VCL Vintners Launches NFT Marketplace, Metacask, And Completes First Auction from The Vanishing Spirits Line in Under an Hour
VCL Vintners Launches NFT Marketplace, Metacask, And Completes First Auction from The Vanishing Spirits Line in Under an Hour
VCL Vintners, London’s leading whisky cask broker among millennial investors have launched their cask-based NFT collection, The Vanishing Spirits line with Ernie Button, on NFT marketplace Metacask allowing for investors to bid for spirits backed NFTs. Metacask becomes the first marketplace focusing on the issuance and trading of whisky casks as NFTs. With their first auction from the Vanishing Spirits Line going live on April 5, they are setting a benchmark for investment and a statement of intent across the industry.
By launching Metacask, it allows individuals to be able to buy whisky casks and works of art and use a digital artefact as a proof of ownership. Instead of a paper-based delivery order, you are now able to take part in auctions and sales of NFT casks and use the NFT itself as a proof of ownership – knowing that the physical cask is safely existing within a HMRC-regulated facility, under Scottish law. The goal of Metacask is to take away this need for private brokers to store proof of ownership on private databases, and to begin storing this information on somewhere far more decentralised and far more accountable, the blockchain.
There are no restrictions placed on who can participate in purchasing casks on Metacask due to the asset being considered a property, however there is a know-your-customer check, executed digitally,in place to ensure that individuals are eligible to purchase NFTs. This is paramount and unique to Metacask and will ensure the validity of purchaser, as they will be the owner of a tokenised physical asset held in bond.
The Vanishing Spirits line is a collection of eleven single malt whisky casks, which have all been paired with a unique NFT of the whisky distillate, which comes from the whisky cask itself. Metacask has already hit the ground running by selling the first cask in under an hour, via a Dutch auction. The token used was CSPR, selling for 99,580 CSPR tokens; the equivalent of $8,960.00 USD according to prices on 6 April 2022.
Metacask look to sustain momentum with the launch of their second cask at an auction appearing on April 7 at 12:00 CET. The 2020 refill standard Hogshead from Glen Elgin features alongside an NFT.
The first 10 casks released for auction are a mix of casks from the most important production areas in Scotland. The casks are all relatively new makes and each NFT will show information about the cask, including the unique reference number. Last tested values will also be available unless it is a new make. The eleventh cask is the most special cask from the Vanishing Spirts line; it is the only one which will be revealed when the token is minted in time for its auction.
Award-winning Phoenix-based photographer, Ernie Button, is instrumental to the gravitas of this project, with nearly 15 years’ experience in whisky distillate photography. The inspiration for this ethereal and otherworldly set of designs came to him one day when putting away his scotch whisky glass, he left it out overnight, and when he came back the next morning, he realised there were patterned fine lines on the bottom of the glass where the tiny dregs of whisky had dried. Given the right conditions, nearly all aged whisky will produce these lines, Ernie has since experimented with this and through playing with time, age, and humidity amongst other factors, he created ‘The Vanishing Spirits’ collection. A truly timeless and unique set of photographs to accompany a cask that now belongs to legacy itself.
Prior to the launch of Metacask, VCL had completed a world record auction of a sale of a cask whisky distilled at The Macallan Distillery in 1991. It was paired with a work of art by Trevor Jones and the final sale price of this was just over $2.3 million. This was the first sign that blending both original pieces of art with the whisky market could transcend expectation, and since this landmark auction, there have been multiple others including artwork from Ruben Frosali and now, photographer Ernie Button.
Commenting on the launch of The Vanishing Spirits line, CEO and co-founder, Stuart Thom, said “The whisky market has seen phenomenal growth over recent years, with no signs of a slowdown. The Vanishing Spirits line will give owners a contemporary, 21st century way to connect with their whisky and art. Our goal is to bring this asset class to as many people as possible and increase their awareness and understanding of it through new technology; blockchain technology is the future. NFTs have been transforming the art market over the years, particularly to younger buyers and this is an exciting opportunity to bring whisky to them.”
About VCL Vintners
Founded in 2010, VCL Vintners source and manage the finest investment-grade single malt whisky casks for their network of retail and institutional investors.
VCL Vintners provides investment opportunities ranging from new-fill barrels to some of the oldest and rarest casks available. With assets under management currently totalling around GBP 70 million, VCL Vintners is on track to corner a significant amount of the whisky market’s total reserves, targeting an additional managed amount of GBP 150 million within the next decade.
Whisky is now one of the globe’s best-performing asset classes, with both prices and demand continuing to grow at a double-digit rate. However, despite these ten-fold increases and interest from new investors, investment-grade whisky’s reputation for running on relationship-based acquisitions can make it somewhat difficult to enter. VCL Vintners’ expert advice assists clients at all stages of their investment journey, allowing investment in a range of whisky options, from sought-after individual bottles to entire casks.
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