Cask Ownership
After a break of over 523 years, we began filling whisky casks in December 2017. In 2018 we started the year with 6,000 bulk litres to cask and this was all reserved within 1 month.
In 2019 we are delighted to now offer individuals or groups the chance to purchase a whisky cask from our second full year of production filled with Lindores spirit, so get in touch if you would like to find out more and reserve your 2019 cask.
Private Cask Owners will truly become a part of the history of Lindores Abbey, and the history of Scotch Whisky, as together we watch the spirit mature into Single Malt Whisky. Ultimately, owners of Private Casks will have their own unique bottling of Lindores Abbey Distillery Single Malt Whisky, which can be personalised with your name, company logo, family crest etc.
Selecting your Cask
To make this opportunity slightly different we are happy to work with you and find or select the whisky cask that you would like to put your spirit into. Understandably costs will change depending on the cask you have selected and how much spirit it has been filled with, but we feel it’s important that you have some connection and input into this very important part of the maturation process.
from Cask Custodian Elliot Wynn Higgins
A note on samples taken from casks in 2019
As a team we collectively sampled a dozen casks from our warehouse at the start of 2019, as many of our casks are fast approaching their first birthday.
After a detailed analysis, the casks that stood out for us were; our Old Forrester American Standard Bourbon (ASB) and our Red Wine Barrique STR’s (Shaved, Toasted and Re-Charred). Our Old Forrester Bourbon cask presented a fresh herbaceous note, with subtle hints of sweet honeycomb and vanilla, young spirit within, but presents a positive start.
Our STR on the other hand took a different route on the flavour wheel, offering a rich spice to begin with and fresh orange marmalade and a rich smell of caramel. It reminded many of us of almost a Rye styled whisky, and has given us an exciting glimpse of what the future may smell and taste like!
The Extra's
As well as your Cask you will also receive:
- An official certificate of ownership
- Your name etched onto a wooden plaque on the wall of our Visitor Centre
- The opportunity to come and fill your cask and enjoy lunch with Gary on VIP Access days during the year.
- Annual visit to your cask to see how it is coming along on VIP Access days
- Advanced notification of any future special bottlings
- An invitation to all exclusive events we host for cask owners and members of the ‘1494’ Preservation society including a Cask Owners Gathering before our annual historic ‘Bear Burning’ ceremony and ceilidh.
Why invest in a
Whisky Cask
Many whisky fans buy a cask as an investment – for instance the Knight Frank Wealth Report 2019 revealed that investment in Scotch whisky is now seeing greater returns than classic cars, wine, jewellery, diamonds and watches. With bottles of Scotch whisky achieving more than $1M at auction in 2018, the potential for return in entire casks has never been stronger. Over the last 10 years, rare whisky has witnessed a 580% increase in value and Andrew Shirley, a Knight Frank partner says that;
“Nothing can be compared with whisky in terms of its profitability, it has proved its status as an alternative investment to oil and gold”
While this may be true, we have found that many more people buy casks for consumption. Often a group of friends or family club together to buy a cask, because they may want something to bottle for gifting in the future, perhaps to celebrate a marriage or the birth of a new baby. Others buy whisky casks because they are fascinated by its evolution, and love to follow the progress of the spirit as it matures.
And that’s part of the attraction: whisky in the cask goes on evolving in a way that bottled whisky does not. What’s more, every single cask that we fill is unique: we can fill two identical casks with the same spirit and put them in our warehouse for the same period of time, and they’ll still turn out slightly different. This is what makes buying whisky by the cask so fascinating.
Costs involved
Casks start from £1,100 (not including taxes, VAT, bottling, and warehousing costs and there are two main options of cask purchase.
As an example, the costing for a 200-litre cask would be:
Option 1: £4000 for the cask with the associated later charges (at bottling, further payments of VAT would be £800 plus an HMRC payment of £2600). This would produce approximately 227 bottles of Cask Strength which would work out at a cost price of just £38.60 per bottle.
Option 2: £4000 one off payment with no further charges, we will bottle, pay duty and deliver 1/3 of the cask to you and retain the remaining 2/3 (At the agreed bottling strength).
After 10 years, as your cask nears its maturation period, we can discuss keeping your cask in our warehouse for an annual fee.
Corporate Cask Ownership
As an organisation or business you could take up the unique chance to purchase a whisky cask from our second full year of production and have it filled with Lindores spirit.
Perhaps your organisation has an event or anniversary coming up in the next few years and you want to remember it in a special way. You could mark that occasion with a bespoke bottle of whisky for your selected guests.
Alternatively, if you are looking to reward your customers, partners or colleagues and want to find a special way to acknowledge their efforts, what better gift than a bottled whisky from your organisation?
Ultimately, as Corporate owners of your own cask, you would have your own unique bottling of Lindores Abbey Distillery Single Malt Whisky, which can be personalised with your organisations name and company logo.
The bottles can be branded and labelled to your specifications, when the whisky is ready.
You could then choose to keep these bottles as Corporate gifts, investments incentives or you could choose to retail them yourselves.
The possibilities are endless.
Find out moreEnquire now
We could go on but believe the best placed people to discuss this fantastic opportunity with are our Cask Custodian Elliot, or even our Distillery Manager Gary Haggart, after all he is the person who will be making and then nurturing your spirit and cask for the next 10 years.
If you would like to register your interest in a cask, please complete the form below with your details and Elliot and Gary will be in touch very soon.
Private Cask Open Day - Sunday 16th June 2019
Have you ever thought about buying or owning a whisky cask, whether for passion, investment or a bit of both?
Experts agree that there has never been a better time to invest in whisky. With bottles fetching more than $1M at auctions, just imagine what an entire, bespoke cask could be worth in 10-20 years time.
So, come along to our first second Private Cask Open Day at anytime between 10am – 3pm (free entry) and find out all about how private cask ownership works and the costs involved.
There will be talks from our Cask Custodian about the benefits and investment potential of owning a cask, and from our Distillery Manager about how the process works, when you can expect to sample your own whisky and how bottling and VAT/taxes work.
There will also be an opportunity to try some samples from our resting whisky, see the variety of casks that we have available for you to choose from and free tours of the distillery and warehouse so that you can learn more about us.
You can take the chance to speak to Elliot, our Cask Custodian and Gary, the Distillery Manager and to ask any questions you may have and we will even have a paid BBQ on in the Courtyard, so you can make a day of it!
