CASK JARGON
Angel’s Share
An amount of whisky that is lost from the cask due to evaporation when the liquid is being aged. Up to 1 percent of the volume of the cask can be lost each year through evaporation. As the alcohol evaporates, the ABV of the whisky also reduces.
Barrel / Hogshead / Butt
The size of a whisky cask will vary from Barrel (max 200L), Hogshead (max 250L) and Butt (max 500L).
Cask Strength
The ABV of whisky when it is bottled directly from the cask with no added water, known as 'cask strength' - some argue this is the purest whisky, with the best indication of cask influence, without interference from additives such as colouring or water to reduce ABV.
Delivery Order
The essential piece of paperwork you need when buying a cask. The Delivery Order is issued by the warehouse that holds the cask for you, confirming that the cask exists and it is recorded, by the warehouse, in your ownership title.
Regauge
The process of re-measuring the volume and ABV of the cask, which in turn can calculate the Regauged Litres of Alcohol (RLA). This is required regularly given the ongoing evaporation (Angel's Share) which is continuously changing the volume and ABV and hence the valuation of a cask of whisky.
WOWGR
The "Warehousekeepers and Owners of Warehoused Goods Regulations" is a register held by HMRC to track individuals / entities that are classed as Revenue Traders to ensure they are complying with legislation. Private individuals do not require a WOWGR to purchase casks of whisky. A Revenue Trader, per HMRC's definition, is
"any person carrying on a trade or business subject to any of the revenue trade provisions of the customs and excise Acts"
3rd Party Duty Representative
If you reside out with the UK, you will require a 3rd Party Duty Representative to act on your behalf in the UK. The 3rd Party Duty Rep. is required to make sure the correct duty is paid on the cask to HMRC when any whisky is bottled. Still Spirit has this license and will act as your duty representative as required.
COMMON MYTHS WHEN BUYING CASKS | STILL SPIRIT SERVICE |
| “Sorry you can’t visit your cask”, “No samples available” | With Still Spirit you can visit your cask anytime, and request a sample to be sent on demand prior to purchase. |
| “We will guarantee 500%+ returns” | Still Spirit we will not guarantee financial returns on a cask purchase, but due to continuous increasing demand there is a potential opportunity to see valuation gains on your purchase. The commonly quoted Knight Frank Luxury Investment Index (which shows 540% returns in the Rare Whisky asset class) should be viewed with caution - this was a 10 year return figure (to Q2-2019) showing returns of only the highest performing bottles of whisky and so not a true market indicator for purchasing casks of whisky. |
| “Here is your ‘ownership certificate’ which we have made up and printed for you” | A big NO - with Still Spirit all casks are held in our own centralised warehouse, and we will directly issue a Delivery Order, straight from our warehouse to you as the owner, so there is no ambiguity over cask ownership. It is vitally important when buying a cask that you receive the official paperwork (Delivery Order) from the warehouse in which the cask is held. Many brokers will not be able to produce this, so when you come to bottle, or sell, a cask originally purchase via a broker - the warehouse may surprise you with news that the cask is actually owned by someone else! |
| “Sorry you can’t re-sell your cask, it must be bottled using our rates” (we have you literally over a barrel) | With Still Spirit we have a range of exit opportunities, from bottling, to part bottling, to auction sale on our auction business Whisky Hammer, to private sale to our existing network, etc. Our Group of established businesses are experts in this field. Whisky Hammer has sold over 100 casks for existing clients, with individual casks selling from £1,000 all the way up to £900,000 – see our historic cask sales here. In 2022, Whisky Hammer broke the record for the highest value cask ever sold at auction. |
| “Sorry we can’t confirm the quality of the cask, other than telling you it is absolutely brilliant… trust me!” | With Still Spirit all of our casks are quality checked via our Still Spirit Assurance Checklist. 1 – we own and control the cask in our group 2 – we draw samples and regauge regularly to ensure selling information is accurate 3 – samples are checked against our independent whisky expert quality rating system 4 – we inspect the wood and confirm we are satisfied with whisky aging 5 – we ensure ongoing monitoring for irregularities, leaks etc. |