Whisky gurus have an eye on investment consultancy

TWO whisky experts have launched a consultancy service to cash in on rising demand from investors for Scotland’s national drink.

Whisky expert David Robertson has helped set up RW101

David Robertson, former director of rare whisky at Whyte & Mackay, has teamed up with connoisseur Andy Simpson to form Rare Whisky 101 (RW101). The firm offers brokering, collection, intelligence, branding and valuation services to clients from around the world.

The move follows the rising popularity of rare whisky as an investment, with the number of bottles sold at auction in the UK more than doubling between 2011 and last year. During the past five years, the value of the top 1,000 single malts has increased by nearly 216 per cent, outpacing gold.

“We’re getting a huge amount of interest from buyers all over the world, so much so that we can hardly keep pace with this,” said Simpson, a former investment banker who has been an avid whisky collector for the whole of his adult life.

The whisky industry accounts for about 85 per cent of Scotland’s food and drink exports, and a quarter of the UK total.