Liquid Gold

Even a splash of water cannot cool the sizzle of collecting single-malt whiskies. The result has been an insatiable demand for limited-edition whiskies. In their 2017 full-year review of the single-malt scotch market, cofounders David Robertson and Andy Simpson of Rare Whisky 101, a whisky valuation and consulting investment service based in Scotland, reveal that more than 83,000 bottles of whisky sold on the UK’s open market last year — a significant shift from five years ago when 20,000 bottles sold.

They note: “The volume of bottles is clearly at a record high, but demand, for now, continues to exceed these record levels of supply (for the right bottles from the right distilleries).”

Certain distilleries — Bowmore, Springbank, Macallan — enjoy a definite panache among collectors and, as a result, usually hold their values. Two Dalmore bottles and three Macallan lots were the most expensive Scotch whiskies sold at auction in 2017, garnering between US$48,500 (S$66,000) and US$126,250 apiece. The 14 brands highlighted here all have had individual bottles realise more than US$13,000 at auction. — RICHARD CARLETON HACKER