BUY A CASK OF ST MAGDALENE
At Mark Littler Ltd. we offer honest and impartial advice to help you buy quality casks of St Magdalene whisky at a fair price.
Buy with confidence from a broker with more than 500 five-star reviews from customers just like you.
Buy a St Magdalene whisky cask
Are you looking to buy a cask of St Magdalene 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 St Magdalene.
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 St Magdalene 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 St Magdalene Distillery
St Magdalene distillery produced single malt whisky between 1798 and 1983. Originally, there were 5 distilleries in the Royal Burgh of Linlithgow, and while the St Magdalene Distillery was the longest-lasting, in the end, even this distillery too has closed its doors.
Constructed in the mid-1700s by Sebastian Henderson, the purpose of St Magdalene distillery was to oppose the Bulzion distillery’s construction which had appeared on the scene a few years before. The land where the distillery was built was the St Magdalene’s Cross convent lands and had been rented by Henderson from the Countess of Dalhousie.
Provost and distiller Adam Dawson, who was already operating the Bonnytoun Distillery adjacent to the site bought the St Magdalene distillery in 1798 and moved over his operation. His business grew rapidly, and the distillery absorbed the original site at Bonnytoun, spanning 10 acres altogether. In 1834 it moved to the St Magdalene site so it would be closer to the Union Canal. Before the existence of the distillery, the site on which it was built was variously a hospital, convent and a leper colony, and its name came from the name of the lazar house which stood on the site at one time in its past.
Dawson’s family owned the distillery until the early part of the 20th century, and by 1856 the St Magdalene site was able to produce 4000 gallons of whisky every week, employing 30 people. However, in 1912 after the market declined amid intense competition in the industry, the company went into liquidation following the untimely death of John Kellie Dawon who was only 43 and passed away from meningitis. This led to the business being bought by DCL and then licensed out to William Greer & Co.
In 1914 the St Magdalene distillery became one of the five original distilleries that comprised the Scottish Malt Distillers and its buildings went through a renovation in 1927. Through the 20th century, DCL continued operating the distillery until 1983 when St Magdalene permanently closed its doors along with another 8 of its operations. During the early 1990s, the distillery was then renovated into flats however its kiln and malting barn remain registered as listed C Grade buildings and therefore are still standing.