Fife man's world first in launch of new digital system to protect Scotch Whisky

A tech start-up co-founded by a Pitlessie graduate is set to be the first in the world to sell limited-edition Scotch whisky collections using digital Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) to verify the provenance and future history of each example.
By John A. MacInnes
Published 3rd Sep 2021, 05:00 BST
Ryan Aitken, Managing Director of CryptoDramz, with the first of the 20 sets in the first collection.Ryan Aitken, Managing Director of CryptoDramz, with the first of the 20 sets in the first collection.
Ryan Aitken, Managing Director of CryptoDramz, with the first of the 20 sets in the first collection.

An NFT representing the first of 20 custom-made whisky sets in Cryptodramz’s first collection will go on auction on Monday (September 6) at 6:00pm BST on the NFT online marketplace, OpenSea.

Each day another unique, irreplaceable digital token linked to another set will join it, with bids on each closing after five days.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The winning bidders will each receive their specially-commissioned vintage oak case - handmade from whisky barrels by Inverness specialist Darach, which themselves are unique because of the variations in the wood - containing a bottle of 25-year-old Talisker single malt, a Glencairn crystal whisky glass engraved with that NFT’s unique number, and a numbered Harris Tweed-covered hip flask and brown leather pouch, also bearing the NFT’s number.

Each sale will be recorded by OpenSea on the Ethereum blockchain, as will any future resales – providing future buyers with a complete verifiable record of the provenance of each example of the collection.

Aberdeen-based CryptoDramz, hopes that by pioneering the use of NFTs to verify the identity and ownership history of collectable limited-edition Scotch whisky sets, it can create a model the whole rare whisky industry can use to reduce the problem of counterfeit Scotch – by allowing investors to focus on only those verified by NFTs.

CryptoDramz was founded in March by Robert Gordon University graduates Ryan Aitken, Murdo McCandlish and Joseph McGraw along with American digital finance consultant and investor, Ryan Caudill.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Aitken, who’s from Pitlessie and attended Bell Baxter High School before moving to Aberdeen to study for a BSc in International Business Management at Robert Gordon University, was introduced to digital currencies and their possibilities by Caudill when Aitken studied for a semester at Oklahoma State University in 2018.

One of the 20 custom-made 25-year-old Talisker sets in Cryptodramz’s first NFT-linked collection.One of the 20 custom-made 25-year-old Talisker sets in Cryptodramz’s first NFT-linked collection.
One of the 20 custom-made 25-year-old Talisker sets in Cryptodramz’s first NFT-linked collection.

Their passion for them was later shared by McCandlish and McGraw and the idea for using NFTs to verify and track Scotch whisky collections came to Aitken in March this year.

They’re now rolling out the first collection auction as proof of concept, with Aitken working as Managing Director, McCandlish as Business Development Director, Caudill overseeing international expansion and McGraw in charge of communication design, including the design of each NFT.

CryptoDramz is targeting revenue of £400,000 in its first year from sales of each of the limited-edition collections it will create, plus the 10 per cent royalty it will get from future resales of them by owners.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

To find out more about the company, the whisky sets, or how to bid, visit CryptoDramz’s website at: www.cryptodramz.co.uk.

Thank you for reading this article on our free-to-read website. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

Please consider purchasing a subscription to our print newspaper to help fund our trusted, fact-checked journalism.

https://www.localsubsplus.co.uk/nord/dm/FFP/V

Related topics:Fife