If you want to buy a cask of whisky in 2025 then welcome. Whisky casks can be a rewarding asset in terms of both potential returns and experience.
The process of buying a cask is relatively simple: choose a cask, pay for it and then the seller will notify the warehouse so that you become the new register owner. The last part is usually done via a delivery order—some warehouses accept other methods, but as per the SWA’s most recent guidance we suggest checking with the warehouse directly if you’re not sure what they accept.
The process of buying a cask of whisky is simple. However, like any new venture, deciding whether to buy and equipping yourself with the knowledge to make the right investment for you is what takes the most time.
In this guide we break down the fundamentals of buying a cask of whisky into six easy to understand sections, from the basic principles, to where to buy and a quick intro into selling a cask.
If you want more information please make sure you download our free PDF Cask Buying Guide, explore the further reading for each section or visit our dedicated online library of our key articles on how to buy a whisky cask.
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Step One: Understanding The Principle Of Cask Investment
The basis for investing in whisky is simple: older whisky is worth more than younger whisky. The foundation of any cask investment is to buy a cask of young whisky and sell it when it’s older. Ideally the difference between buying and selling should be at least 10 years, or longer if it’s new make whisky.
Within this basic foundation there are a few things you need to consider, risks to be aware of and considerations to take in terms of where you buy and how long you need to hold a cask. We will run through each of these below.
Further reading: Are Whisky Casks A Good Investment?
Step Two: What Are The Benefits And Risks Of A Wasting Asset?
It is important to understand that you cannot mature whisky in a cask indefinitely. At some point a cask of whisky is always bottled, although it doesn’t need to be by you.
Casks are porous vessels made from wooden staves, which allows evaporation, absorption and air circulation. These are natural parts of the maturing process for whisky and, for scotch whisky, there is also a drop in ABV over time (in some climates the alcoholic strength rises with time).
These factors mean that if left indefinitely the whisky in a cask will evaporate to the point that it is worthless: either there is nothing left or because scotch whisky has to be over 40% to be classed as whisky the ABV drops below that point. Under normal circumstances casks are deemed therefore to have a finite lifetime of 50 years or less and are classed as a wasting asset.
The benefit of this is that wasting assets are exempt from capital gains tax (currently in the UK, make sure you take local, up to date tax advice when you come to sell). However these change over time also mean that casks require active management. We suggest checking your cask via a regauge every 3 to 5 years as your cask matures.
Further reading: What Is A Regauge? and Whisky Casks And Capital Gains

Step Three: Check Your Timeframes
Whisky casks are a long term investment. We wouldn’t suggest buying a cask of whisky unless you are comfortable with locking that money away for at least 10 years, however if you are buying new make the minimum investment should be more like 15 years.
Based on the casks we have sold for our customers over the years, we believe the most profitable way to buy and sell casks is to ensure you get your cask to at least 15 to 20 years old. This gives you the best chance to benefit from the increase in quality and scarcity that happens in the late teenage years. Longer time frames also ensure you have the most potential for other drivers of value increase, such as market or brand increases.
From our experience helping people sell their casks of whisky you can look at the following start points:
Young Whisky: 10 to 12 year investment
Buying young whisky aged between four and twelve years old gives you the benefit of a head start that allows you to aim for a roughly ten year investment. This is what most of our investors prefer. It does necessitate a slightly higher initial purchase cost, but it still offers a good value starting point and good potential returns.
New Make: 15 to 20 year investment
We take a small allocation of new make spirit to offer to customers who want a cheaper starting point but understand that they need to hold the cask for a minimum 15 year period. This is the cheapest way to buy casks but we do not recommend selling until at least 12 but ideally you should still aim to exit between 15 and 20 years.
Older Whisky: Higher Risk
We do not suggest purchasing casks older than 12 years old for a personal investment unless you are completely comfortable with your understanding of personal cask investment. For mature casks the prices are much harder to verify and you have increasingly high risks of overpaying or buying a sub-standard cask. In our experience, older casks are best suited for immediate bottling, industry professionals and institutional investments only.
Further reading: How Much Can You Make From A Whisky Cask Investment?

