An Enjoyable Hobby That Appreciates Too? (1) – What Is It?

When you’ve been immersed in passive income and alternative assets long enough, you’ll inevitably come across the world of wine—whether it’s Sotheby’s almost-monthly auctions or investors at meetups bragging about a bottle they picked years ago that’s now worth several times more. But for me, I had never found anyone who could really break it all down for me. Then, by chance, I—someone who hardly drinks—got to know a group of spirit investors and connected with three specialists in the field. They each walked me through their niches: whisky, tequila, fine wine, and wine supply chain finance. They laid it...

An Enjoyable Hobby That Appreciates Too? (2) – Whisky

Continuing from the last post, let’s start our deep dive into the world of spirit with whisky. Why whisky? Interestingly, it was the last subcategory I invested in—but it gave me the best, most professional, and smoothest experience. So I’m starting with this one. I worked with a company that offers full-service whisky custody. Of course, custody is just one part of their business—they also have their own award winning bottling company. I dealt with R, who handles investor relations. Right from the start, he gave me his WhatsApp. Despite the time zone difference, every question I asked—whether before or...

An Enjoyable Hobby That Appreciates Too? (3) – Fully Managed Services

Continuing from the last post, R told me the custody process is super straightforward—“We do all the work,” he said. First, we book a time for a basic onboarding session—“just the essentials for a beginner like you,” he joked. Then we determine the investment amount you’re considering. Based on that, he’ll filter and shortlist a few options he personally thinks are worth considering. He’ll send over detailed information for each one, and we can schedule another call to finalize the selections together. Once that’s done, you just wire the funds. All the purchase details—certificates, amounts, cask types, etc.—will be uploaded...

An Enjoyable Hobby That Appreciates Too? (4) – Returns & Time Horizon

Continuing from the last post, R said he tends to be conservative. “Industry standard is a 2x return in about 5 to 7 years,” he explained. “I usually recommend clients hold for at least 5 years.” I did some quick math and said, “So that’s roughly 10–20% annual returns, right?” He nodded. “That’s about right in most cases. Of course, I’ve had clients achieve much higher returns—some hit 40% annually, and a few even 100% per year in special cases. But there are also clients who had to exit early—say, after just 1–2 years—for personal reasons. Even then, most still...

An Enjoyable Hobby That Appreciates Too? (5) – Risk

Continuing from the last post, I asked, “You said you’ve got about 3000 clients — have any of them ever lost money?” R said, “Nope!” Wow, that’s a pretty straightforward answer. 😂 He went on, “We’re one of the longest-running custodians in the Scottish whisky niche, with 14 years under our belt. We cover most of the distilleries in Scotland, and each distillery we work with values its reputation above all else. Most of them have histories over 200 years. We only do business with such distilleries. Plus, now that we have our own storage facility, it’s even safer.” I...

An Enjoyable Hobby That Appreciates Too? (6) – Whisky Finale

Continuing from last time, R said they accept any kind of clients — you don’t have to be high-net-worth and accredited investors. Because technically, this is a purchase, not an investment, so there aren’t a bunch of complicated requirements or restrictions on accreditations. . Depending on the whisky type and age you pick, some casks can be just a few thousand pounds, while premium ones — like Macallan — can go for a quarter million pounds per cask. It’s totally up to your own budget and comfort level. A lot of people start small, test the waters, and then gradually...