BUY A CASK OF OCTOMORE
At Mark Littler Ltd. we offer honest and impartial advice to help you buy quality casks of Octomore whisky at a fair price.
Buy with confidence from a broker with more than 500 five-star reviews from customers just like you.
Buy an Octomore whisky cask
Are you looking to buy a cask of Octomore whisky? We are specialist brokers with hundreds of five-star reviews and a proven track record of helping and educating people to ensure they make the right decision when they come to buy a cask of Octomore.
By choosing to purchase a cask through Mark Littler you gain access to the whole cask market rather than just our own inventory. That means when you come to sell your cask you will not be selling the same product as everyone else (as is the case when people buy from distillery investment schemes), meaning your cask will command a premium.
If you think that a cask or casks from Octomore distillery is the right choice for you then we can help you find you the cask that meets your needs. Alternatively, if you are open to suggestions then we can also discuss other potential matches for your cask investment needs.
Download Our Cask Buying Guide
How Mark Littler Can Help You
Let’s assume you have read our cask guide and watched all of our cask investment videos. If not, follow the links and put yourself in an informed position before you buy.
If you think that casks are a good investment for you then we can now help you find you the perfect cask for your needs.
Here is what we do in a nutshell:
Mr Smith comes to us to find three casks, one for each of his three grandchildren. We find him casks a selection of casks from Bruichladdich, Ben Nevis, Caol Ila, Bowmore, Ardbeg, Springbank, Highland Park and Arran to meet his budget and needs. His casks are then moved to our exclusive HMRC Bonded Warehouse.
Mr Smith visits his casks every 2-3 years on his way up to Scotland. He contacts us every Christmas to have 6 bottles drawn from each of his casks.
We have the bottles applied with bespoke labels and he enjoys how the whisky inside his casks is maturing and developing.
When his grandchildren reach 21 they decide to sell their casks. Mark Littler LTD. help them draw a final six bottles from the cask as a keepsake. The casks are then sold in bond and the three grandchildren each use the proceeds from the sales towards a house deposit. Best of all their profits are free from Capital Gains Tax.
How We Evolved As A Broker
We don’t only sell casks to people. In fact, our primary business is selling bottles and casks for people. We are established antiques brokers and have sold everything from medieval gold rings to classic cars.
So how did we get to a position where we were selling casks to the public? Learn more in this short video:
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’.
The History Of The Octomore Distillery
The Octomore distillery was founded in 1816 when George Montgomery constructed his own small distillery with John MacVorran on Octomore Farm and began running it with his father John. Unfortunately, the story of the distillery’s early history is a tragic one, involving sibling rivalry, death and hunger.
The small scale original distillery probably only had one still and a capacity of just 270 litres, just sufficient for the amount of barley which was able to be grown on the Octomore tenancies. Despite its slow beginnings, around 5 hogsheads were being produced by 1826-27. Yet success was shortlived as John Montgomery died in around 1830 and passed on the distillery to his son George. In 1833, he too died and his son Donald inherited. Unfortunately, the boy was only 12 and this led to family arguments about ownership.
It was George’s brother William who claimed the farm’s tenancy and the distillery itself, however since the business had been in George’s name, Donald should have inherited. This led to matters getting out of hand. There were many misunderstandings about running the business and in 1839 and again in 1840 arbitration was being sought.
It is apparent that there was no satisfactory resolution to the adjudication and stalemate ensued leading to the distillery being closed down in 1840. Donald married in 1841 and emigrated to Canada but back in Octomore the population continued to rise, exploding from 5000 people in 1800 up to 15600. This led to even more problems for the distillery.
The rapid population growth in the area meant that there was not enough suitable farming land to go around and when Sir Walter Campbell, the island’s landlord went bankrupt due to the potato famine in 1949 the island went into administration for 4 years.
Charles Morrison eventually purchased the island at a discounted price and interest in the derelict Octomore distillery resurfaced, but despite the fact that the ageing William Montgomery who owned the ruined distillery was starving and destitute, he still refused to give up his tenancy claiming he was owed compensation.
Bizarrely, however, in one final twist, when the Octomore lease was examined it appeared that the distillery’s construction had been built illegally in the first place and Morrison paid off Montgomery, taking over the distillery himself. Barley began to be grown in the old Montgomery fields again and today Octomore’s name is on some of the most heavily peated whisky in existence.
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