Monthly Rare Whisky Review for April 2018

• Volume of bottles sold: 7976
• % Change on April 2017: +16.95%
• % Change on Previous Month: -10.08%
• Total volume Forecast for current year: 103,304 bottles
• Value of bottles sold: £2,627,833
• % Change on April 2017: +31.06%
• % Change on Previous Month: +2.56%
• Average value of bottles sold (current month): £329.47
• Total value forecast for current year: £34,602,485

Benchmark Index Performance

• Apex 1000: +1.14%
• Negative 1000: -1.37%
• Icon 100 (Scotch): +0.59%
• Icon 100 (Japanese): -0.15%

All Indices Ranked by Performance against March 2018

All Indices Ranked by Performance against April 2017

Commentary

With Quarter 2 of 2018 now firmly in motion, we can see the expected trends emerging as the volume of bottles sold in April has dipped slightly yet the value has continued to grow. This is typical of this time of year and will no doubt return to be stronger in the coming months.

Earlier in the year we witnessed records being broken with the value of certain bottles reaching new highs. An example of this was the ‘Macallan Easter Elchies Cask Selection 2009 Edition’, which commanded a price tag of £15,500 in January 2018. This was unexpected and since has experienced a return to more stable values of approx. £8000 per bottle currently.

Another welcome surprise bottle we saw come to market in April was the ‘1978 Talisker, Samaroli Bottling’, this reached a new personal best for this bottle of £2300. If we look back, not too long ago, to November 2015, this bottle was readily available for just £470 at auction. This is a fantastic increase of +389.4% in just 29 months.

They’re not all winners though, looking at the Glenfiddich ‘Project XX’ bottling, we can see in mid to late 2016, when we saw this bottle reach the secondary UK market, it was reaching values on average of £225 per bottle but has since experienced a slow and steady decline in value and is now available, on average, for £40 per bottle and has even seen lows of just £35 (the same price as their current, off the shelf 12-year-old). This would suggest that not all limited editions are desirable/collectable.

While enjoying a rebound last month, the Japanese Indices are showing a downward trend to finish this month with negative figures. The Icon 100 (Japanese) down 0.15% and Karuizawa showing little in the way of increased performance falling by 4.21%. There results give an uncertain outlook/future for the Japanese market, could a change be coming?

It’s not all good news for the Scotch either with 4 of the distillery specific indices showing a dip in performance in April which suggests this area of the market could be looking to idle – this can be expected at this time of year as we have seen the market slow at the start of the 2nd quarter previously, before gaining momentum again into the summer period.

An interesting start to Q2 2018. We will see how the lesser performing indices will cope and recoup any deficits and if possible, to show increased strength in the coming weeks.

Slainte

Jamie