Underage Drinking

Hi Scott,

I am a 16-year-old boy, and I love your work!

Recently, after browsing Investopedia, I was targeted by an advertisement promising a guaranteed 8% return on a $10,000 investment. The investment opportunity is in whisky and is being offered by Coburns Distillery.

This investment is being offered with no risk, allowing for an 8% return for each year plus cost price after 5–7 years. It is also being marketed as ‘SMSF approved’, which suggests to me that unsuspecting middle-aged superannuation investors are being viciously targeted.

These unsuspecting investors are likely to be enticed by the mention of valuer Knight Frank suggesting that exclusive whisky has seen a 580% return — which will most certainly not be occurring with this non-exclusive whisky from Burrawang, New South Wales. Would seriously love to see a piece by you on this. The wider public needs to be aware!

Regards, Brett

Hi Brett,

You’re my type of teen. At an age where many kids would be working out how to raid their parents’ liquor cabinet, you’re warning oldies about the potential financial hangover from these (lubricated) investment schemes!

I agree, it sounds too good to be true. In fact, it sounds a lot like another outfit, Nant Whisky, that I uncovered a few years ago. They too were touting high returns and encouraging SMSFs to ‘invest’ in barrels of whisky which (they promised) they would buy back after the maturation period.

The problem wasn’t with the whisky — it was awarded as one of the world’s best — but that they sold more barrels than they’d actually created.

ABC News stated:

“The ensuing scandal of Nant’s collapse would wipe out small investors who ploughed in up to $20 million. It would spark the largest fraud investigation in Tasmanian history.”

Will Coburns Distillery suffer the same fate?

I have no idea.

Whisky aficionados give things a good hard sniff before they imbibe. That sounds like wise advice to me.

Finally, the fact that a 16-year-old wrote this warning warms the cockles of my heart ... like a fine old aged whisky.

Scott