Venture into the world of casks with the help of our experts.
There is something particularly exhilarating about owning your own cask of whisky – you immediately become the gatekeeper of a living and breathing ‘thing’, that quietly whiles away the time, and with each passing day grows in complexity and intrigue.
Perhaps you will enjoy the fruits of your cask’s labors at some point, or perhaps you will pass it onto other family members to assume gatekeeping duties. Either way, those who are there to coax these casks to life are richly rewarded.
Greater Flexibility
Increased Value
Lower Entry Point
Total flexibility, you decide how long to mature your cask. The choice is yours.
The beauty of casks is that the longer you leave your cask to mature, the more it increases in value. In comparison to a bottle, casks have potentially higher value upside.
Buying a cask has a much lower entry point versus the bottle equivalent. In the long run buying a whisky cask over bottles is more cost effective and therefore a smarter investment.
In addition to the joys of guardianship, in recent years the whisky market has experienced unprecedented demand and showed extremely attractive investment performance – c.20% per annum over the last decade.
From an investment perspective, buying whisky in cask potentially allows for the highest returns – liquid ages whereas it doesn’t in bottle, one has the choice to sell in cask or in bottle which maximises potential sale routes, while the specialist nature of buying/selling in cask means that entry pricing is more attractive.
The team at Bordeaux Index reviews many cask opportunities, looking at the storage/insurance costs as well as the potential eventual sale values and routes, in order to find particularly compelling examples. Usually these have a strong possibility of significant value gains even without whisky prices in the market increasing.
With years of experience, Bordeaux Index is uniquely placed to offer one of the most extensive selections of casks in the market, ranging from Whisky through to Cognac. We review many cask opportunities from some of the world's leading distilleries, providing opportunities to secure some of the finest liquids on the planet. Not only that, we also look at the storage and insurance costs as well as the potential eventual sale values and routes. All of which ensures we find only the particularly compelling opportunities.
Barrel
Hogshead
Puncheon
Butt
190-200 litres
Also known as an 'American Standard Barrel', ASB, the barrel is the primary cask type used in the American whiskey industry. Laws dictate that the barrels can only be used once, and so they are often given a new lease of life in Scotland.
225-250 litres
The hogshead is the most commonly used cask type. The name 'hogshead' is most likely derived from 'oxhead' and the casks are made from the staves of other casks.
450-500 litres
The puncheon is an old English unit of measurement. Puncheons are widely used for maturing Sherry similar to a butt, but they are wider and more compact in shape. The most common puncheon in whisky production is the Sherry puncheon.
475-500 litres
The term 'butt' is derived from the Italian word 'botte', which means cask. Like puncheon's, butts are commonly used to mature sherry but they are a slightly different shape to puncheons, they are longer and thinner. Whisky is often matured in used sherry casks to give the whisky additional fruity aromas.
If you are looking to sell a cask then please do get in touch and we would be delighted to discuss the opportunity further with you.
Get in touchBuy a whisky cask with us in these 3 simple steps:
Why are you buying a cask? Decide if you are looking to buy a cask for investment or for bottling
Cask Selection - Speak to our cask team and choose from a cask shortlist
Guardianship Commences - Purchase and transfer of your cask
Please contact our Cask Team today for more information
