintage Bottlers – so whether you’re a whisky aficionado or a relative newcomer, there is the chance to learn and gain huge enjoyment along the journey.

How can I find out more?

Head to the Vintage Acquisitions website to download your free Whisky Cask Ownership Guide which contains all you need to know about getting started.

This is paid-for content on behalf of Vintage Acquisitions, and does not necessarily reflect the views or advice of SussexWorld. As with all financial investments, your investment may go down as well as up, and people are recommended to take financial advice.