A new online resource, DramX, tracks the published results of 30 whisky auction sites into one searchable database. This paves the way for some very interesting statistics.

I guess most of you will have caught on that the single malt whisky prices in the secondary market (auctions and resellers) have plummeted over the past few years. But with the data gathered by DramX we now have the cold facts available. Whisky at auction is now worth what it was in 2016. Prices peaked in 2022 and have fallen 21% overall since then. At the same time more whisky is selling than ever at auction: 616,496 lots last year against 78,160 in 2014. All in all DramX have gather data on 4.8 million lots across 30 auction sites, between 2014 and today.

Let’s look at some of the stats.

According to the data gathered by DramX we reached the peak in 2022. Six years of increased value eaten up in three years of sharp decline.

The number of lots sold at whisky auction increases year over year and is up dramatically since 2014. But then again the average price per lot sold is down significantly since 2022.

It is quite interesting to see that many of the more obvious “investment” type whisky expressions have had the biggest drop in valuation, while more popular drams that are actually enjoyed by whisky fans around the world have remained at a more stable valuation.

I am, as you will know by now, a big fan of Japanese single malt whisky. As such I cannot say I am saddened by the fact that Japanese whisky has seen the biggest drop in valuation in the secondary market. At the same time more Japanese whisky is being sold at auction than ever. Hopefully this means that more and more whisky lovers will get to purchase and enjoy Japanese whisky.

I’ll leave you with this final statistic. Most of the bottles sold at auction sold for under 95 GBP!

All in all it would seem that the secondary market for single malt whisky is not really in a crisis. More whisky than ever is sold at auction, and the prices are becoming more reasonable. To me that seems to indicate a working market, and a market that should please you, the whisky lovers out there, who actually open the bottles you buy, and enjoy the drams in good company.

Sláinte!
- Thomas

PS! DramX can be accessed for free, but with limitations - of course. If you want to try out one of the paid subscription tiers (which start at GBP 6 per month) you can sign up with the discount code whiskysaga before September 30 to get the first month for free. If you do, then please let me know what you think.

Whisky auction are prices back to 2016 level

Jack Daniel’s 10 YO Batch 4