Collecting (and consuming) whisky has long been a pastime of (U)HNW individuals, but thanks to a boom in prices over recent years, whisky has also come to be regarded as an asset class. With the draw of high returns, it is more important than ever to deal with trusted – and trustworthy – advisers.
The Spear’s index of the best whisky advisers highlights the specialists guiding some of the world’s leading collectors and enthusiasts through the often opaque world of fine whisky.
Their work includes sourcing rare casks, managing collections and offering deep insight into the life cycle, provenance and ageing potential of whisky. They can also point a client to new and rare drams – both for sampling and investment purposes – helping to facilitate transactions and connect them to distilleries and merchants. Often, a well-connected broker can obtain rare spirits from distilleries that are now closed, offering an unrepeatable experience for the connoisseur.
Many of our top advisers also arrange immersive experiences for clients, from warehouse visits to behind-the-scenes access at Scottish distilleries. While these trips are a great opportunity for clients to taste world-class whisky, advisers also design them for educational purposes. For whisky experts, making sure their clients understand how a cask develops, what gives it value and how to make informed decisions across years of ownership is a central part of their job. They also often handle the full logistics, from acquisition and storage to insurance and resale.
Trust remains crucial. Several advisers the Spear’s Research Unit spoke to raised concerns about the rise of scammers and unregulated schemes in recent years. Many of the experts featured here, including Blair Bowman and Mark Littler, are not just advisers, but also prominent voices in the protection of the industry’s integrity and the education of clients.
In 2025, many advisers have reported an increasing demand from Asia, especially Singapore and Hong Kong, as well as the Middle East, which are growing markets presenting opportunities for the future of the industry.
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- Methodology
- The best whisky advisers: some names to know
- The best whisky advisers: the complete list
- Contact us
Methodology
Each year, the Spear’s Research Unit reassesses and refreshes its rankings of the leading providers in each sector by gathering data from and about the advisers and firms themselves, assessing submission forms, collating nominations, carrying out peer reviews, reviewing data from third-party sources, gathering references and recommendations, canvassing experts and conducting hundreds of interviews.
Advisers are evaluated using a proprietary scoring system that assigns different weightings to certain attributes. These scores feed directly into each new set of rankings in the Spear’s Indices. Each of these indices are published first online (according to the research calendar) and then in print. Print publication takes the form of the annual Spear’s 500 directory, which includes the top advisers in every index.
[See also: A guide to The Spear’s 500: Everything you need to know]
Each featured adviser is profiled on spears500.com. The site allows users to search the Spear’s database of more than 4,000 entities to find one (or more) to meet their specific requirements by filtering for specific attributes such as an adviser’s location, their specialist expertise and information about their client base.
The best whisky advisers: some names to know
Blair Bowman
- Focus: Introducing whisky to the world
- Ranking: Top Recommended
- Firm: Blair Bowman
Blair Bowman is one of the best-connected, best-informed and most widely awarded whisky advisers working today.
Whisky Magazine’s Communicator of the Year 2021 and a regular columnist for Scottish Field magazine, Bowman uses his global network of distilleries and dealers to find exactly the right spirit for his rapidly growing list of clients, which has included royalty, family estates, companies and Academy Award winners.
Read Blair Bowman’s full profile on Spears500.com
Simon Aron
- Focus: Cask sales
- Ranking: Top Recommended
- Firm: Cask Trade
With an extensive background in technology, commercial property and agriculture, angel investor and serial entrepreneur Simon Aron decided to turn his obsessive hobby into his life’s focus.
He has been collecting whisky for over three decades and in 2018 launched Cask Trade with the goal of creating a marketplace that would make it easier for people to buy and sell exceptional casks of whisky. Aron and his team take care of every cask through each stage of its life cycle, ‘from the date whisky is distilled, to the day it has been aged to perfection’.
Read Simon Aron’s full profile on Spears500.com
Alexandra Richards
- Focus: Whisky insurance
- Ranking: Top Recommended
- Firm: Howden
Alexandra Richards of Howden is one of the go-to advisers for whisky and collectables insurance for HNWs and UHNWs in the UK. With over 20 years’ experience as a private client and fine art insurance broker across London and Edinburgh, Richards specialises in reviewing, analysing, broking and creating insurance solutions for individuals as well as private and commercial clients – including galleries and public sector collections.
‘My clients’ insurance needs can often be complex, but I endeavour to deliver a customised, clear and competitive solution,’ she tells Spear’s.
Read Alexandra Richards’ full profile on Spears500.com
Mark Littler
- Focus: Whisky consultancy and brokerage
- Ranking: Top Recommended
- Firm: Mark Littler
Mark Littler is an independent whisky consultant and broker who prides himself on his independence and transparency.
‘We do the full picture’, he tells Spear’s, explaining that he works with clients on everything from acquisitions and logistics to building relationships with Scottish distilleries and producers – offering collectors and connoisseurs ‘what money can’t buy’.
Read Mark Littler’s full profile on Spears500.com
The best whisky advisers: the complete list
Contact us
- To apply for inclusion in The Spear’s 500, complete our submission form.
- For further information about rankings, please email research@spearswms.com; we aim to respond to all queries within two working days.
- For commercial enquiries and questions relating to enhanced profiles, please contact Commercial Director Shady Elkholy: shady.elkholy@spearswms.com
- To keep up to date with the Spear’s 500, subscribe to our magazine, newsletter and follow Spear’s on Linkedin and Instagram.
- If you have missed calendar deadlines for our research cycles in 2025, you can still register your interest for updates about upcoming research and rankings.
- Click here to order a print copy of The Spear’s 500.
