Stock versus Scotch

Yesterday I blogged about whiskey as an investment, and today I discovered World Whiskey Index, a stock market for all your whiskey-trading needs.

World Whiskey Index (better known by the unfortunate acronym WWI) was founded on  simple supply and demand. New markets, especially China, have developed a taste for single-malt scotches. But there’s a limited amount of fine scotch. Most medium-grade and all high-grade single-malt scotches were casked as many as 50 years ago in small batches. Back then, there was no way distillers could anticipate the rise in demand.

It’s not distillers who are getting richer but international brokers like WWI. Founded in 2007 when stock markets were peaking, WWI promises a Madoff-esque 12 percent annual return.  Founder Michel Kappen told Reuters, “If you invest in stocks, there is always the risk the value will go down. With whiskey, we do not see that.”

Kappen has a point. But if I were a whiskey investor, I wouldn’t worry about declining value but plateau value.