The start of 2023 has seen cask investment under the spotlight as BBC Radio 4 and now The Telegraph have covered the liquid alternative asset. The February 2023 Telegraph article is titled “Avoid being caught over a barrel, whisky investors told” follows on from the BBC Radio 4 Food Programme’s “The Wild West of Whisky: […]
A delivery order is the industry standard way of transferring ownership of a cask between two people. It is a document signed by the seller and the buyer and acknowledged by the warehouse where the cask is stored. The legal requirement for a delivery order was revoked in 2006, however it still remains the industry […]
In January 2023 we were thrilled to be part of the BBC Radio 4 Food Programme’s The Wild West of Whisky: From Cask Investment to Dram Scams. This is a really important listen for anyone interested in cask investment, or just whisky investment in general and it was our pleasure to be involved.
Recently a cask of Ardbeg was reported to have sold for £16,000,000 – this is not the case though, and in the video Mark explains why. We are generally conditioned to believe what the media reports is true. In this case the media were not technically wrong but without a full understanding of the costs […]
[Updated Jan 2025] There is no perfect time to sell a cask of whisky as no two casks are the same. When deciding when to sell your cask you should start by answering these questions: What is the health of your cask? How long have you had the cask? How old is your cask? Question one is […]
In June 2022 the FBI closed down a whisky cask investment scam by arresting a British National. We talk a lot about due diligence when it comes to buying casks, so in this video Mark runs through the lessons to be learnt from this particular scam.
If you are thinking of buying a whisky cask, you may be wondering whether to go for an ex sherry cask. This video and blog will help you decide whether a sherry cask is for you. The first thing to understand is what a sherry cask actually is in today’s whisky market. You may want […]
We all know and love sherried whisky, but what exactly is a sherry cask? In this video we take a deep dive into the history of sherry casks and their use in the whisky industry.A big thank you again to Speyside Cooperage for hosting me. Do check it out if you ever find yourself up […]
Springbank is one of the most valuable Scotch whiskies, producing a small amount of highly sought after single malt. If you were lucky enough to buy a cask from the distillery in the 1990s or early 2000s your cask may be worth over £200,000. But how exactly did people get their hands on a whole […]
[updated November 2024] If you are a whisky lover chances are that at some point you have considered the benefits of owning your very own cask of whisky. As well as buying a cask through a broker like Mark Littler, in 2024 it is still possible to buy casks direct from some distilleries. In this […]
If you are looking to buy a cask of whisky in 2022 there are 6 things to think about before you buy. Casks of whisky continue to show appeal as long term investments but with more and more options coming to the market you need to be sure you are keeping abreast of the potential […]
A duty representative is someone authorised by HMRC to act as an agent for non-UK based businesses involved in the buying, selling and storage of duty suspended goods in UK excise warehouses. The full details of duty representatives, warehousekeepers and registered owners and what they can and cannot do, are described in Statutory Notice 1999 […]
The issue of fraudulent cask investment has been receiving traction in the press for a few months now, with cask ownership transfer and misleading information being the subject of articles in Forbes, Cask & Still Magazine, and Whisky Magazine. Now, financial website This Is Money has picked up on the issue. In an article called […]
In recent weeks, journalist Felipe Schrieberg has written an article for Forbes discussing the top four tips to avoid cask investment scammers and features Mark Littler as an industry expert. The article highlights the main areas of potential risk when choosing to invest in whisky casks, and these areas are in strong alignment with the […]
For over two years we’ve been instrumental in the education of consumers on the logistics of cask ownership. Specifically, the focus has been on the importance of receiving a delivery order. The signing and acknowledgement of a delivery order by the seller of the cask, the buyer of the cask, and the warehouse keeper at […]
So, you’ve bottled your cask of whisky. That’s great! But do you have the naming rights to your cask? Trademark law means that you cannot call the whisky ‘Highland Park’ or ‘Caol Ila’ (depending on which distillery your cask is from) without the naming rights to your cask. Even if you are not planning on […]
A lot of people now consider casks as an alternative investment. No doubt as someone who has shown an interest in whisky or whisky investments your Facebook feed is littered with promotions about cask investments. However, whatever knowledge you have about bottles of whisky, it is important to understand that there are fundamental differences between […]
Buying a cask of whisky can seem like a daunting prospect. However, when done correctly and with all of the right information it can be a rewarding journey. At Mark Littler LTD we aim to make the process of buying a cask as clear as possible. This five step guide is part of our core […]
All whisky casks will eventually be bottled. While it may not be your intention to bottle it yourself, what a whisky can be called when it is in the bottle makes a significant difference to how much that cask will be worth, now and in the future. For the purpose of cask investment ‘naming rights’ […]
Love them or otherwise, sherry casks are an integral part of the Scotch whisky industry and whisky matured in sherry casks remains some of the most popular whisky in the world in 2025. If you are looking at buying a cask this can make a sherry cask seem appealing. However sherry casks are not exactly […]