BOTTLING A CASK OF WHISKY
Can you bottle your cask of whisky? Of course. Is it the way to make the most of your investment in cask whisky? Not in our experience
Watch Our Cask Investment Video Guides
The hidden costs of bottling a whisky cask
Video guide 7 of 10
Most of our customers choose to sell their casks of whisky in bond. This is because it is the most cost-effective way of selling your cask whether you are buying a whisky cask as an investment or because you love whisky.
Yes, you can bottle your cask of whisky, but you should be fully aware of the costs and legal requirements before you decide to go down that route.
What is the cost of bottling a whisky cask?
- You must pay VAT on the purchase price of the cask (at 20%)
- You must pay duty on the cask (£28.74 + VAT per litre of alcohol in the cask)
- The cost of moving the cask to a bottling plant (£250 – £500)
- The cost of dry goods: bottles, labels, seals etc (£5 – £20 per bottle depending on the standard and style
- Shipping of bottles after they have been filled (around £200)
As an example, a cask with 200 bulk litres at 50% ABV would have 100 litres alcohol, say the cask cost £10,000. If you chose to bottle your cask your costs would be:
Purchase price: £10,000
VAT on the purchase price: £2,000
Duty on the litres of alcohol + VAT: £3,448.80
Shipping & uplift + VAT: £700
285 bottles, labels, filling etc + VAT: £3,428
Total: £19,576.80
Or £69 per bottle to simply break even
In addition to the above costs, because alcohol is a controlled substance and the sale of it is strictly regulated, in order to sell your bottles you will need to acquire:
- A personal licence
- A premise licence
- Membership of the Alcohol Wholesale Registration Scheme
Finally, as you have no brand to market or sell it under, there is a good chance that no one will want to buy your bottles of whisky. Why would they trust their £70 or more to you when they can go and buy a bottle for the same amount from a brand they know and have tried before?
If you have a cask that you are looking to sell, or if you are looking at buying an older cask elsewhere (we don’t sell mature casks, read why here) have a look at our free online cask calculator.
The Cask Calculator
Our cask calculator is an interactive tool that will let you see the expected bottling costs for your individual cask. It is another tool we have created to help make sure you are making the right decisions for you, by ensuring you can buy a good cask at a fair price, with all the information made clear.
Send me my free cask buying guide
What if you want to enjoy some of your own whisky?
If you’ve bought a cask of whisky because you love whisky and wanted to enjoy the full cycle of owning a cask then don’t worry; there is still the option to draw bottles for personal use before you sell your cask.
You simply pay for the bottles, labels (which we can help you design) and bottling costs, and then pay the duty on each bottle. You then have a case – or however many you would like – to enjoy at your leisure.
Once your bottles have been drawn you then have your cask regauged to calculate the new bulk litres and put your cask up for offers. This solution is often fine for most whisky drinkers, as even the biggest connoisseur may find it hard to drink the +100’s of bottles drawn from a full cask.
If you would like to learn more about buying a cask of whisky, you can sign up to our free Cask Buying Guide. We have written a comprehensive, 50-page guide that covers everything you need to know to make an informed decision about buying and investing in whisky casks.
Advice You Can Trust
Since 2016 our aim has been simple – to provide a trustworthy source of information to help people make sound decisions when they are selling their items. To date we have sold millions of pounds worth of antiques and whisky (both casks and bottles) for our clients.
We’re now applying this same logic to help people invest in casks of whisky. Rather than providing sales pitches disguised as educational material, it’s our mission to become the ultimate source of open and honest cask investment guidance.
The information you will find in OUR GUIDE, CASK VIDEOS, BLOG and CALCULATOR is all designed to help you make a balanced decision. We would rather you knew all the facts and didn’t buy a cask than buy one based on ‘fake news’.
Learn More
Can you bottle your cask of whisky? Of course. Is it the way to make the most of your investment in cask whisky? Not in our experience
Watch More
The hidden costs of bottling a whisky cask
Video guide 8 of 10
Most of our customers choose to sell their casks of whisky in bond. This is because it is the most cost-effective way of selling your cask whether you are buying a whisky cask as an investment or because you love whisky.
Yes, you can bottle your cask of whisky, but you should be fully aware of the costs and legal requirements before you decide to go down that route.
What is the cost of bottling a whisky cask?
- You must pay VAT on the purchase price of the cask (at 20%)
- You must pay duty on the cask (£28.74 + VAT per litre of alcohol in the cask)
- The cost of moving the cask to a bottling plant (£250 – £500)
- The cost of dry goods: bottles, labels, seals etc (£5 – £20 per bottle depending on the standard and style
- Shipping of bottles after they have been filled (around £200)
As an example, a cask with 200 bulk litres at 50% ABV would have 100 litres alcohol, say the cask cost £10,000. If you chose to bottle your cask your costs would be:
Purchase price: £10,000
VAT on the purchase price: £2,000
Duty on the litres of alcohol + VAT: £3,448.80
Shipping & uplift + VAT: £700
285 bottles, labels, filling etc + VAT: £3,428
Total: £19,576.80
Or £69 per bottle to simply break even
In addition to the above costs, because alcohol is a controlled substance and the sale of it is strictly regulated, in order to sell your bottles you will need to acquire:
- A personal licence
- A premise licence
- Membership of the Alcohol Wholesale Registration Scheme
Finally, as you have no brand to market or sell it under, there is a good chance that no one will want to buy your bottles of whisky. Why would they trust their £70 or more to you when they can go and buy a bottle for the same amount from a brand they know and have tried before?
If you have a cask that you are looking to sell, or if you are looking at buying an older cask elsewhere (we don’t sell mature casks, read why here) have a look at our free online cask calculator.
The Cask Calculator
Our cask calculator is an interactive tool that will let you see the expected bottling costs for your individual cask. It is another tool we have created to help make sure you are making the right decisions for you, by ensuring you can buy a good cask at a fair price, with all the information made clear.
Send me my free cask buying guide
What if you want to enjoy some of your own whisky?
If you’ve bought a cask of whisky because you love whisky and wanted to enjoy the full cycle of owning a cask then don’t worry; there is still the option to draw bottles for personal use before you sell your cask.
You simply pay for the bottles, labels (which we can help you design) and bottling costs, and then pay the duty on each bottle. You then have a case – or however many you would like – to enjoy at your leisure.
Once your bottles have been drawn you then have your cask regauged to calculate the new bulk litres and put your cask up for offers. This solution is often fine for most whisky drinkers, as even the biggest connoisseur may find it hard to drink the +100’s of bottles drawn from a full cask.
If you would like to learn more about buying a cask of whisky, you can sign up to our free Cask Buying Guide. We have written a comprehensive, 50-page guide that covers everything you need to know to make an informed decision about buying and investing in whisky casks.
Advice You Can Trust
Since 2016 our aim has been simple – to provide a trustworthy source of information to help people make sound decisions when they are selling their items. To date we have sold millions of pounds worth of antiques and whisky (both casks and bottles) for our clients.
We’re now applying this same logic to help people invest in casks of whisky. Rather than providing sales pitches disguised as educational material, it’s our mission to become the ultimate source of open and honest cask investment guidance.
The information you will find in OUR GUIDE, CASK VIDEOS, BLOG and CALCULATOR is all designed to help you make a balanced decision. We would rather you knew all the facts and didn’t buy a cask than buy one based on ‘fake news’.
Learn More