Last updated: 20 January 2021. You'll really enjoy this shortlist I've compiled of the best whisky investment books.
Investing in whisky is not new - all commercial whisky distilleries invest significant capital in their whisky as it matures in casks over the aging period, which can be as long as 20 years for popular brands.
The change over the last 30 years, is that whisky companies have opened their doors to outside investment, allowing retail investors to own a quantity or share of the whisky stocks.
This makes a lot of sense. Under the old model, a whisky company has two businesses:
1) Manufacturing whisky from raw ingredients, and eventually marketing and distributing the finished product
2) Investing capital in the aging process, while the whisky sits in barrels and increases in value over the maturity period.
This revolutionary funding model has allowed the distilleries to become leaner and more efficient by 'outsourcing' the capital-intensive element to investors who want to tie up their investment in the hope of high returns.
Each book featured on this page is beginner friendly and doesn't assume much prior knowledge. With prices ranging from £10 - £25, stocking up on a few of the best whisky investment books can deliver the same value as an expensive seminar for only a fraction of the cost. They can even be read for free with Amazon's Kindle Unlimited free trial.
Click on any title below to see the latest price from Amazon, you'll be shocked at how affordable the most popular titles are. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases which helps to support this site. This does not impact how I compile the list. Happy reading!
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- You don't even need a Kindle to enjoy - any device will do.
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My Top 3 Whisky Investing Books for 2022
Click covers to see latest reviews and prices1. Investing in Liquid Assets - David Sokolin
Financial Expert Rating:
Synopsis:
"Liquid Assets is a practical, easy-to-understand, up-to-the-minute guide to making money investing in wine, by one of the nation's top wine dealers."
Who this book is for:
A comprehensive guide to investing in wine.
If you're considering making a strategic purchase of a case of wine or whisky, this is an excellent place to start.
This guide focuses on fine wine, however if you're collecting aged malt whisky & scotch, cognac and other limited edition spirits, you'll find plenty of useful information in here which pertains to investing in liquid assets more generally.
Currently rated at 4.4 / 5.0 on Amazon, the audience reviews are in, and readers are loving Investing in Liquid Assets by David Sokolin.
Chapters include:
What makes a wine 'investment grade'?
How critic scores move the price of wine bottles
Guides to different wine regions; including Bordeaux, Span, Champagne, Australian wine and Port.
Financial Expert Rating:
Synopsis:
"Award-winning author and whisky expert Dave Broom explores over 200 distilleries and examines over 400 expressions. Detailed descriptions of the Scottish distilleries can be found here, while Ireland, Japan, the USA, Canada and the rest of the world are given exhaustive coverage. There are tasting notes on single malts from Aberfeldy to Tormore, Yoichi (and coverage of the best of the blends). Six specially created 'Flavour Camp Charts' group whiskies by style and allow readers to identify new whiskies from around the world to try.
This extensively updated and extended edition features new material on burgeoning areas, including detailed coverage of many recently opened US craft distilleries, new distilleries in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and discussion of the growing whisky scene in Latin America.
With over 200 beautiful colour photographs and 21 colour maps locating distilleries and whisky-related sites, this is a stylish celebration of the heritage, romance, craftsmanship and versatility of whisky."
Who this book is for:
The World Atlas of Whisky by Dave Broom is an excellent guide to varieties of Whisky around the world.
Perfect for any whisky lover or whisky collector. Understanding the unique characteristics of whisky from around the world will help you add bottles to your collection with due care and thought.
Rated 4.7 / 5.0 with 430 ratings - the World Atlas of Whisky is the highest reviewed whisky book currently available on Amazon.
Other praise for The World Atlas of Whisky:
"The best whisky book ever - a must-read for drinkers!" - Forbes
"The perfect go-to reference guide for the whisky lover's bookshelf" - Whisky Magazine
Financial Expert Rating:
Synopsis:
"Discover the money secret understood by virtually every rich person in history. Turn hundreds into millions through the power of compound interest.
How to Own the World shows you that:
- No one is better placed than you to make the most of your money.
- You can do better than many finance professionals.
- Making money from your money is easier than you think.
- It's easier today than ever.
- It's time to start now."
Who this book is for:
This short guide is a pure-play on whisky investing, useful for those who anticipate putting a few % of their investment portfolio into whisky as an alternative asset.
Malcolm Gloyers quick book (covering a concise 50 pages) remains the market's best-reviewed specialist whisky investment title.
At just £3, the price reflects the length of this copy, making it a great value buy for whisky aficionados.
The Financial Expert™ Best Whisky Investing Book Challenge
I challenge you to read one whisky book per month and see if it revolutionises your investing style!
The Financial Expert™ Best Whisky Investing Book Challenge is a well-loved feature of this website.
It's a challenge which is quick to begin, and enjoyable to continue through the rest of this year.
The whisky investing book challenge encourages you to sniff out each book available in this small niche, and find out everything there is to learn about whisky and investing.
The rules of the challenge are simple:
I challenge you to read one whisky investing book per month for the next year, and find your new favourite!
The big idea is to lean forward into the topic, and back-up your cash with a time commitment to educating yourself. After all, you've worked hard to earn the money you will be spending on your whisky collection - doesn't it make sense to spend a little time to ensure you get the best returns?
Without prior research, whisky investors can make mistakes:
- Buying non-investment grade brands and varieties which had little prospect of ever increasing in value.
- Failing to diversify appropriately, due to incentives to bulk buy individual bottles
- Not considering other liquid investments such as wine, port and cognac.
The likelihood of mistakes being made will fall significantly reduced if you read several whisky investment titles. From one title to the next, common themes will appear and this will help reinforce best practice.
Some guidance
- I found it helpful to stock up on books for the next few months, so that when a new month rolls around, my next book was my bed-side table asking to be opened!
- Pick a variety of styles. This will keep the challenge fresh and increase the diversity of opinion.
- Pick at least one book that you don't think you would enjoy, this book might be the one that surprises you the most!
- If you're time-starved, audio books are absolutely fine!
Where to begin?
My list of the 3 whisky investing books above is as good as any place to start, as I have consciously included a mix of different writing styles to ensure that it caters to a wide audience.
Good luck!
Even the best whisky investing books offer a single perspective
“There is no bad whiskey. There are only some whiskeys that aren’t as good as others.”
Whisky investment, like many other alternative investments, is a subjective field.
In the same way that art investors must understand art, whisky investors must thoroughly understand whisky.
I'll repeat that again: whisky investors must thoroughly understand whisky.
It is not enough to simply appreciate the historic returns which cask-aged whisky has brought to investors over the years. You need to go much deeper than a whisky investment brochure!
Without deep knowledge of the subject, you run the risk of buying product which isn't even investment grade. This is as helpful as buying tins of corned beef and expecting it to appreciate in value at 10% per annum over the next decade.
Your whisky investment knowledge should be more than just a simple opinion. Ultimately, your portfolio will be worth whatever someone else is prepared to pay for it.
Beyond a pleasant flavour, whisky does not produce an inherent return, nor does it expand in volume over time.
Therefore your investment valuation will be held to the whim of the subjective preferences of many people in the future. This is why your whisky investment knowledge should be more than just a personal opinion you have formed from your own experiences with whisky.
Rather, you should read widely to ensure that you understand how the whisky market thinks. Is your view on whisky even close to the consensus?
I like to visualise my portfolio as being eternally pitched to a room of whisky buyers. My portfolio is only worth as much as the highest bidder in that room.
This helps me to hold their views in mind as much as my own when selecting which bottles to add to the cellar.
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