Fah Mai Holdings Group Inc (OTC:FMHG). recently highlighted the promising investment potential of high-end whisky. Jacob Carter, the UK head of Fah Mai Holdings and manager of Whisky Bull Auctions, shared insights on the benefits of investing in such tangible assets.
Carter emphasised that high-end whisky offers excellent long-term investment opportunities with low correlation to traditional markets. He pointed out that factors such as age, scarcity, and heritage significantly influence the value of these bottles.
Carter also noted the importance of research and careful selection for those interested in whisky investments. He highlighted that Fah Mai Holdings assists collectors with evaluations and market insights, which is crucial in a seller's market where high-end whiskys continue to perform well at auctions.
Stephen Gunnion (Proactive): Hello, you're watching Proactive. Joining me is Jacob Carter, the UK head at Fah Mai Holdings, also the manager of Whisky Bull Auctions. Jacob, great to speak with you again. And we're talking about investing in high-end whisky. Can you take us through the benefits?
Jacob Carter: Yeah, of course, I'd love to. And actually. Yeah. Great to speak with you again as well Stephen. Yeah, why invest in high-end whisky? They are excellent long-term investments with low correlation with traditional markets. Now, if you have the liquidity for investing in high-end whisky, it's a great way to diversify your long-term investments with a tangible asset.
Some people might be put off by the high prices of some of these whisky bottles, as they don't understand why it's priced the way it is. Age, scarcity, and heritage are the big categories to be looked into for these bottles when you're collecting them.
Gunnion: Can you give us some examples of high-end bottles that appreciated at auction, Jacob?
Carter: Of course, yes. So some examples of significant value appreciation in whiskys are, I would say, the 1961 Bowmore 50-year-old, where in 2020 at auction, you'd be looking at around 53,000 pounds for one of those bottles. Now, well, after 2022, one sold for 80,000 pounds. That's an increase of around 48% in just two years.
It's the same for the 1940 Macallan Lalique 72-year-old. Where in 2021, you look at around 87,000 pounds for it purchased at auction. And then in 2022, 122,000 pounds when it was purchased in auction, which shows an increase of just over 40%. Which is a wonderful growth in a short amount of time for that.
Now, if you can get your hands on any of the prized whiskys that you can do some research on, you know, great age, great heritage, you could have secured yourself a mini fortune. You can relish a luxurious drink by popping open one of these bottles. Whereas if you've kept them and they're in amazing condition, they could deliver incredible returns in the long run.
For instance, Macallan has a folio series that they're still currently releasing. They're up to folio seven at the moment. The folio one was released in 2015, with an RRP of around 150 pounds. Now, if you wanted to buy the folio one at auction alone, you could be looking at spending between 9,000 and 11,000 pounds on that singular bottle.
If you had a whole set of the one through seven, you could be looking at between 20,000 and 24,000 pounds at auction if you sold them at the moment. So it really does show if you're prepared to do your research, keep an eye on releases. You can grow your collection to be a wonderful long-term investment. Another example of this would be the old Rip Van Winkle 25-year-old.
Now, this was released in 2017. You'd pay 1,400 pounds. It was sold in 2023 for just over 20,000 pounds at auction. So as stated, high-end whisky, if you're not afraid to really get involved, really do your research. And one of the reasons we're here as a company as well is to help you do this.
You could really be setting yourself in for a small fortune.
Gunnion: So, I mean, obviously helping with the collections and the valuations there at Fah Mai Jacob. I mean, we have spoken before and you've said it's a seller's market at the moment. So are you still able to achieve great returns at the moment?
Carter: Yes. So as discussed previously, like you said, we have spoken about the seller's market that's currently here at the moment. It doesn't mean that some whiskeys aren't making great returns at auction on the release prices or even the potential price that you could have paid as a collector. It's all about research and keeping in mind that certain bottles are very sought after for a reason.
Those very old bottles or the bottles with the release of under 500 or even some bottles with the release of under 2,000. Now, one of these bottles that has performed tremendously is the Black Bowmore. There were three releases of this bottle, first in 1993, the second was in 1994, and then the third was in 1995.
There was a total of, I think, around 5,800 bottles. And they were released to retailers over that three-year period. Now, the first release you kind of state the point. The recommended retail price when released was between 70 pounds and 120 pounds. And that was in 1993 from the first release. Now you could be looking at around 10,000 pounds at auction for that bottle, the second 1,000 pounds per bottle.
And the same for the third release as well. So if you were lucky enough to get one of those bottles that release, it really does show the potential goldmine that some people are sitting on. Some people have been collecting whisky bottles for years. And we're always here to help people with knowledge about their whisky collections, potential valuations, just to make people more aware of what a great investment opportunity whisky is.
Gunnion: Well, let's hope those with deep pockets are looking at some of those high-end brands that you mentioned. Jacob, thank you very much, as always, for your insights.