Has The Rare Whisky Bubble Burst? Here’s What the Experts Say

Has the rare whisky bubble burst? Experts weigh in. (Photo: David Cheskin/PA via AP)

Experts are beginning to wonder if the rare whisky “bubble” has burst after the Financial Times reported on Saturday that rare bottles priced at over £1,000 had a global sales drop of over 34% by volume and reached 40% for 2024 as of Oct. 1.

A report from an investment banking firm, Noble & Co., claimed that the drop grew by 7% from last year’s decline.

“The bubble in which fine and rare Scotch whisky has traded for so long may have finally burst,” Noble & Co. Head of Food and Drink Duncan McFadzean said, according to the Financial Times.

The outlet reports that “high inflation” and higher interest rates in a post-pandemic world have reduced consumer desire for pricey scotch.

Sotheby’s Auction House Global Head of Whisky and Spirits Johnny Fowle expressed that certain distilleries were raising prices excessively, forcing those interested in purchasing them or consuming them out of the marketplace.

“It’s understandable not to want to leave profit on the table,” Fowle said, according to the Financial Times. “But it’s a shortsighted endeavor — it’s pricing investors and drinkers out of the market.”

Though such high prices can be justified for older whiskies, it is more difficult for more modern scotch whiskies to sell at such high price points.

VinePair reported that the rare scotch market began to focus more on the American market when the economy was more robust. Yet, with looming tariffs that President-elect Donald Trump has promised, the industry might return its focus to the Asian market in the future.

It’s tough to believe the rare scotch bubble might have burst, especially considering that 2024 was a landmark year for a whiskey fetching the highest price in the history of the auction circuit.

In January, The Craft Irish Whiskey broke records after a 30-year-old Irish single malt sold to an American whiskey collector for an astonishing $2.8 million.

The sale beat the previous record of The Macallan Adami Edition, which sold for $2.7 million in Nov. 2023.