And then came Wong’s first big purchase, The Macallan 50 Year Old, for which he paid six figures. In 2018, The Macallan invited him and other collectors from the region to a silent auction in Singapore. “I met friends from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan who came to Singapore just for the auction,” he shared. They were bidding for the 200 bottles of The Macallan 50 against collectors worldwide. In the end, Wong took home two bottles.
In 2021, he did “a crazy thing” by forking out almost S$8,000 (US$5,850) for a glass of Yamazaki 55 Year Old, when the Japanese distiller hosted a one-night only, four-hands whisky pairing dinner. At the time, a bottle of Yamazaki 55 – the oldest Japanese whisky in existence – had been known to command just over S$1 million at auction.
For Wong, that was money well spent. “To non-whisky fans, S$8,000 for a tiny half a glass isn’t worth it, but for whisky lovers and people in the whisky world, it is good value, because if you bought [a full bottle] at a million dollars, that amounts to S$40,000 for a glass. Having said that, S$8,000 for a dinner with a glass of whisky is still extravagant in the eyes of many people.”
To date, the most money that Wong ever shelled out for a single bottle of whisky is The Macallan 72 Year Old in Lalique, a commemorative edition enshrined in a Lalique crystal bottle. At the time it was the oldest whisky released by The Macallan, and created to celebrate the opening of the new distillery in Speyside.
In case you’re wondering, Wong does keep track of how much he has spent on his passion. What he doesn’t do is monitor their current value. Among investment-grade collectibles, rare whiskies are routinely cited among the best performing asset classes. The 2024 Knight Frank Luxury Investment Index showed that rare whisky grew by 280 per cent over a 10-year period.
Most recently, Wong spent some money at Changi Airport Group/Lotte Duty Free’s World of Wines and Spirits (WOWS) showcase, with the bulk of it going towards a bottle of Hibiki 40 Years Old. His other pickups were in the four-figure range. The cocktail event was held at the National Gallery, where guests were plied with generous servings of food.
“We had really good wine, champagne and the organisers surprised us collectors with quite a good selection [of whiskies], including the Bowmore 24 Years Old and the Bowmore 34 Years Old.” The market value for the former is between S$600 to S$700, while the latter retails for around S$7,000.
“Everyone was excited to try the Bowmore 34 Years Old, and we all were not disappointed. It was completely different in profile, very fruity on the nose, very delicate. So, we had a really good time. And I noticed that WOWS has started to offer a bigger selection of whiskies than in the past. So, there are more luxury items from different distilleries now on display.”
