R600k for a bottle of whisky? These prices could drive you to drink

The difference between a R600,000 bottle of whisky and a R1,000 bottle is probably nothing more than bragging rights, says a collector.

Marc Pendlebury, 37, co-owner and founder of Whisky Brother, Johannesburg's only speciality whisky store and bar, says some of the festive season price tags are ridiculous.

Makro this week was the first of the wholesalers to release its festive liquor catalogue.

It includes a 50-year-old Glenfiddich for R600,000 and a 50-year-old Glenlivet for R549,000. A bottle of a 40-year-old Balvenie will set customers back R110,000.

If you are prepared to knock off a decade, you can even pick up a bottle of 40-year-old Glenfiddich for R70,000.

Pendlebury said you could get about 30 shots from a bottle of whisky, meaning every single shot from the R600,000 bottle will cost you R20,000.

Describing himself as a drinker and collector, the former operations manager at an insurance company left the corporate world in July 2012.

He said whisky investment was growing but the key was understanding what you're investing in.

"You can't just buy whisky and expect it to go up in value. Most whiskies are not investable, even though they're expensive," Pendlebury said.

The whisky enthusiast said you could get a good whisky for R1,000, which would appreciate over time.

Jason McEvoy, an owner and director at Norman Goodfellows, said this was the case with a limited edition Glenfiddich Phoenix bottle, which cost R700 when it was first released a few years ago and now costs R4,000.

McEvoy said he found there were three types of whisky buyers: those who see it as an investment, those looking to reward themselves and those who just want to show off.

Their most expensive bottle of alcohol was a 50-year-old Balvenie for R649,000.

"Any whisky that is going to be extinct or had a limited release has good investment potential," McEvoy said.

Pendlebury, who has more than 400 bottles in his private collection, said he would never fork out R600,000 for a bottle of whisky.

"Those whiskies taste incredible, but you won't know unless you've tasted every other whisky, if it is worth R100,000 or R600,000. In my opinion you are buying status, exclusivity and rarity."

The world's rarest and most sought-after whisky, the Macallan 1926 Valerio Adami, was sold on auction in Scotland this year to a private collector for almost R16m. It has been described as the "holy grail" of whiskies and is the most expensive yet.

Kevin Maier at Makro said 50-year-old Glenlivet would be on special on Black Friday. It currently costs R549,000.