Today, we count down those scotch whiskies that realised the highest value gains on the secondary market. From Islay to Speyside, from Orkney to the Lowlands, here come the places ten to six of the best performing whiskies of Scotland.
Before we begin, we want to explain the measures we applied to come up with this ranking. We analysed the value gains realised in the online whisky auction market over the past ten years. This means that we did not take the original retail price into account. We compared the first to the last price observation for the whiskies from Scotland among the currently 70 thousand bottles in our database (as of May 2020). So it is not the lowest to the highest price that we are comparing but the increase in value between the first and last observed trade.
#10 Compass Box Hedonism
Surprisingly we start with a blend. It is not just a blend but a blended grain from Compass Box. There only existed 690 bottles of this first edition of the Hedonism, but it seems like it set out a profound base for the many other releases. We currently count twelve different Hedonism editions in our database. The most expensive one, the Hedonism 10th Anniversary release, is coming in at more than 1400 Euros.
But we are not counting down the most expensive whiskies but the ones with the highest relative price increase. The Hedonism 1st Edition traded for 99 Euros back in March 2012. After more than three years without any appearances on auctions, it reappeared in December 2018 when a bottle was sold for 1100 Euros. This equals a 1040% increase in value and secured a place in the top ten of our ranking.
#9 Macallan Easter Elchies 2008
That we will stumble across the one or the other Macallan in this ranking should be no surprise to anybody with a slight interest in scotch whisky. The Easter Elchies series is a limited edition only available at the distillery once a year. In ninth place, we find the Macallan Easter Elchies 2008 release. This Speyside sherry bomb comes from two casks filled between 1995 and 1996.
We recorded the first appearance on auctions in November 2011 for 231 Euros. Then prices increased steadily to more than 2000 Euros in early 2017. The Macallan Price Rally saw prices climb to almost 9000 Euros at the peak in February 2018. After that, we observed substantial market inefficiencies since prices varied from 4000 to 8000 Euros within short periods. The price tag recently dropped to 3000 Euros, which still equals an overall price increase of 1220%.
#8 Springbank 12yo 1980s
In eighth place, we find another fan-favourite distillery. The 12yo Springbank Sherry Cask from the 1980s is a highly sought after release originally bottled for Samaroli Imports. Although there once existed 2400 bottles, this rare Campbeltown single malt makes it to auctions only very seldomly. So the chances are high that there are not many bottles left. And according to several reviews, there is a good reason for that.
The first recorded trade dates back to March 2011. Even almost a decade ago, this Springbank already achieved more than 1300 Euros, and it has gained value ever since. In February 2019, it passed the 20000 Euros threshold. The latest price observation came from November 2019 when it fetched roughly 18000 Euros. This 1250% increase in value equals place eight in our ranking.
#7 Compass Box Eleuthera
Yet another blend made it to this list, and again, it comes from Compass Box. Like Hedonism, there exist many expressions of the Eleuthera series too. The Eleuthera All Malt Scotch Whisky release is the currently most expensive one and likewise experienced the highest increase in value over the past decade.
At 79 Euros, it appeared on auctions for the first time in December 2013. Probably only very few people expected this whisky to reach almost 2000 Euros five years later in December 2018. The 1100 Euros from November 2019 lock in a 1290% return on investment for the time being.
#6 Laphroaig 15yo d.1967 b.1982
Of course, the Isle of Islay also needs to be present on this list. In sixth place, we find a 15yo Laphroaig distilled in 1967 and bottled in 1982 by independent bottler Cadenhead. This sherry wood matured Laphroaig is a very rare sighting on auctions. We have only observed two prices. But apparently, you do not need more to achieve the sixth-highest increase in price of all scotch whiskies.
With 2600 Euros, this bottle was not what you would call a bargain back in March 2013. But if you had known what prices would be achieved five years later, you would probably have considered a purchase. In October 2018, a staggering 37000 Euros was paid for this Laphroaig. Very deservedly, this brought the bottling to the sixth place in our ranking.
Disclaimer: the whisky market insights presented in this article are based on the Whiskystats database at the time of publication. Whiskystats is constantly adding new data, and therefore some charts and figures may not match after initial publication.