Cask Guides

Helping you invest

WHAT IS A CASK, AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

A cask is defined by the Scotch Whisky Association (the governing body protecting Scotch) as ‘an oak barrel not exceeding 700 litres’. The largest typical cask in use is the butt – and in most cases, these have been used in the production of sherry. Those familiar, dark coloured whiskies are likely to have been matured in one of these casks. The cask is the main defining factor in the entire style of a whisky, with many experts agreeing that as much as 80% of a whisky’s characteristic flavour comes from the wood.

Why cask whisky

GLOBAL GROWTH

Scotch Whisky is exported to 180 markets worldwide, and 42 bottles are shipped every second. UK whisky sales are set to see a 6% increase to £2.44 billion by 2022. Export value of Scotch Whisky in 2019 was £4.91bn, +£208m compared with 2018. Some countries have increased their 40% import of scotch whisky by 150% over 18 months. Scotch whisky is truly a global phenomenon (source TSWIR).
MOST EXPENSIVE CASK EVER SOLD

In November 2019, a cask of Macallan 1989, ex-sherry Hogshead, sold at auction in Hong Kong for £441,000 and set the new world record. It broke the record set in 2018 by a cask of 1987 Macallan sold in the same Hong Kong auction for £375,000!
RETURN ON INVESTMENT

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