[Investment] Investing in whisky...

I know many people will say that whisky has been made to be enjoyed and you should therefore drink it rather than store it for years at the bottom of a cupboard with a view of making a few extra pounds/dollars/euros... In my opinion, you can do both. 
The best way to know more about whisky is to try as many different releases as you can (always with moderation!). This will allow you to determine flavours you like and some you don't like. I started 2 years ago with the Bowmore Small Batch release, which I picked up on offer in my local supermarket and really enjoyed the taste of peat. From there, I decided to research other distilleries which offered peaty whiskies and bought my second bottle: Caol Ila 12 (still one of my favourite today for its oily mouth feel and peaty/salty taste). I then looked into the other Islay powerhouses and tried different Laphroaig, Ardbeg, Lagavulin, Bruichladdish... in bars or at the Whisky Shop. I realised through tasting sessions that there were other peaty whiskies produced outside of Islay. All that to say that by researching and sampling a range of whiskies, I have developed a better picture of what comes out of a small proportion of Scottish distilleries. And that is the moment when I decided to go a bit further, by buying a few bottles to keep to one side. Yes, it initially is an investment, but I know that in a few years time, I might change my mind and decide to open them as I know the flavours contained in these bottles are more than likely to match my taste for peat. So my first advice if you consider investing in whisky is know that what you are investing in is something you are very likely to enjoy as if prices don't go your way or you change your mind in the meantime, you can still open it and savour something many people will no longer have access to! 
Then, as mentioned on many websites, go for limited releases, between 5,000 and 10,000 -or fewer if your budget allows- or bottles which are only accessible through certain channels (distillery, distillery committees, whisky groups...) I joined the Friends of Laphroaig and Ardbeg Committee and had access to bottles such as the Laphroaig 15 and Cairdeas 200th anniversary or the last Ardbeg Supernova release. I know prices for these bottles have not rocketed up, but like with many investments, you're in it for the medium to long term. Very few bottles allow you a short term profit (the Bowmore Devil's cask did from it's original £60ish RRP to nearly £300 over a year later!) Remember that each time someone opens one of these bottles, there is one fewer in the world, therefore yours becomes rarer and potentially more desirable. That is true for limited releases but also for bottles which are discontinued (Glendronach 15 revival or Scapa 16 are 2 bottles I have put to one side...) or closed distilleries.
Finally, if you have the budget for it, older vintages could be profitable as it is said that the market is currently experiencing a shortage of them and of course a 30+ year old whisky cannot be produced overnight! 

So remember:
  -Know that you could enjoy what you are buying in case prices don't match your expectation
  -Go for limited releases or discontinued bottling.
 -Sign up to mailing lists, committees... to have access to releases which could be harder to get otherwise
  -Don't be in a hurry
 -And don't spend more than you can afford. Any investment remains a gamble. The demand for whisky is great at the moment but could collapse in a few years time, or the bottles you bought could lose their value. So only spend what you know you won't miss!

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