How collectible spirits are redefining luxury for a new generation
There is a generational shift in how wealth works, and there is a distrust in the traditional ways of doing it. Stocks feel abstract. Property feels unattainable. And the old symbols of success — the cognac in the cigar room, the cellar full of Bordeaux — belong to a generation that Gen Z has consciously stepped away from.
And yet, younger consumers are increasingly turning to wine and spirits not as something to drink, but as something to own.
The moderation paradox
Gen Z and millennials are leading the moderation movement. They are drinking less, drinking better, and in many cases not drinking at all. That shift is making spirits more of a commodity than a beverage to enjoy or a status symbol in the traditional sense.
But there is a paradox at work. According to a study by Bank of America, 36% of younger investors are now interested in alcoholic collectables, making it one of the most popular investment categories among younger collectors behind watches and cars. The generation that is drinking less is also the generation most interested in acquiring spirits as long-term assets, with the goal of enhancing them during their lifetime and potentially passing them on.
This is less like the whisky aficionado with a cellar of personal favourites, and more like how millennials already approach limited edition trainers: score, hold, and sell. The sneaker market has embraced blockchain technology for both authenticity and traceability. Spirits have made tentative steps in the same direction. Patrón released reserves that could be stored or traded on an NFT platform. Hennessy created a Web3 community and released the first and last bottles of a rare limited edition. Karuizawa has sold decades-old bottles from its shuttered distillery on BlockBar. But overall, the category has been slow to move.
What spirits brands can learn from Rolex
In fashion, spirits brands have embraced the limited edition luxury drop. But they haven't taken full cues from watches or vintage cars, where the history and storytelling of previous ownership is almost as important as the quality of the piece itself.
Rolex has built its entire brand narrative around generational transfer. Serial numbers are traceable. The website features the opportunity to buy and sell vintage pieces. The brand has made provenance a feature, not an afterthought. Spirits brands with genuine heritage and storied histories have an equivalent opportunity they are largely leaving on the table.
The broader question
This is not an approach for every brand. But as the audience for spirits potentially gets smaller, the question becomes: how do spirits engage people in different ways?
Perhaps the answer lies in a well-crafted product with a storied history. Even if the buyer is not drinking, they are building a relationship with it — one that may last years and span generations. That is a different kind of brand loyalty, and a different kind of value to communicate. But for the right brand, with the right story to tell, it is a significant one.
The brands that understand this will stop thinking about their product purely as liquid in a bottle. They will start thinking about it the way Rolex thinks about a watch: as an object with a life, a history, and a future beyond the original purchase.
Hamish Campbell, Denomination's US Executive Creative Director, spoke about luxury spirits as collectibles and the generational shift in how younger consumers relate to spirits in BevNET, October 2024.
