Whisky on the Blockchain – How Luxury Drink Brands Are Harnessing Distributed Ledger Technologies
How Scottish whisky suppliers are improving the appeal and sales of their products through tapping into mega trends like NFTs.
Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT) like the Blockchain offer capabilities for digital innovation for even the smallest of businesses.
One of their key functions is proving authenticity and ownership.
Pioneers of this field include The Whisky Barrel, who have launched the world’s first single cask Scotch with a ‘Digital Provenance Certificate’.
As Insider reported they have released one of the world’s first single-cask Scotch whiskies with a digital provenance certificate, using Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) to digitally certify its whisky.
This securely transmits essential product information on a public ledger, helping collectors and connoisseurs alleviate the risk of investing in counterfeit whisky.
Each of the 152 individually-numbered bottles feature a unique QR code that links to its corresponding digital certificate. This token provides digital proof of ownership, as well as the provenance of each bottle. Each NFT is minted on the Solana blockchain platform, which was chosen for its carbon-neutral and low-energy consumption qualities.
Another Insider case study is for Roehill Springs, a family-run gin distillery near Keith, who are using blockchain technology to be completely clear about the amount, quality and provenance of the water used in the creation of its spirits.
Flow meters have been installed at the spring on the family farm and at its distillery. The data they produce is sent to an application via Bluetooth, as well as being transferred to a private blockchain, where it can be accessed by customers through a QR code printed on each bottle, alongside information about ingredients.
Industry Innovators: Whisky and Digital Art
Other industry innovators include Glenrothes offering a micro (168 bottle) batch of 36-year-old Single Cask Scotch Whisky for $3,600 a bottle with an interactive NFT artwork, and Benriach launching a luxury twinset with two bottles exclusively as an NFT.
Johnnie Walker is offering seven whisky connoisseurs the chance to own an extremely rare bottle of 48-year-old Johnnie Walker Masters of Flavour NFTs, alongside their very own digital art – The tokens unlock access to a unique piece of graphic design by artist Kode Abdo aka BossLogic.
As Bernard Marr writes and explains in the featured videos distillers William Grant and Son have recently sold 15 bottles of 46-year-old Glenfiddich whisky for $18,000 apiece, each one accompanied by its own NFT revolving image/ artistic impression of the bottle that not only allows them to show off their purchase but also acts as a counterfeit-proof certificate of ownership.
