In June, two men in Virginia were charged with an unusual form of insider trading: selling data on when and where rare bottles of whiskey would turn up in stores.
According to prosecutors, Edgar Garcia, an employee of the Virginia Liquor Control Board, passed the information on to Robert Adams, a collector, who sold it to others for up to $400.
Virginia requires that hard liquor be sold in government-owned stores, where it is cheaper than in most other states. To curb bourbon lovers’ frenzy for coveted bottles at lower prices, the state keeps distribution details secret, announcing releases at random times.
The willingness of Garcia and Adams (who both pleaded guilty) to commit a felony solely to sell information, and the apparent eagerness of others to buy it, shows the degree to which bourbon has become a fad.
Bourbon and rye whiskey, the main styles of American whiskey, had long been offered at prices within the reach of the working class. As recently as the early 2010s, it was hard to find a bottle for more than $100, and most sold for less than $50. Collectors generally eschewed American whiskey. That has changed.
At a Sotheby’s auction last spring, several bottles of Michter’s bourbon sold for more than $20,000 each. The Macklowe sells its American single malt whiskey for $1,500. And a bottle of LeNell’s Red Hook Rye can fetch more than $90,000.
The US Distilled Spirits Council, an industry group, notes that sales of all US whiskeys have grown steadily over the past decade, from 16 million to 30 million nine-liter cases. But around 2016, sales of super-premium whiskey, $50-plus bottles, took off.
Bourbon fans were becoming more educated and willing to pay more for higher quality. In response, distilleries began offering limited editions.
The pandemic further raised demand by combining unexpected time off, in the form of quarantines, with unexpected money from a booming stock market and government stimulus checks. Then social media amplified the hype.
Although some people drink the liquor, others sell it on the illegal secondary market for far more than they paid. A niche community of collectors has been replaced by a world of wealthy speculators, driving prices up beyond what most people can afford.
By: CLAY RISEN
BBC-NEWS-SRC: http://www.nytsyn.com/subscribed/stories/6542046, IMPORTING DATE: 2023-01-23 20:10:07
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