Whisky art is nothing new, and whether it’s a beautiful photograph of a distillery in the setting sun, or an oil painting of a copper pot still in the stillhouse, there are some incredible pieces of art out there that any whisky enthusiast would be happy to hang on their wall. But whisky art took an unexpected twist recently, with the category moving into the NFT space. WTF is NFT? Well, it’s almost as controversial as NAS, but easily twice as confusing. For whisky has now entered the cryptocurrency arena: NFT stands for Non-Fungible Token. Still need help? You’re not alone, so let’s dive in. Just keep an open mind…..you’ll need it.
First, you’ll need to come to terms with Ethereum. Ethereum is a cryptocurrency – yes, a bit like Bitcoin – except its blockchain provides for some interesting features and properties that make it more than just currency – it’s effectively a programmable currency. NFT’s are a feature or sideshow that come with this programmability.
Non-fungible means that something is absolutely unique – a “one of a kind” that cannot be replaced, swapped, duplicated, or substituted with a like-for-like. A non-fungible token is therefore a product that only one person can own. And it’s in the art world – digital art, to be precise – that NFT’s are making their splash. The vibe is all about buying and selling – or simply owning – something that no one else can own. To draw a parallel to the conventional art world, it’s a bit like being the owner of the Mona Lisa: Yes, there are thousands of prints and copies, and there are other Da Vinci artworks around, but there is only one, irreplaceable Mona Lisa. Imagine if you owned it!!! Digital art – whether it’s a song, or a photo, or even just an image file of a red line that was created in Microsoft Paint – can be bought and sold as an NFT.
It was therefore just a matter of time until someone created digital works of whisky art and put them up for sale as NFTs. And that’s precisely what one person – going by the moniker of CryptoWhisky – has gone and done. Self-described as a whisky loving pixel artist, the initial collection saw roughly 100 whisky bottles of well-known brands from whiskies all around the world (i.e. Scotch, bourbons, Irish, Japanese, Australian, etc) floated on OpenSea. The collection is being added to constantly, and has since grown to 300 with, apparently, 1000+ intended as the final number of pieces.
The initial launch has seen most of the artworks being made available for 0.02 Ethereum, which is roughly around US$56, AU$73, £40, or €47. A number have been snapped up early, and one particularly optimistic punter has already re-listed his/her NFT of the Jack Daniels bottle for 100 ETH – which, if s/he finds a willing buyer, would result in a 4,999% profit. (To put this in real numbers, it means said person bought the product for $56 and is now offering it for $282,900). Yes, there are aspects of the ridiculous when it comes to cryptocurrency, just as we saw when Bitcoin did its thing. By the same token, NFTs are the ultimate example of something being worth whatever someone else is prepared to pay for it.
If you’re sceptical, there is a precedent. BitWine – a similar collection of over 1,000 different brands/bottles of wine created by a pixel artist and a sommelier – launched in April this year and has seen a large number of the “bottles” (remember – they’re just digital files that do little else than sit on your computer) trade hands for increasing prices with each transaction.
Time will tell if whisky-themed NFT’s prove to be a flash-in-the-pan novelty or a genuine case of investment art. I concede it’s easy to be dismissive and think “this will never take off”, but then the same was said towards those who started buying bottles of Macallan, Springbank, and Bowmore 25 years ago. If you’re keen to check out the collection – even if just to test your ability to recognise the pixelated labels – you’ll find the artworks here. Keen enthusiasts will no doubt spot their favourite brand or perhaps even their favourite specific whisky expression.
Good luck. And may the Ethereum be with you.
Cheers,
AD
PS….if whisky art isn’t your thing, and you’d rather invest in real whisky, you might like to read this article: Should you buy or invest in a cask of whisky?
