*Disclaimer* This is not financial advice. We are not qualified to provide financial advice, nor are we experienced. If you seek financial advice, we recommend you contact a qualified financial advisor.

With all the talk of rising interest rates, a “cost of living” crisis, energy price caps, record inflation, rising fuel costs, and who knows what else, it’s safe to say that times are tough.

The simple fact is that people and businesses alike just do not have as much disposable income as they once did, and sadly this is taking its toll. Businesses are being forced to close down, their overheads are increasing, their profits are dwindling, and the light at the end of the tunnel is dimmer than ever.

As there is so much economic uncertainty out there, people are looking at investing their capital and making their money work for them. While the stock market has been up and down, gold prices have fluctuated, and don’t even get us started on Cryptocurrency, we’ve seen people looking to diversify their portfolios and invest in other things, including casks of whisky.

Whereas investing in whisky can yield good returns, the market is very volatile and your investment value is not forced to go up. Investments, especially in higher risk assets such as whisky, can go down as well as up, yet some cask whisky sellers don’t seem too keen on sharing this info with their customers and have been found to mislead them. So, what’s the deal?

What is Cask Whisky Investing?

If you’re willing to take a risk with your money, and are aware that investments go down as well as up, investing your money could be a good way of making your money work for you.

When people invest, usually they’ll invest in the stock market and will buy stocks and shares. Another popular investment is property, though again, as we’re seeing now, the property market can also go down as well as up. We also see people investing in things like gold, art, wine, and lately, cask whisky.

With cask whisky investing, the idea is to contact cask sellers and essentially purchase a cask of whisky from them, with the intention of holding it, and selling it later on down the line, hopefully when it has increased in value. The idea is that not only does the whisky improve with age, but as the supply dwindles over the years, it will become rarer, and in theory, will be more valuable.

While it is of course possible to make money from cask whisky investing, the market is volatile, and you are in no way guaranteed to make any money when you decide to sell. In fact, it is possible for you to lose money and sell at a loss, though some cask whisky sellers out there will conveniently forget to include this info when they’re looking for your money.

Deceiving and Misleading Ads

Lately we’ve seen a worrying trend in the amount of cask whisky investment ads appearing online, making ridiculous claims and deliberately leaving out important info in an attempt to mislead and deceive the general public.

Recently the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) found a UK-based cask whisky selling company to have deliberately mislead the general public with their ads featured both online and in newspapers. The company claimed customers could see an average return of 13% each year by investing in whisky. ASA challenged whether these claims could be substantiated.

ASA challenged whether these ads were misleading as they implied returns as high as 13% were possible and common, without any credible evidence to back this up. The company in question also did not make it clear that there were additional fees and terms and conditions.

The company also used the World Whiskies Awards 2021 logo in the ads, implying that they had received awards, nominations, or endorsements from this organisation when in fact they hadn’t.

While the company did not specifically state that you were guaranteed to make money and earn an average of 13% per annum by investing with them, the ASA found the wording to be misleading and ordered the company to rephrase their ads and set them out in such a way that the general public would find the info easier to read and understand.

The ASA ordered the company in question to state that the value of a whisky cask investment could go down as well as up, and that past performance was not an indicator for future performance. They also required the company to state that the cask whisky investment industry is not regulated, and that they should not leave out info regarding hidden fees and T&Cs.

Finally, they were told to ensure that they did not mislead their readers by claiming, or insinuating, that they had won awards or been featured for news editorials and features when this wasn’t the case.

Lately we’ve seen more and more cask whisky sellers advertising their casks for investment purposes and get caught out by organisations such as the ASA.

Why Buy our Whisky Casks?

While it is possible to make money by investing in whisky, it is also very possible to lose money, and we don’t want that for you.

Here at Greatdrams.com we want our customers to enjoy their whisky and get the most from it. While you can of course invest in whisky, we believe that the best way to enjoy a Great Dram is to drink it.

Whisky investing is very risky and there is a risk you could get stung and lose money, and nobody wants that. That’s why we offer zero financial advice and recommend our casks of whisky for hobbyists or keen whisky drinkers.

Here at Great Drams we aren’t financial advisors, we’re a family-run independent bottler with a passion for rare, unique, limited-edition, award-winning, and delicious whisky.

We do not advertise, so if you would like to purchase one or more of our casks, you will need to contact us. Once you do, we can work to a budget, a preferred cask style, a spirit type, tasting profile, and anything else deemed pertinent.

As mentioned, we aren’t financial advisors. We don’t wear flashy suits or work in busy cities, and we don’t offer financial advice. The reason we don’t is because we can’t. We aren’t experienced and we aren’t qualified. If you do wish to purchase a cask for investment then that is entirely up to you, but we can’t offer any help or advice regarding investments.

While we don’t know a great deal about whisky investing, thanks to our years of experience, our more than 35 awards, and our passion for a wee dram, we most certainly do know a lot about whisky itself, so get in touch if you’re on the market for a Great Dram or two.