[Investment] Investment update

As I have mentioned in a previous post, despite the fact that I mainly buy whisky to drink it, I have also bought some bottles to keep for a while and see how prices evolve over time. If they end up rocketing up and I need the cash, I will sell them, if not, I will open them and enjoy them. 

I have now been following auction results for the bottles I own since August 2015, mainly through the Scotch Whisky Auction (SWA) website and app and decided that after 7 different auctions, it was time for an update. 

What I have witnessed so far is relatively close to what I had anticipated, in other words I have noticed different trends depending on different types of bottles.

1. Some of the "hype" bottles such as the Ardbeg Perpetuum (Standard release) or the Laphroaig 15 (200th anniversary release) went up in price just after their release before dropping after a few auctions. I would think the reason for this price change is that at first everybody wants to get hold of a bottle, and when that's happened (and maybe people are realising that the whisky inside the bottle isn't blowing them away), prices start to drop. For these bottles, I think the real test will not be short term but more medium to long term (5 to 15 years probably). 

I designed the graph below as an example to show you how my Ardbeg Perpetuum has evolved since I have bought it in June 2015. The prices I have used are the highest and lowest prices achieved for an equivalent bottle on SWA. 

2. Some bottles will keep on hovering around the same price like my Lagavulin Distiller's edition 1995 for which I paid £72 and is selling between £75 and £85 (but not always available at auction).

3. As you would expect, discontinued bottles start appreciating in value as soon as they are no longer available from the general suppliers. My Glendronach 15 Revival (£51) for instance went from not even featuring in the auctions a few months ago to appearing for £60 in December 2015 and up to £75 a month later. More unexpected is the price the 3 bottles of Scapa 16 sold for, in the 03/01/2016 auction: £185 (back to a more realistic £70 since!)

4. Finally, I know that bottles you can buy in a supermarket do not tend to be bottles which are likely to gain in value, but having bought a bottle of Aberlour A'bunadh batch 50 whilst on offer for around £34 in October 2015, I think I have found an exception to the rule! And here is the proof: 

To conclude the post, I will mention again a few rules I have when investing:

1. always invest money I have spare and won't necessarily need
2. always invest in bottles I know I would/will enjoy drinking
3. always look for releases which are as limited as possible and as good as possible
4. if I can, I buy 2 (1 to enjoy now and 1 to keep for later...)
5. always look for information, reviews, opinions out there before making any decision

And do not forget that the prices I used throughout the blog are auction prices and therefore they do not include the auction and shipping fees that will be deducted (10% seller's fee + £3 per lot and £4 if you add a reserve price on SWA)

I hope that was useful and will continue monitoring these price changes and updating the blog accordingly.

For more information:

https://www.scotchwhiskyauctions.com/auctions/