Have you ever gazed at a bottle of bourbon and wondered if perhaps it could be for more than just sipping? Perhaps it might make a good investment?

No, we’re not drunk. Investing in whiskey is really a thing, and, in the world of whiskies, bourbon is the shining star of rare whiskey investments, at least for the time being. Bourbon is HOT right now, so it’s time to add phrases like “bourbon boom” and “liquid gold” to your cocktail party vocabulary.

There’s plenty of demand for unique, limited-release bottles of bourbon that have the potential to soar in value and a very strong demand for older, aged, carefully-crafted bourbons from the most known brands. International investors have joined in, which has further driven up prices for a fixed supply of the most coveted bottles.

All you have to do is find the right limited-edition bottles of bourbon to buy. Think of it as a treasure hunt. Once you find them, you buy them at auction and then hold on to them for several years. Hopefully, you won’t drink the most valuable ones and your intuition will nudge you when it’s the right time to sell. And since you sell – not drink — the bottles that have soared in price, maybe you will hope for a couple of bottles in your diversified portfolio that didn’t appreciate very much so you can enjoy the spoils of your investment, too.

They say if you want to make a small fortune investing in whiskey, start with a large one. The whiskey market is as unpredictable as Kentucky’s weather in April, so invest with caution!

(photo courtesy of Pappy Van Winkle)