Forget Hermès Handbags and Property – Whiskey and Wine Could Be the Top-Performing Investment
Rebecca Nicholson- May 4
- 3 min read
When Donald Trump introduced sweeping tariffs on Chinese imports, few could have predicted the ripple effect they’d have on luxury fashion. But as factories began lifting the veil on the actual production costs of designer goods, including the once-mythical Hermès handbags, the fallout was swift.
Prestige alone could no longer justify the price tags. With authenticity and transparency now in demand, Hermès—once a darling of the alternative investment world—has seen a noticeable dip in desirability, especially in key markets like China.
Add to that a real estate market showing steady but uninspiring growth, and you’ll understand why a new wave of investors is pivoting to more potent opportunities—quite literally.
A recent study by Falcon Funded has turned heads across the finance and luxury sectors, revealing that some of the top-performing investments from 2020 to 2025 weren’t stocks or property but whiskey and wine.
And we’re not just talking small sips of success—these alternative assets are blowing traditional investment strategies out of the water.
The Liquid Gold Boom
Leading the charge is whiskey, specifically The Macallan 1926 Fine & Rare, which has delivered a jaw-dropping 13,543% ROI over the past five years.
That’s not a typo.
A bottle that was worth $17,092 in 2020 is now valued at over $2.3 million. With an annual ROI of 167.29% and relatively low volatility, this single malt has left even high-risk investments like cryptocurrency in the dust.
Coming in second is fine wine, with Château Lafite Rothschild 2000 delivering a 126.18% ROI, climbing from $787 to $1,780. While it may not match whiskey’s dizzying returns, its 17.73% annual ROI still makes it a smart, stable performer—especially in a market where reliability is increasingly rare.
The Rest of the Pack
Other luxury categories fared well, but none could top the growth seen in the alcohol market:
Luxury Watches (Rolex Daytona “Paul Newman”) saw 106.75% ROI
Rare Comic Books (Superman Action Comics #1, 1938) delivered 88.68% ROI
Luxury Bags (Birkin 30cm) returned 51.39% ROI
Gold, often a safety net for cautious investors, gave a dependable but less exciting 49.90% ROI
Interestingly, both watches and comic books outperformed real estate in terms of ROI, though their annual returns (15.63% and 13.54% respectively) were still overshadowed by whiskey’s meteoric rise.
Rethinking the Traditional Portfolio
The Falcon Funded study used Manhattan real estate prices per square foot as a benchmark, analysing alternative investments from 2020 to 2025 in terms of ROI, annual ROI, and volatility, excluding transaction fees, taxes, or storage costs. The results clearly point to a growing shift in investor priorities: away from conventional assets like property and towards collectables and consumables with emotional and cultural value.
A spokesperson from Falcon Funded explains:
“Investors are increasingly diversifying into alternative assets like whiskey and luxury watches, which not only offer higher returns but also carry lower volatility compared to traditional markets like real estate. The growing interest in these non-traditional investments highlights a shift in how investors are looking to balance risk with growth potential.”
Final Pour
While Manhattan square footage and iconic fashion houses will always have their place in the investment landscape, they may no longer be the golden standard. As the data shows, your next best asset might just be resting in a cellar—or decanting in a glass.
So before you buy another overpriced handbag or jump into a slow-burn property deal, you might want to raise a glass to your portfolio’s new best friend: a bottle of rare whiskey.
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