Stocks sink but there’s whisky galore
Reuters
Published: Thursday, October 16, 2008
AMSTERDAM - While investors flee traditional markets such as stocks and commodities on growing recession fears, trade in rare bottles of whisky is flourishing.
Roughly 11 months after the launch of a Dutch online trade platform for exclusive single malt whiskies, mostly from Scotland, the World Whisky Index has seen an average return of 26.2 percent, compared to a more than 40 percent decline in the MSCI World stock index.
“There’s big demand for rare whiskies and people are willing to offer a lot of money for certain bottles,” said a spokesman for The Whisky Talker, a Dutch firm that initiated the index website which aims to bring buyers and sellers together.
Since its launch last November, the index has seen investment inflows of around 2 million euros ($2.7 million), and consists of 4498 bottles at present, the spokesman said.
The top gainer on the index is a 30-year old Bowmore Scotch whisky in a ceramic bottle, which has gained about 137 percent in the past eleven months and is now worth about 450 euros.
Popularity: 24% [?]
