Monthly newsletter for October 2021

Dear All,

The big news of the month is the acquisition of The Whisky Exchange by Pernod Ricard, which is a huge validation of the whisky category and the eyes that the big players have on the industry. Sukhinder and Rajbir Singh, who founded the Whisky Exchange in 1999, will remain at the helm of the business, which will operate as an independent subsidiary.

All signs for ‘21 show that the secondary market for whisky is going to beat all records. The per bottle price has risen to $586 compared to $550 in 2020 (and $536 in 2019). Rare Whisky 101 noted the same trend, whatever metric through which you choose to view the data, rare whisky sales are on the rise. In terms of releases that we have been watching, the most interesting is The Dalmore Decaded No. 4, 5 and 6 that was auctioned last week. The No. 6 achieved a record US$1.1M when it hit auction at Sotheby’s Hong Kong.

We continue to see strong increases in the bottles in our vault, with the Japanese category continuing to perform particularly well. Our Hanyu 1988 Full Proof saw an increase of +41%, and Karuizawa Cask Strength 1st Release rising +53%. Given our portfolio selection and the broader market sentiment, we feel that we’re in good stead as we head into the festive season, where we should see further spikes in prices as auctions hit their busy season.

Marek, Marc, Neil, Gary