Whisky Auction Watch 28th of June 2012
Andy Simpson gives us this weeks whisky investment news…
In the last weekly auction watch of an interesting quarter 2, supply into the market is still increasing. I’m now starting to notice some downwards pressure on values in general. It’ll certainly be interesting to see what the effect on prices has been when the Q2 final numbers are run.
Onto last week.
Laphroaig seems to be showing some recent rises with a bottle of the discontinued 30 year old (75cl) achieving £500. A bottle of the recently released 18 year old jubilee bottle also sold for £90; this is quite incredible as it’s still available at its original retail price….. Right here at the Whisky Shop too!
Just to show that the ‘iconic’ collectors distilleries can still buck the general down shift in prices (perceived at the moment, we’ll see if it’s true when the Q2 figures emerge), a bottle of Glenfiddich ‘Classic’ (the tall swan necked bottle) achieved an all-time high of £125.
Glenfiddichs sibling, Balvenie, also saw a new record with the first release of Tun 1401 selling in excess of £400 for the first time.
Next week I’ll give the full lowdown on Mulberry Bank and Bonhams to see what happened to prices as quarter two draws to a close…. Interesting times! Can demand keep up with supply or will we see a general down-shift in values?
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Hi Neil,
You may or may not have already talked about this in the past but I’d like to know of the effect the disaster in Japan had on whisky prices. I love Hibiki and the Suntory distillery blends and also noticed an expected increase in prices but would it be worthwhile investing in for example the 30 year old hibiki, at around £600 a bottle now? I regularly drink the 12 and 17 yr old bottles and would love to get my hands on a 30yr especially if its projected to increase in price.
thanks
Chris
Hi Chris
Great question, we are actually due to write an article on Japanese whisky soon but this particular question might be perfect for our whisky expert Dominic to answer. Leave it with me and thanks for the question.
Neil
The simple answer is yes it would. I’ll leave it to Andy Simpson to comment on the price trends for this particular expression, but as a general rule there is a big shortage of old and great tasting whisky, and the demand is likely to continue for some time yet. Japanese whisky is no exception.
Japan has particular factors influencing price. They’re not linked to the earthquake and the tsunami directly, though i have been told that the radiation issue has affected export potential in some territories. But the man reason for rarity of very old Japanese whisky is that 30 years ago Suntory and Nikka simply didn’t lay down very much stock for long term ageing. Japanese whisky makers had no idea at all back then that their whiskies would pick up countless awards and be in such demand across the world. About two years ago aged whisky all but ran out and the price has been rising for it ever since. This coupled with the general demand for quality aged whiskies in emerging markets and the fact that the Japanese themselves, traditionally lovers of Scotch and somewhat indifferent to their own whisky, started drinking particularly Yamazaki, using it to make Japanese Highball cocktails..
So go for it – if you can afford it, then a whisky you love to drink and likely to go up in price is the dream combination.
Thanks
Dominic Roskrow
Hi Chris
- In terms of price trends, we’re seeing increases in both retail and auction markets for quality Japanese whisky. Japanese whisky makes scant appearance at auction in the UK (something I’m expecting to change over time). However, in Europe, where we see them more frequently, the older vintages and limited releases appear to be performing well. As Dominic mentioned, the sheer lack of quality aged whisky should ensure a continuation of the bullish market sentiment we’re seeing right now.
Andy Simpson
Thanks for the update and all the information guys.