Scotch enjoys record UK auction run

Rare bottles of Scotch malt whisky have enjoyed a record three month run at UK auctions according to research by analysts Rare Whisky 101, with sales surpassing £6 million overall.

Over the course of April, May and June sales of rare malts at UK auctions have pulled in £2m or more a month for a combined total of £6.18m. This is a 121% increase on the amount sold in the same three moth period last year which was just £2.8m.

The amount of bottles going up for sale has also increased (in turn driving the overall value of sales), from 12,638 bottles in April-June in 2016 to 21,617 bottles in April-June 2017; a rise of 71%.

The average price paid per bottle is also at its highest ever level – £286.

Rare Whisky 101 commented that the figures are very much in line with value growth within the Scotch category exceeding volume growth. In June of this year alone the volume of Scotch sold at auction in the UK grew by 54% compared to June of last year and the value shot up by 94%.

In figures released yesterday (25 July), UK fine wine and rare spirits merchant, BI, also noted strong growth for its spirits arm, with sales growing by 79% in the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2016; with sales largely driven by demand for rare Scotch in Asia.

Co-founder of Rare Whisky 101, Andy Simpson, commented: “Any question as to whether the recent increases in the rare whisky market would begin to plateau can, for now, be summarily dismissed. Even we wondered whetherthe market could continue to expand at such levels, following another record braking year in 2016. The performance of Scotch malt whisky at auction over the past three months has been nothing short of phenomenal.

“The growing popularity of online auctions, combined with recent moves by traditional rare whisky retailers to set up their own auction sites, continues to drive demand.  By joining the secondary market sector, these “bricks n mortar” retailers have finally realised that they can’t afford to lose rare whisky customers to the auction market.

“Anecdotally we have seen growing demand from North America and Asia over recent times.   We have also experienced a dramatic increase in enquiries from Asian and USA professional buyers looking to set up new supply agreements to capitalise on this dynamically growing market.”