Global demand for single malt whisky soars

Global demand for old and rare single malt whisky is rising significantly, creating a supply shortage and driving prices to dizzying heights.

The massive spike in demand for the single malt spirits – whisky made from the product of single distillery rather than a blend – has been reported worldwide, with the US and China recording the most notable increases in consumptions.

Whisky drinkers new love affair with the single malt Scotch has sent small distilleries all over the world, especially in Scotland, scrambling to ramp up their output, according to industry experts.

CNN Money reported that “distilleries are ramping up production to help meet demand, but it’s not fast enough as collectors of older vintages face continually escalating prices for coveted single malt Scotches.”

In the US, sales of single malt whisky almost tripled between 2002 and 2015, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the US. Demand in Asia has also skyrocketed, accounting for one-fifth of Scotch exports annually.

Rickesh Kishnani, who launched the world’s first whisky investment fund, said the shortage of old and rare single malt has started since last year and the situation may worsen in the coming years.

Based in Hong Kong, Kishnani’s whisky investment fund has increased 26 percent in value since it was started in 2014. The fund has a collection of 7,500 bottles of rare single malt whisky.

The top 100 performing bottles of investment-grade Scotch increased in value by 8.9 pecent in the first half of 2015. Their values have increased overall by over 500 percent since 2008.

“In China, everybody is talking about it,” Stephen Notman of the Whisky Corp. , a whisky investment firm, told CNN Money.

“Nobody thought in a million years that there would be a market there for 30-, 40-yearold whisky,” he said.

One example of the dramatic price increase is seen in the 30- year aged Black Bowmore whisky, first released in1994. It initially went on sale for $110 a bottle. But, according to Notman, the prized liquor can go for $7,000 at auction today.

Whyte & Mackay CEO Bryan Donaghey, whose company owns the single malt whisky brand The Dalmore, admitted the supply and demand for single malt whisky are both accelerating at an extraordinary rate due to the shift in consumer preference from regular blended Scotch.

“Most single malt whisky have to be aged and matured for between 12 and 18 years to achieve desired complexity. In Dalmore, it takes even longer. We have whisky that are 25 years to 45 years old,” explains Donaghey.

Due to the scarcity of aged single malt whisky, some brands are now veering away from putting the age on their labels.