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Capital at risk. Whisky casks are not regulated investments. The value of investments can go down as well as up. Past performance is not a guide to future performance.

Whisky casks

A cask of single malt, laid down in Scotland

We source casks from working Highland and Speyside distilleries, record each one in your name at an HMRC-bonded warehouse in Scotland, and look after it until you decide to sell or bottle it.

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Casks, from

£4,500

In your name

100%

Storage, year one

£0

What you own

What is in your name

One oak cask of new-make Scotch spirit, maturing in an HMRC-bonded warehouse in Scotland and recorded in your name on the warehouse’s own delivery order.

The warehouse is independent of us, and the cask does not appear on our balance sheet.

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  1. The oak

    Usually a refill bourbon hogshead or a sherry butt, holding 200 to 500 litres. The spirit draws its colour and much of its character from the oak.

  2. The spirit

    New-make spirit, filled at a working distillery at around 63.5%. After three years in oak it can be called Scotch whisky.

  3. The number

    Stencilled on the cask end and printed on the delivery order in your name. The warehouse confirms ownership in writing on request.

  4. The bond

    An HMRC-bonded warehouse, where no duty is due while the cask stays. About two per cent of the spirit evaporates each year, the angels’ share.

Tax treatment

The wasting-asset rule, stated plainly

A glass of whisky beside an open book

Capital Gains Tax. HMRC generally treats a maturing cask as a wasting asset, the same rule that applies to a vintage car, so a gain when you sell usually falls outside Capital Gains Tax.

Duty. While the cask sits in bond, no duty is due. It becomes payable only if the whisky leaves the warehouse, at bottling, and by whoever bottles it.

Income tax. Bottling a cask and selling the bottles as stock is generally trading, and income tax may apply. Selling the cask in bond keeps matters simpler.

Tax, explained

Tax rules can change and how they apply depends on your personal circumstances. We are happy to walk through this with you.

Where your cask is filled, and where it rests

Casks are filled at working Highland and Speyside distilleries and mature in HMRC-bonded warehouses in Scotland, the same warehouses the distilleries use themselves.

Copper pot stills in a distillery still house

Working distilleries

Highland and Speyside · filling

  • Filled at around 63.5% strength
  • Refill bourbon hogsheads and sherry butts, 200 to 500 litres
  • A unique number stencilled on each cask end
Casks racked in a dark bonded warehouse, reflected in the wet floor

HMRC-bonded warehouse

Scotland · maturation

  • The same warehouses the distilleries use
  • Your name on the warehouse’s own delivery order
  • Independent of us, and open to you by appointment

Buying a cask

Three stages, each handled by a member of the team.

  1. Stage oneWithin one working day

    A shortlist

    A short questionnaire of around ten minutes on your budget, your horizon and what you hope to achieve. A written shortlist follows: distillery, age, cask type, fill date and price. Each cask is held for fourteen days while you decide.

  2. Stage twoBefore you commit

    Your cask

    Price and fees are quoted in full before you commit. We make the same checks as opening a savings account: identity, address and source of funds. Payment is by bank transfer.

  3. Stage threeFor as long as you hold

    Custody

    The cask is recorded in your name at the bonded warehouse. A statement comes twice a year, and you can visit by appointment and draw a sample.

Three ways to sell

When you decide to sell, we set out each route with you and handle the paperwork for whichever you choose. The choice is yours.

An aisle of casks in a bonded warehouse

Route one

A buyback offer

Funds usually within fourteen days

An offer from us, based on the current market for casks of that distillery and age. The simplest of the three.

A hand resting on an oak cask

Route two

A private buyer or bottler

Typically four to eight weeks

An introduction to vetted buyers and independent bottlers. We agree the price with them and handle the legal paperwork.

A tumbler of whisky on marble

Route three

Your own bottling

Roughly 250 to 700 bottles

An independent bottler bottles the cask at a licensed plant, under your label and at your chosen strength. Duty becomes payable at bottling.

Capital at risk. What a cask sells for depends on the market at the time. Values can fall as well as rise, and some casks take longer to sell than expected. Insurance covers fire, theft and damage, not market loss.

The terms

Set out in full before you commit, and the same on every page.

Minimum holding

£4,500

From £4,500 for a full cask in your name.

Held in your name

100%

One cask, one owner, on the bonded warehouse’s own delivery order. Nothing sits on our balance sheet.

Storage and insurance, first year

£0

Included for the first twelve months. From the second year a flat annual fee, typically £40 to £80 per cask, quoted in advance.

What we handle

Everything around the cask, and a record of it

We look after the cask for as long as you hold it. Your account keeps the record, cask by cask.

  • Sourcing from working distilleries
  • Bonded warehousing in Scotland
  • Insurance
  • Sampling and topping up
  • Statements twice a year
  • Sale, when you choose

Your casks

Example record

Refill hogshead, Speyside

Cask no. 1107

Distillery
A working Speyside distillery
Filled
March 2019
Contents
217 litres at 60.4%, at the last regauge
Held at
An HMRC-bonded warehouse, Scotland
Owner
You, on the warehouse’s delivery order
Paid
£4,250

Statements come twice a year with the volume and strength from the last regauge.

Questions cask buyers ask

How is ownership recorded?

The bonded warehouse issues a delivery order in your name, carrying the cask’s stencilled number. The warehouse is independent of us and holds the cask on that basis; it will confirm your ownership in writing on request. The cask does not appear on our balance sheet.

Is whisky cask ownership regulated?

Whisky cask ownership sits outside the Financial Conduct Authority’s remit, because what you buy is a physical asset rather than a financial product. We are not authorised to give investment advice; for that, speak to an independent financial adviser.

Can I visit the cask?

Yes, by appointment. We arrange the time, walk you to the cask with your name on its paperwork and let you draw a sample.

What happens to the volume over time?

About two per cent of the spirit evaporates each year, the angels’ share, and its strength eases by roughly half a per cent a year. Your statement shows the volume and strength from the last regauge.

Can I bottle my own cask?

Yes. An independent bottler bottles it at a licensed plant, under your label and at your chosen strength: roughly 250 to 700 bottles, in your name. Duty becomes payable at bottling.

What does it cost after the first year?

A flat annual fee for storage and insurance, typically £40 to £80 per cask, quoted in writing before you commit.

What if the distillery closes?

The cask remains yours. The warehouse is independent of the distillery, so the cask stays where it is, in your name, whatever happens at the distillery that filled it.

What happens if Oak & Mason ceases trading?

Your cask is held at the bonded warehouse in your name, on the warehouse’s own paperwork, and is not an asset of ours. The warehouse would deal directly with you, or with an appointed administrator, to release what is yours.

Free guide

A short guide to whisky casks

What you own, where it is held, how the tax works, what it costs and how selling works. We send it by email.

  • What you own, and the paperwork that proves it
  • How the tax works, stated plainly
  • Storage, insurance and the fees, year by year
  • How selling works, and how long it takes

We email you the guide and may call to answer any questions. We do not share your details. Privacy notice.

Or arrange a call

Speak to us

A fifteen-minute call with a member of the team, without obligation. We answer your questions; the decision remains yours.

Arrange a call Or request a recommendation