INTERNATIONAL WINE & WHISKY CONSULTANCY
FINE WINE AND RARE CASK WHISKIES
Don't give them what you think they want, give them what they never thought possible.
Orson Welles
CASK WHISKY INVESTMENT
An unique, exciting and profitable opportunity in a sort-after luxury spirits market with limited supply and consistent growth.
Scotch Whisky trades on an international market and follows wealth and success of economies as they move around the globe, it remains independent from financial or political attachment and reactional correlation.
Relationships lie at the core of what we do at IWC.
As a client you will be able to benefit from our relationships and expertise. Tastings, distillery tours are further enhanced by enjoying the great outdoors, golf, fishing, horse racing, rugby are just a few pastimes we hope you will join us to enjoy.
Like fine wine whisky demand outstrips supply, in addition whisky that is collectible is also in increased demand for consumers, so a substantial proportion of any limited edition bottling or cask will swiftly become more limited as it is consumed.
Buying Whisky by the Cask
An alternative way of investing in whisky is by buying it by the cask. Similar to that of buying Bordeaux wine en-primeur a practice started in the early 1970’s.
Unlike Whisky the key Bordeaux wine investables have long since not required financing to support the ageing process, and over the last twenty five years increased prices at astonishing rates to remove almost all the investment potential for investors and consumers alike – releasing small amounts of wine to test the market before releasing further tranches at elevated prices.
This is less the case in Burgundy where production is considerably smaller and returns have remained good, though diminishing in recent vintages.
The whisky distilling process is both labour and capital intensive. Bearing in mind the minimum three-year maturation rule that applies to Scottish Whisky, distilleries cover costs and raise capital by allowing private investors to buy whisky in casks in their store rooms.
The idea is that investors buy a cask with the aim of watching the spirit inside appreciate in value over time. The older a whisky gets, runs the thinking, the more expensive it becomes – thanks to the taste improving with age, and also because of the increasing rarity factor.
Cask whisky investing can be done while the spirit is still in an early stage of the maturation process, and be carried out directly via a distillery, or through a specialist broker.
A broker typically strikes a deal with a distillery for a limited run of casks at a discounted price. The broker then sells casks, which are then stored in a secure bonded warehouse and insured, to investors.
Once the spirit is sufficiently matured in cask, an investor can decide to sell back his or her holding to the distillery for profit, to bottle it privately, retain it as a whisky collectable, or sell on the consignment.