The value gains and losses cancelled each other out in June, as all major whisky market indices moved sideways. Balvenie was the top-performing brand, while auction prices for Penderyn raised numerous questions. Here is the Whiskystats Price Update for June 2023.
A little more than 20 thousand bottles of roughly 9,5 thousand different whiskies changed hands in June on the auction houses tracked by Whiskystats. This is 10% less compared to May 2023, but not unexpected, as the summer months of June through August are usually quieter on the secondary whisky market.
Ups and Downs
All the major whisky market indices suggest that the overall downward trend, which started in Spring 2022, is still intact but slowed in June. The historically 500 most traded whiskies lost 0,8% in value, as represented by the Whiskystats Whisky Index. However, the indices for Original and Independent Bottlings and those of Scottish and Japanese whiskies are all slightly in the plus. So overall, it seems like the value gains and losses cancelled each other out in June.
On a brand level, Balvenie (+6,8%) and Mortlach (+5,7%) performed exceptionally well in June. These gains originate from releases such as the Balvenie Rose (2nd Bottling), which sold for €2.800 (buyer price) after it dropped below €2.300 in May. And the Mortlach 1936 Connoisseurs Choice from Gordon & MacPhail fetched a new record of €3.600 at Scotch Whisky Auctions. On the other side of the spectrum, we find collector’s favourites like Springbank (-3,3%) and Port Ellen (-3,4%). On a 12-month comparison, Springbank is down by 28%, still suffering hugely from the extreme price surge of early 2022, as described in the Whiskystats 2022 Insights Report.
The Penderyn Mystery
Penderyn is a Welsh whisky distillery founded in 2004. As a relatively young distillery from a country which is not exactly one of the world’s whisky hotspots, the collector market’s attention to Penderyn was or is comparably limited in scope. Therefore, some of the auction results observed over the past two years raised eyebrows. Take the below displayed Icons of Wales #2 – Independence as an example.
The Independence remained below €70 until June 2021. Then, in December 2021, one bottle sold for €900 at Scotch Whisky Auctions. Throughout 2022, the madness continued with prices ranging from €230 to €880, all at the same auction house. Over the past six months, the whisky was traded at many other auction houses, but prices were inconsistent. On January 23, 2023, €70 was paid at Just Whisky Auctions, followed by €414 on January 29 at Whisky Hammer and €470 on February 6 at Whisky Auctioneer.
The same holds true for the Icons of Wales #5 – Bryn Terfel. Prices jumped at Scotch Whisky Auctions on April 4, 2021, while still fetching below €70 at other auction houses. Then, at the end of 2021, more than €1000 was paid at Whisky Auctioneer. On May 2 2022, that Whisky Auctioneer price was repeated and followed less than a week later by €330 at Scotch Whisky Auction. In 2023, prices still vary hugely, but the minimum was no less than €550, and it seems €750 is the current price level on auctions.
Looking at the whole Icon of Wales series, these price distortions affected only the first five releases (and, to some degree, the 7th release). Release #1 – Red Flag and Release #3 – Dylon Thomas are trading for around €300 while surprisingly remaining available for less than €50 in some overseas retail shops. Prices for Release #4 – That Try only started climbing in 2022 but ultimately reached around €600 on multiple auction houses.
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.