“The influential Knight Frank Luxury Investment Index 2022 has crowned it the luxury good with the highest growth rate between now and the next ten years. It is whiskey or whisky (where the former indicates spirits produced in Scotland, Canada, and Japan, and the latter those from Ireland and the United States), which, despite an appreciation of “”only”” +9 percent in the 12 months from January 2022, by 2032 could see its value on the market increase by 428 percent, according to estimates from the latest The Wealth Report. It’s not just the future, however: rare whiskey has been the most sought-after object of desire in the past decade, being the luxury good with the most significant increase in value over the decade 2012-2022 (+564%). A positive trend is supported by the growing interest, which has broadened – and lowered – the demographic base of enthusiasts, collectors, and investors, with some record results at auction, such as the Macallan Fine and Rare 60-Year-Old, auctioned at Sotheby’s London in 2019 for $1.9 million.
Case in point: Scotch, a thriving industry
However, the high figures characterizing the rare whiskey industry continue with growth estimates and secondary market results. For example, the sector of the spirit produced in Scotland, otherwise known as Scotch (which by law can only be distilled in the country and aged in oak casks for at least three years), ships 44 bottles of whisky every second to more than 180 international markets, according to the Scotch whisky association, worth £4.5 billion and a 22 percent share of all food&beverage exported from the UK each year.
Investing in whisky: Konvi teams up with Cask Trade
Moving from these numbers is the latest partnership Konvi, the first pan-European crowd investment platform that gives small investors access to rare, high-yield alternative assets, signed this October with Cask Trade, a marketplace for buying and selling individual whiskey casks of different varieties and origins. Founded in 2018 by Simon Aron, Cask Trade looks at whiskey not only as a passion and collectible liquor but also as an asset within alternative investments, given the distillate’s main peculiarity: it improves (and value increases) the more it ages and matures inside the casks. With rising demand over the past decade, limited supply, and stability in pricing, whiskey has earned a solid reputation as an alternative asset.
Investing in whiskey, the obstacles (and how to overcome them)
However, buying the casks in which top-quality whiskey has time and a way to age is no simple affair for the individual investor (the highest price ever paid at a private auction for a cask is 16 million pounds). It is not just a matter of cost; proper knowledge is also needed. Thanks to the partnership with Cask Trade, the Konvi community can access stocks of the best whiskey brands for a minimum investment per share of 250 euros. In the meantime, Cask Trade will create balanced portfolios of different types, quantities, and ages of whiskies, securing casks and managing the aging process up to bottling. At the end of the investment period, the portfolio will be sold, and the returns will be distributed to shareholders. Some numbers? In the past, Cask Trade’s investments have returned an average of 8-12 percent per year.
“”We decided to sign this partnership because whiskey is among the most popular alternative assets at the moment,”” explains Ioana Surbu-Bob, CEO & Co-founder of Konvi. “”We are happy to offer this unique opportunity to the Konvi community as part of our mission to democratize alternative investments by connecting experts from various industries and funds dedicated to luxury assets worldwide. This aligns with our ultimate goal: to make these high-yield assets accessible to everyone through our platform.”””
