The auction room gasped in October 2018 when iconic artist Banksy pulled off his most audacious stunt to date. As the hammer fell at £860,000 on ‘Girl with Balloon, an inbuilt shredder consumed almost two thirds of the artwork.
There has been much conjecture from many parties ever since. How did Sotheby’s miss the shredder in the frame? Were they in on the stunt? Was the intention to destroy the entire painting?
Irrespective of that, there is unanimous agreement that the artwork wasn’t destroyed that day, it was made. The stunt didn’t detract from its value but significantly increased it. It successfully created a global media storm and its semi-shredded appearance made it even more special.
‘Love is in the Bin’, as it’s now known, in some way explains the phenomenon that is now the rare and old whisky market. For some this is an enormous leap but, to explain, key reasons for the exponential growth in the value of whisky are consumer demand, rarity and ‘art’ factors. Like Banksy productions, whiskies from Springbank and other distilleries are regarded as works of art. However, unlike traditional works of art they are consumable.
Limited numbers of bottles are produced. Whether it’s a standard 10-year-old expression or an ultra-rare 50-year-old limited edition of, say, 50 bottles, a finite number of bottles are available to satisfy demand from both drinkers and collectors.
Plus drops of the amber nectar are also lost to the first consumers, ‘the Angels’, a term used in whisky distilleries. When whisky is slowly maturing in its cask, a small amount evaporates through the wood and into the atmosphere.
Some whiskies, originally produced in large numbers, are not thought of as collectors’ items at the time of release. But after being drunk in great numbers the bottles that remain become limited and, as such, more valuable.
A prime example of this is The Macallan 10, bottled in the 1990s. At the time it retailed at £25-£30. However, this excellent but originally common whisky now sells for £600-£1,000. The number of bottles available will continue to decrease, and the price will continue to rise.
To add to the ever-increasing rarity, bottles get drunk, smashed, evaporate, or consigned to ardent collectors’ cellars, never to be seen again. These exact liquids cannot be reproduced, even by distilleries. Plus large numbers of distilleries have closed over the years. Though they may retain stocks of liquid this again is a finite amount. Once it’s gone, it’s gone, never to be seen again.
Distilleries such as Rosebank, Port Ellen, St Magadalene and Littlemill could be compared to great artists such as Monet, Rembrandt, Da Vinci or Dali. Like the distilleries, for obvious reasons they will never produce art again.
The worldwide passion for whisky is something the auction industry cannot ignore. For example, Hansons sold a bottle of The Macallan Royal Marriage Whisky for £3,700. It was created in 1981 to mark the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer. It merged whiskies distilled in 1948 and 1961, the years they were born.
Bottles such as this appeal to collectors and investors alike. With demand on the rise, Stuart Palmer has joined Hansons as head of the Whisky and Spirits department. He has years of experience in valuing, buying, selling and collecting whisky and a passion for the bottles and bottlers, the labels, and the diverse expressions of different regions and distilleries.
As well as contemporary releases he has a keen interest in older and rarer bottlings, particularly from the 1940s to the early 1990s. He also has a vast knowledge of independent bottlers from the smallest private bottlings to others such as Samaroli, Gordon & MacPhail and Cadenhead.
His whisky expertise encompasses countries such as Ireland, Japan and the USA together with lesser-known producers in Taiwan and India. His knowledgeable also covers cognac, rum and enigmatic herbal spirit Chartreuse. A bottle of the latter which retailed at £25 in the 1970s can now fetch £300.
So, if you’re gifted some good whisky on Christmas morning, it might just be worth holding on to it. A special bottle could deliver cheer way beyond Christmas.
Entries invited
Entries are invited for the Whisky and Spirits Auction. To arrange a free valuation with Stuart Palmer, or to discuss a potential consignment including cellar collections, please email [email protected] or call 07794 952290
