Kentucky Bourbon Retailer Embraces The Blockchain in New Partnership to Create ‘Gold Standard’ for High Profile Whiskey Trading

Buffalo Trace Distillery product at the 14th Annual Academy Of Country Music Honors on August 25, 2021, at Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. Justins’ House of Bourbon and blockchain company BAXUS are teaming up on a whiskey authentication and trading program. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images for ACM)

Justins’ House of Bourbon, a Kentucky-based spirits shop offering one of the largest collections of rare and vintage bourbon and whiskey in the world, and blockchain company BAXUS on Monday announced a new whiskey authentication and trading program, which the companies say will revolutionize the investment model for the global whiskey digital market.

“While Justins’ House of Bourbon is best known for the bottles that are oldest in the whiskey world, we’re very excited to be a part of something new to the industry,” Justins’ House of Bourbon co-founder, Justin Sloan, said in a news release. “We think authentication is a key piece to the credibility of this new market. This will allow investors to have peace of mind and real-time valuations of their investments as well as access to some of the ROIs being seen in this sector.”

The JHOB x BAXUS platform allows whiskey investors to add, track and manage their spirits through a secure online portal, per the brands. The program is designed to verify the authenticity of each bottle by using blockchain technology, analytics and machine learning.

Once scanned in and certified by JHOB, each bottle will be stored in BAXUS’ temperature-controlled vault and assigned an NFT on blockchain, which will list the bottle’s history, pricing and grading details. Collectors will have 24-hour access to buy, sell, trade, hold or redeem each NFT using credit card, fiat or cryptocurrency.

“Justins’ House of Bourbon were pioneers in the modern whiskey market,” BAXUS Founder and CEO Todd Wiesel said. “Early on, they recognized the need to help connect whiskey lovers with rare bottles. We are incredibly excited to be partnering with them to help usher in the next generation of whiskey collecting, trading, and appreciating.”

The JHOB x BAXUS partnership program aims to provide transparency and traceability, forming the “gold standard for authentication and provenance of spirits trading,” according to the news release. In addition to reducing counterfeit products, investors can earn an ongoing royalty fee for every bottle listed. Spirits will be kept safe in BAXUS’ vault, and sales will be listed online only. There is a 10% sellers fee to create an account, which eliminates the typical 25%-30% auction house fees, the brands said.

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