Single-malt whiskies lift spirits of inflation-hit investors

High-end, rare whisky has caught the attention of investors, especially from India and China

The smell of ageing whisky, known as the angel’s share, wafts across from 9,000 oak barrels stored from floor to ceiling in two vast warehouses at Scotland’s historic Annandale Distillery in the town of Annan, Dumfries and Galloway. “Annandale has seen a huge boom over the last few years,” the facility's general manager David Ashton-Hyde said as workers milled around the site to check the vast casks for leakages.

The spirit is surging in popularity as an alternative investment as inflation stays stubbornly high, with many investors keen to diversify assets to safeguard their cash. Alternative investments are those that do not fall into conventional categories of financial instruments such as stocks, bonds and gold. Art, antiquities, fine wines, classic cars and luxury timepieces are usually classed as alternative investments, and over the past few years, single malt Scotch has joined this list. Investors can either buy by the bottle or by the cask, but, as with all assets, the key is to pick the right one. “Whisky has always been an asset class which has performed,” said Benjamin Lancaster, a founder of VCL Vintners, which specialises in marketing casks. While some industry experts toast whisky as “liquid gold”, yet others call for caution owing to scams.