Why whisky is a strong investment: Sales of old and rare bottles hit a record high thanks to growth of China's middle class and growing demand from British collectors 

  • Auction house Bonhoms set to hold a whisky sale in Scotland
  • A bottle of 50 year Glenfiddich is expected to reach £15,000 on Wednesday
  • Sales of old whisky up by more than a third compared with last year
  • A 42-year-old bottle of Bowmore Premier could reach £6,000 this week 

By Laura Chesters For The Daily Mail

Published: 20:01 EST, 4 October 2015 | Updated: 02:30 EST, 7 October 2015

Forget stocks and shares, the latest asset that has caught the eye of wealthy investors is whisky.

Auction house Bonhams is holding a whisky sale in Scotland to tap into demand and a bottle of 50 year Glenfiddich will go under the hammer on Wednesday for an expected £15,000.

Sales of old and rare whisky are at a record high this year. Sales in the first half of 2015 grew by more than a third compared to the previous year with more than 20,500 bottles of single malt sold on the open market, according to consultancy Rare Whisky 101.

Auction house Bonhams is holding a whisky sale in Scotland to tap into demand and a bottle of 50 year Glenfiddich will go under the hammer on Wednesday for an expected £15,000

Auction house Bonhams is holding a whisky sale in Scotland to tap into demand and a bottle of 50 year Glenfiddich will go under the hammer on Wednesday for an expected £15,000

The popularity of expensive whisky has been driven by China as their growing middle classes develop a taste for luxury goods. However there has also been increasing demand from collectors in Britain.

Bonhams' whisky sale this week in Edinburgh includes a number of rare bottles including the 50-year old Glenfiddich as well as a 42-year old Bowmore Premier which could reach £6000.

The Glenfiddich bottle comes from a batch of nine casks laid down in the 1930s - one for each of William Grant's nine children.

William Grant founded his distilling company in the 1880s and his children helped him build the Glenfiddich Distillery. The casks have produced 500 bottles.

Bonhams' whisky specialist Martin Green said: 'This is one of the most desirable Glenfiddichs - or indeed of any Scotch whisky - and is keenly sought after by collectors for its exceptional quality and rarity.'

The popularity of expensive whisky has been driven by China as their growing middle classes develop a taste for luxury goods

The popularity of expensive whisky has been driven by China as their growing middle classes develop a taste for luxury goods

 The Glenfiddich bottle comes from a batch of nine casks laid down in the 1930s - one for each of William Grant's nine children

 The Glenfiddich bottle comes from a batch of nine casks laid down in the 1930s - one for each of William Grant's nine children

Scottish whisky is a popular sector but demand has also been growing for Japanese whisky. Bonhams sold a 1969 bottle of Karuizawa for more than £77,700 in Hong Kong in the summer.

The growing demand from investors for whisky has led to the launch of an online whisky exchange where people can buy a 'wee dram' or units in a barrel starting at just a few pounds.

WhiskyInvestDirect was launched last month and allows investors to buy units in a barrel while it is still maturing. The business suggests investors could see a 7pc annual return on their investments.

The scheme also helps fund the cost to the distillers while they mature the whisky.

Even celebrities are getting in on the act and last year David Beckham launched his own whisky called Haig Club. 

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