Step Four: Where To Buy Whisky Casks?
As with almost everything in 2025, you have a choice of options of where to buy a cask of whisky. Each has advantages and disadvantages that you need to be aware of. We will touch upon these below, although please do use this as a starting point for research.
Direct From A Distillery
We have a blog that lists the distilleries where you can buy casks directly. Do be aware that we don’t endorse, or otherwise, buying direct from a distillery, but if you want a straightforward, quick purchase of new make whisky with clear ownership then it could be an option to consider.
Through A Broker
Mark Littler Ltd are a broker and we believe there are several advantages to buying through this model.
Primarily brokers tend to sell through a delivery order which means you have full ownership of your casks giving you security and flexibility for a long term investment. As brokers at Mark Littler we tend to source small parcels from different distilleries rather than large volumes of one type of stock, which means we can offer a wider selection of options compared to a dealer or buying direct from a distillery.
Via A Dealer
Buying from a dealer can be another quick option as most have lists of current stock that they will send you. It is important to note that many dealers do not sell via a delivery order and instead the cask is transferred by a certificate but remains in the dealer’s name at the warehouse (we’ll go into ownership and delivery orders in the following section). This means that if you are buying through a dealer you need to ensure you understand the ownership structure they are offering and the limitations that are likely to have in terms of taking samples and when you come to sell.
At Auction
We suggest that buying a cask at auction is only for cask investors with a solid understanding of prices and ownership. You will need an existing account at a warehouse in order to bid on casks. If that warehouse isn’t the one where the cask is currently stored you’ll be liable for the costs to get that cask transferred between warehouses under bond.
The above are very brief summaries of each option. Do look into your preferred seller further, and as always, we are happy to answer questions if you have any.

Step Five: Understanding Ownership
In order to own a cask of whisky and have full control over it now and in the future the cask needs to be transferred into your name at the warehouse. Traditionally this is done via a delivery order and most warehouses will accept a delivery order as it satisfies their legal responsibility with HMRC.
The Scotch Whisky Association says this about ownership:
“If the cask is located in a warehouse that belongs to someone other than the seller, you should ensure that the transfer of ownership is properly recorded and acknowledged by the warehousekeeper. Traditionally this was done by way of a delivery order, a document setting out the details of the cask to be transferred, signed by purchaser and seller and then delivered to the warehousekeeper. Nowadays other documents may suffice but you should check with the warehousekeeper what documents they require to record ownership in your name and ensure that the seller can deliver them to you before completing the purchase.”
You do not need a WOWGR to own a cask at the warehouse level, but you do need a warehouse that will open a private account. WOWGR is due to be significantly amended in March 2025 and this will simplify things in terms of understanding who does and doesn’t need to register (only warehousekeepers and warehouses will be governed by WOWGR). However you will still need to buy through a company, like Mark Littler Ltd, who can help you set up an account at a warehouse in order to take full ownership.
If you do not take full ownership of a cask at the warehouse level then considering the recommended length of cask investments you are adding additional risk into the purchase. Without a delivery order you tie yourself to that company for a future sale and potentially limit you interaction with the cask in terms of visiting and taking samples.
Further reading: What Is A WOWGR And Who Needs One? and What Is A Delivery Order?
Step Six: How To Sell A Cask Of Whisky?
An important consideration with tangible assets is how you sell them when the time comes. At Mark Littler Ltd we have helped hundreds of customers exit their cask investment, brokering the sale of millions of pounds worth of casks. For the vast majority of cask owners the simplest and most profitable way to exit is to sell a cask whole in bond. You can still take a few bottles out for personal use when selling this way, but there are multiple benefits compared to bottling.
The benefits of selling in bond are: no additional taxes and VAT to pay, capital gains tax exempt, and the process is relatively quick (although do note that this is relative, as nothing is particularly quick in the whisky industry and getting the best price can take a couple of months or more).
For comparison, if you want to bottle a cask and take a profit selling the bottles you will need to pay: VAT at 20% of the purchase price, Duty + VAT at £31.64 + 20% per litre of alcohol, dry goods (labels, glass, capsules etc) someone to bottle it for you, marketing cost… the list goes on but check our Cask Calculator for a more indepth look.
Usually it roughly doubles costs to bottle a cask, and then you need to pay either capital gains or income tax as well.
There are a handful of exceptions, but we would always address that with you at the time if we thought bottling would be the best option for your cask.
Another option people sometimes consider is auction or selling the cask back to the distillery. Generally we don’t suggest either of these as both tend to undervalue the cask reducing your potential profits.
Further reading: Selling A Cask Of Whisky
What’s Next When Buying A Cask?
This article is designed to be a whistle stop introduction covering how to buy a cask. If buying whisky casks sounds right for you then we would highly recommend exploring our online cask buying guides and downloading our free PDF using the form below.
If you’d like to find out more about buying casks with Mark Littler Ltd then please email [email protected].
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