The trend of whisky cask auction has been prevalent in Taiwan for many years, with a wide variety of customized single cask whiskies emerging one after another. Taiwanese people are the lover of single malt whisky, and many advanced enthusiasts particularly drawn to whisky in the cask strength type. The concept of "one cask, one world" has developed to the point where Taiwan has become the country with the highest number of whisky cask exclusive sales in the world. Therefore, many whisky lovers are familiar with the concept of cask selection auctions.

On July 12th, the Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation held the "OMAR x GRAINVEST Single Cask Whisky Auction." The evaluation teams from the Nantou Distillery and Taichung Distillery carefully selected 16 high-quality single cask whiskies to be auctioned as bidding items. The winning buyers also have the opportunity to customize their own single cask whiskies through personalized services.

On the day of the auction, there were dozens of discerning buyers in attendance, and the brands invited Mr. Lu Jie-min, a well-known and experienced auctioneer in Taiwan, to host the event. Mr. Lu Jie-min, who has over ten years of auction experience, opened the event with a famous verse from the renowned Chinese poet Li Bai's "Drinking Alone Under the Moon." The second part of the verse, which exudes a sense of grandeur, says: "If heaven does not love wine, why is the Wine Star in the sky? If earth does not love wine, there should be no wine spring on the ground. Since heaven and earth both love wine, love for wine is worthy of heaven. Already hearing clear music surpassing the holy, I further perceive muddled wisdom." This highlights the sentiment of wine lovers towards their beloved drink and also indicates the shared aspects of fine wine and art collecting, which lie in the ability to discern, appreciate, acquire, and derive joy from them.

The competition at the auction was intense, and many buyers actively bid to acquire their desired premium whiskies. After fierce bidding among the experts, all 16 items were successfully auctioned, with the total auction price reaching nearly tens of millions of New Taiwan Dollars.

Just like art collections, the value of a premium single cask whisky lies not only in its uniqueness, rarity, and commemorative aspects but also in the design of the label and packaging, which can add potential value to the auctioned item in the future. The buyers who won the bid at the OMAR x GRAINVEST Single Cask Whisky Auction on July 12th will have the opportunity to enhance the value and collectability of their acquisitions by customizing the whisky labels and packaging.