2021 Projected to be Most Valuable Year in History of Secondary Market Rare Scotch Sales

An extremely rare, complete set of ‘The Red Collection’, a new collection of 6 classic aged single malt whiskies from The Macallan Distillery, on view at Sotheby’s on Oct. 20 in London, England. Secondary-market scotch sales for 2021 are projected to reach record highs. (Photo by Michael Bowles/Getty Images for Sotheby’s)

The value of rare bottles of scotch has fallen recently, Knight Frank’s luxury investment index editor Andrew Shirley told The Guardian. But the secondary market, analysts at Rare Whiskey 101 told Food & Wine, is finding historic success:

“2021 is slated to be, by far, the most valuable year in the history of secondary market Scotch sales.”

Whiskey auction values have soared as of late. The world’s oldest whiskey sold for $137,000. The world’s oldest single malt scotch is set to be auctioned off next month. The world’s largest bottle of scotch will be auctioned off sometime in the future.

2020 was a down year in scotch auction sales due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Food & Wine, but 2021 is expected to “easily top” 2019, which was the previous record year, in terms of the amount and value of single malt scotch sales on the secondary market. Bottles sold are expected to reach 172,500, 20% more than in 2019, while value is projected to hit $104 million, a 30% increase from 2019.

While we love to see whiskey sales rising, it is important to note that with increased value comes increased attempts at scams and counterfeits. Whiskey forgeries are very real, and auctions are popular targets.

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