An online whisky shop just invented a brand new kind of investment
Gift vouchers are pretty much the most unimaginative gift anyone can give or be given. When you give one as a gift, you're basically saying that you either don't know someone well enough to think of a proper gift, or you simply can't be bothered to think what to buy them.
But now online drinks shop Master of Malt has come up with a way of making the world's dullest present a little bit more exciting, and giving people a little bit of a return at the same time.
The company, which sells whisky and other spirits, has created something that effectively amounts to a whisky bond. The idea is like this. You buy a gift voucher of any value between £10 ($15) and £500 ($761) and as long as you don't spend it, it will accrue compound interest of 5% a year. Any additional value can then be cashed in at a later date.
In a statement, it said "We hope other retailers follow suit and put an end to the nonsense that is 'traditional' gift vouchers. In the meantime, we invite you to try ours - we think you'll like them."
They've even been kind enough to extend the scheme backwards to all gift vouchers bought since June this year, and have created a calculator so holders of the 'whisky bonds' can see how much interest they've accrued.
The idea is clearly meant as a bit of gimmick, but if you're looking for a slightly quirky gift to give someone you're not particularly close to, the whisky bond might be worth a look.