A quick look at my whisky investments....

revisesociology (80)in LeoFinance • 3 years ago (edited)

I bought a couple of bottles of relatively expensive whisky back in 2010, and they've done OK as investments, up 10% per annum since then.

I used the Whisky Index to buy them, a firm based in Holland, which is also where they are stored. I've never actually touched either of the bottles! But I've got the option to have them sent over if I want!

At the time I bought them this really was just a bit of fun - I'd just recently bought my first flat (part-buy) and so I was free from desperately saving up for a deposit and just wanted a fun investment with a little bit of cash.

I put in 150 EU on two bottles of Whisky: a 17 year old Bowmore and a 12 year old Macallan.

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Note that I do really like whisky, these are both brands I've bought and drunk bottles of before, albeit not as old as these two.

From that 150 EU investment, the bottles are now worth 460 EU, or a 10.7% annual return, which I must say I'm pretty happy with.

It also turns out that the 'brand' whisky Macallan has done twice as well as the Bowmore, besides being aged for less time.

The Whisky index has evolved a lot over the last 10 years, it used to be really basic, now it allows you to track the value of each bottle...

The Bowmore

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The Macallan

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Interesting to note how both just chugged along (no pun intended) for about 5 years, then sold for a couple of notches up over the next five years.

I guess whisky is a long term hold!

Rarity rather than quality I think drives the price here...

The maturity process with whisky is done entirely in the barrels - so once it's in the bottle it ain't gonna change - so the chances are that older 12 year aged Macallan is going to taste exactly the same as the 12 year old aged Macallan you can get from Tesco - and NB - a 12 year old Macallan is superb!

So what's driving the price is I guess sentiment surrounding the age of the particular bottles, the branding, the style of the label.

I really like my Whisky investment

Looking at these bottles, even from a distance, I like the look of them, I think they'd make great presents for really special occasions, so it's nice to have that option in the bag.

There's little temptation to drink them myself, knowing that the quality of a more recent whisky will be pretty much the same as these!

And it's no hassle, they are stored for me in perfect conditions.

I'll probably invest in more Whisky at some point, but spend more and go rarer!

150 EU was all I wanted to spend back in the day, but I fancy having another punt on some Whisky - next time I'm going to go in a little harder and maybe buy something from a closed down distillery.

I don't think Whisky is a good 'first choice' investment, but if you want to have a bit of fun in the long term - as in over a decade or more and you've got a few hundred EU spare - Whisky could work for you!