Kindred spirits: How to get into booze collecting

livemint.com:

Owning an ultrarare Scotch whisky, like the Macallan Fine & Rare 1961 that sold for $32,500 at Bonhams in February, is out of reach for the average tippler. But that doesn’t mean spirits collecting is only for the wealthy. Demand for fine, or luxury, spirits has leapt over the past several years, led by tequila and American whiskey/bourbon.

The Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S.’s Luxury Brand Index, a gauge of demand for high-end spirits, grew an average of 14% annually over the five years through 2023. The council defines a luxury spirit as a 750-milliliter bottle having a retail price of $50 or more. Spirits as a collectible has been around for decades but really took off about 20 to 25 years ago with collectors and investors recognizing that single-malt Scotch whiskies were valuable, says Amayès Aouli, global head of wine and spirits for Bonhams.

In the past 10 years that popularity has had a ripple effect across other spirits, driving up scarcity and prices. The keys for novices is to understand that collecting spirits—as with so much collecting—can be a fickle investment. Much like art or other alternative investments that are driven in part by collector passion, the secondary market for spirits collecting is opaque and not every bottle will rise in value over the years.

As a result, it helps for collectors to look beyond money, and invest in spirits they would simply enjoy drinking. “You need to really buy something you enjoy drinking because prices are fickle, taste trends are fickle," says David Thomas Tao, a collector, spirits writer and competition judge. Rudy Matic, a buyer’s consultant and certified specialist of spirits, says collectors should develop a palate by tasting different spirits and talking to