Irish whiskey website aims to capitalise on investor demand

The world's first dedicated Irish whiskey auction website goes live today with the aim of cashing in on growing demand from collectors and investors for our national drink.

Irish Whiskey Auctions is the brainchild of businessman and whiskey aficionado Anthony Sheehy, who realised that there was no such platform for the drink, despite the success of similar ventures in Britain and elsewhere.

“Irish whiskey is sold on sites in the UK, but they are more or less scotch-based. This will be the first dedicated Irish whiskey auction site,” Mr Sheehy explained.

He pointed out that bottles of Irish Distillers’ Redbreast 32-year-old Dream Cask, which sold for €500 each in May, are now being auctioned online for between €1,700 and €1,800.

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This month, the first bottle of Teelings Celebratory Single Pot Still Whiskey sold for a record £10,000.

According to Mr Sheehy, there is “huge interest” in Irish whiskey among collectors and investors, who are willing to bid large sums to secure bottles they believe have a value, or whose worth could increase in years to come.

Irish Whiskey Auctions will run regular nine-day auctions, beginning next month, which will allow people to offer and bid for whiskey.

“The process will be simple,” Mr Sheehy promised. Members will have to register in order to confirm identity and age. Anyone who wants to can offer bottles of whiskey for sale through its auctions.

Verification

They will have to send their bottles to the company, which will have them verified before offering them for sale. The site charges a fee to both buyers and sellers.

The Palace Bar, run by Willie Aherne and Alan Campbell of the Licensed Vintners Association and the Banker Bar, are supporting the venture.

Michael Fogarty of L Mulligan's Irish Whiskey Shop in Dublin will help verify the whiskey that is offered for sale.

Mr Sheehy has been involved in several businesses, including fitting television and satellite systems. Ironically, he says his own interest in Irish whiskey was sparked during when he was living in France.

“The French like their wine, but they like their whiskey as well,” he said.

After his French friends introduced him to whiskey, he began researching the subject himself and developed an interest and taste for it.

The next step was simple: “I just decided to turn my passion into a business,” he said.