E241: How Spirits Became a $1 Trillion Alternative Asset Class

Nov 13, 2025

Giuseppe Infusino, Chief Investment Officer and Managing Partner at InvestBev Group, shares insights on transforming aged whiskey barrels into profitable, institutional asset classes. He discusses the unique economics of whiskey aging and how barrel pricing generates asymmetric returns. Giuseppe reveals the near-zero correlation of whiskey with traditional markets, highlighting its appeal during economic shifts. He also emphasizes the challenges consultants face in finding innovative managers and how InvestBev is redefining investment strategies in this niche sector.

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INSIGHT

Specialized Sourcing Beats Following The Herd

RVK differentiated by sourcing niche, expert strategies rather than defaulting to big brand names.
Specialized sourcing produced better deals, more value-add, and superior exits.

INSIGHT

Incentives Favor Safe, Familiar Managers

Incentives push consultants and allocators toward large, familiar managers to avoid career risk.
Meeting benchmarks beats taking responsibility for novel ideas, which suppresses innovation in allocations.

ADVICE

Vet Consultants For Openness To Emerging Managers

Evaluate a consultant's past recommendations to spot those willing to back emerging managers.
Look for consultants who actively create custom terms or co-invest opportunities for LPs.

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How do you turn whiskey barrels into an institutional asset class? In this episode, I sit down with Giuseppe Infusino, Chief Investment Officer and Managing Partner at InvestBev Group, to explore how a real asset like aged whiskey is quietly becoming one of the most uncorrelated and profitable investments in alternative markets. From his early years at RVK advising multi-billion-dollar allocators to managing institutional portfolios in a niche category few understand, Giuseppe shares how InvestBev has built an entirely new asset class from the ground up. We discuss the economics of whiskey aging, how barrel pricing creates asymmetric returns, and why alcohol performs differently across economic cycles. This conversation breaks down incentives, alpha generation, and how to educate LPs on emerging strategies long before they go mainstream.

Highlights:

The incentives that keep consultants from finding the “best and brightest” managers—and how RVK broke the mold
Why 90% of RVK’s fund allocations were self-sourced, and how that approach drives better returns
The conversation that led Giuseppe to co-found InvestBev—and how whiskey became a new institutional asset class
The real asset characteristics of whiskey barrels—and why they appreciate over time like fine art
How InvestBev’s analysis with Kellogg proved near-zero correlation between whiskey and traditional markets
Why barrel investments deliver equity-like returns with half the volatility of equities
How to educate LPs when creating a new asset class—and what early adopters get right
Why InvestBev’s edge comes from deep beverage-industry relationships across Bacardi, Molson, and Coors
The scaling lessons from Fund I to Fund V—and how institutional credibility compounds over vintages
Why operational excellence, data, and early hiring decisions define fund longevity
The best LP advice he ever received: “No investor ever complains about getting their money back.”

Guest Bio:

Giuseppe Infusino is the Chief Investment Officer and Managing Partner at InvestBev, where he leads the firm’s investment strategy, sourcing, diligence, and structuring processes across consumer brands, beverage services, and hard assets.

Prior to InvestBev, he spent over a decade managing institutional investment portfolios for prominent allocators deploying multiple billions in private markets. He holds an MBA in Marketing & Entrepreneurship from the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, and a B.S. in Finance & Real Estate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Our Podcast now receives more than 300,000 downloads a month. Are you interested in sponsoring an episode? Please email David Weisburd at david@weisburdcapital.com.

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Stay Connected:

X / Twitter: David Weisburd: @dweisburd

LinkedIn: David Weisburd: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dweisburd/ Giuseppe Infusino: https://www.linkedin.com/in/giuseppe-infusino-331b198/

Links InvestBev: https://www.linkedin.com/company/investbev/

Questions or topics you want us to discuss on How I Invest? Email us at david@weisburdcapital.com.

(0:00) Introduction (1:30) Incentive structures in consulting and investment staff (3:20) Consultants and emerging managers (4:55) Sourcing and transitioning to bourbon investments (7:54) Market dynamics and correlation of bourbon investments (10:27) Asset allocation in bourbon investing (12:05) Educating LPs on bourbon investments (14:15) First mover challenges in new asset classes (16:21) Organizational influence on investment decisions (17:14) Economics of alcohol production (19:07) The three-tiered system in the alcohol industry (19:30) Lessons from starting and scaling a fund manager (21:11) Growth rates and transitioning to private credit (25:43) Operational investments and valuation models (28:27) Best LP advice and perspectives on capital return (31:01) Utilization of AI in investment strategies (33:14) Closing remarks