A bottle of Macallan 1926 with a handpainted label by the artist Michael Dillon sold for £1.2 million at auction

Forget penthouses, fine art and vintage cars — rare whisky is the place to put your money for the best return.

The top Scottish whiskies have risen in value by 40 per cent in the past year and have netted investors who managed not to sup a dram or two a return of almost 600 per cent over ten years.

The price of Scotch is being pushed up by rising demand, especially from Asia and India. Its popularity is heightened by its relative affordability, with good limited-edition single malts available for £150 a bottle — substantially less than the £100 million recently spent on a London penthouse by the hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin.

Andy Simpson, founder of Rare Whisky 101, a whisky investment specialist,