Story | Leslie Yip
Spirits NFT？What are they, and why you should be interested?
When Glenfiddich released its “1973 Armagnac Cask Finish Single Malt” as an NFT (non-fungible token) in October 2021, whisky collectors collectively scratched their heads—a digital whisky? Is it just a virtual image, or do I get a
real bottle? Is it just a marketing gimmick or is there a good reason to invest in one?
Turns out, there are quite a few merits in going high tech with your dram.
HOW IT WORKS
‘Non-fungible’ means that there is no equivalent unit of the same value. It is unique, whereas cash currency is ‘fungible’ because, for example, a $20 bill can be converted into two $10 bills or four $5s and the same value is retained.
Glenfiddich released its “1973 Armagnac Cask Finish Single Malt” as an NFT in October 2021.
Currently, spirit NFTs are available only through a handful of dedicated NFT platforms, with BlockBar.com being the leading choice in terms of the number of luxury brand partners they have. It was founded by Dov and Samuel Falic, second generation of the Falic Group, which owns the largest duty-free operation in the Western Hemisphere.
The platform offers digital tokens directly from luxury liquor brands to avoid counterfeits. When you buy on the platform, your purchased bottle is stored and insured in a state-of-the-art facility in Singapore. You are also provided with a digital token, which guarantees authenticity and can be traced all the way back to the distillery or winery. Purchases can be made by ethererum, a cryptocurrency, or by credit card.
If at any time you want the bottle shipped to you anywhere in the world, you just need to pay shipping fees and duties, and BlockBar will send it to you. You do not have to worry about storing your investment at home, and if you have a jetset lifestyle, your bottles can fly to you wherever you happen to be.
TRACE AND TRACK
The concept of the digital token, acting as a digital receipt and authenticity certificate, is a huge reason why whisky NFTs are rapidly gaining popularity.
A bottle is deemed an “edition”. For example, there is just one NFT bottle available for Karuizawa’s “The Last Masterpiece 1970 50 Year Old”, so it has one edition. Meanwhile, there are 15 editions of Glenfiddich’s 1973 Armagnac Cask because there are 15 NFT bottles available.
“The Last Masterpiece 1970” is bottled from the last remaining 50-year-old single sherry cask by the now-defunct Japanese distillery Karuizawa. Only 211 bottles exist, and one was made available as an NFT Special Edition for BlockBar. It was released in July 2022 at US$75,000 and sold to @artisticMallard9 for $79,671.19.
Each time a bottle changes hands, information such as usernames of the seller and the buyer, transaction price and date will be added to the history of that edition. It is almost like your bottle has a passport, and the entries are protected by blockchain technology so you cannot alter or fake the entries. Collectors can sell the token and the bottle without ever having seen the physical asset and the blockchain will continue.
When a bottle is delivered, it is marked as “redeemed” and the owner’s digital token is “burned”. That is because once the bottle leaves the vault, there is not a way to verify that it hasn’t been tampered with, so digital authentication will cease to exist.
EXTRA PERKS
Spirits NFTs also offer the distilleries an opportunity to get creative. In addition to the actual bottle of liquor, many also combine their offer with extravagant presentations, limited-edition digital art and exclusive experiences.
The Usher x Rémy Martin 1738:A Taste of Passion
For example, American R&B singer Usher partnered with Rémy Martin for an NFT collection titled “The Usher x Rémy Martin 1738: A Taste of Passion”, sold exclusively on BlockBar.com.
A limited-edition bottle of The Usher x Rémy Martin 1738: A Taste of Passion decorated with human-AI art.
Usher used his own musical vocabulary to describe his olfactory experience with the cognac, and his words were fed through artificial intelligence (AI) to generate a series of images. Ownership of the NFT includes a limited-edition bottle decorated with this human-AI art, signed by the artist himself.
A total of 50 limited-edition bottles were created, but only half of them are for sale to the public. The remaining 25 bottles have been gifted to Usher and his team to celebrate the 25th anniversary of his song “My Way”.
Since its release in July, the bottles have changed hands 14 times in the secondary market and the trading price ranged from US$490 to $1,500. So far, two bottles have been redeemed, including bottle #38 by @dchu.
Hennessy∙8
Hennessy entered the market with “Hennessy∙8”, crafted using one eau de vie from eight generations of master blenders. It was a special release of 250 units to celebrate the house’s 250th anniversary. The NFT lot consists of the first (n°1/250) and last (n°250/250) numbered bottles.
It comes in a stunning blown crystal decanter designed by Arik Lévy, and it is housed in a chest with 25 layers of oak sourced from the Hennessy cooperage, each layer symbolizing a decade of the Maison’s history. The chest can only be opened with a unique copper key that is stored in the accompanying “Perfect Tasting Ritual” tool box, which also contains four Riedel tasting glasses.
Hennessy entered the NFT market with “Hennessy∙8”.
It was sold for US$221,810.81 to @Angry Pitbull Club, and is currently not listed for resale.
Hennessy∙8 box.
Johnnie Walker’s Blue Label Ghost and Rare Port Dundas bottle x Ivona Tau
In terms of bonus items, Johnnie Walker’s Blue Label Ghost and Rare Port Dundas bottle x Ivona Tau is ahead of the pack.
All 75 redeemable bottles of the limited release are all signed by master blender Dr. Emma Walker. Owners of the NFT have an exclusive access to a “Storytelling Experience—an enlightening conversation between Master Blender Dr. Emma Walker and world-renowned digital artist Ivona Tau.”
Blue Label Ghost and Rare Port Dundas bottle x Ivona Tau: all 75 redeemable bottles of the limited release are signed by master blender Dr. Emma Walker.
First minters of release also get a limited-edition NFT artwork by world-renowned digital AI artist and photographer Ivona Tau. Using multi-staged AI, she takes inspiration from the ‘ghost’ distillery and forgotten liquids of the illustrious Port Dundas Scotch Whisky and morphs various image concepts related to water flow to create the animated artwork.
The release price in September 2022 was US$775 and the last sales price at time of writing was $1,253. That’s a 27.5-per-cent return—something that everyone can drink to.
