According to the annual Whisky Intelligence Report by Noble & Co, sales of fine and rare whisky dropped 16% in volume and 18% in value for the year ending September 2024.
The £1,000-£10,000 bracket saw value fall by 32%, while volume decreased 34%. The report blamed “high-interest rates, inflation, the reduced spending on luxury goods related to cost of living, and geopolitical instability” for the downturn.
For consumers spending £10k on a bottle of whisky the cost of living crisis is a tenuous link to the slump in sales, but outside the auction room demand for such pricey spirits remains high.
As part of The Gleneagles Hotel’s 100th anniversary, the luxury Scottish institution partnered with Glenfiddich to launch a 49-year-old single malt. Gleneagles x Glenfiddich Centenary Reserve was aged in a single refill sherry butt and just 14 bottles were made available to buy exclusively at the hotel. The project was the first collaboration by Glenfiddich since the brand partnered with Concorde in 2002 and, despite the £35,000 price tag, the whisky is in demand. Of the 14 units produced, up to three will be made available at the hotel each year – the 2024 allocation sold almost immediately – until they are gone.
“Over the past couple of years, we’ve been working behind the scenes with the Glenfiddich team with the joint aim of crafting the ultimate anniversary single malt,” said Daniel Baernreuther, general manager at The Gleneagles Hotel. “This is a bottle of whisky unlike any other and I couldn’t think of a better dram to celebrate 100 years of Gleneagles.”
The display units for each bottle were designed by Glasgow artist John Galvin and the collaboration brings together an intertwined history between the hotel, Scottish railways and whisky. While it’s known best today for its golf and world-class hospitality, the hotel was originally built to provide luxury accommodation for train travellers and to this day has its own railway station, first built in 1856. The construction of The Gleneagles Hotel and expansion of the railways subsequently contributed to the growth of Scotch whisky globally, enabling distilleries to distribute beyond Scotland.
Clearly storytelling plays a part in the sales of ultra-rare whisky, not just age statements and crystal decanters. Perhaps the point of purchase plays a role too – only being able to buy the whisky at the hotel adds to its desirability compared to online auctions. But the biggest draw, ultimately, is the rare collaboration between two institutional brands such as Glenfiddich and The Gleneagles Hotel.
Sure, the secondary market for ultra-rare whiskies may be flagging, but the first-hand sales of special releases certainly aren’t. Perhaps this also indicates that people are buying new and actually drinking these fine spirits, rather than selling them on at auction.
