Sell Your Cask of Macallan Whisky

The distillery has arguably the greatest impact on the value of a cask of whisky. At the top of the spectrum are premium distilleries and silent distilleries such as The Macallan, Bowmore, Ardbeg, Laphroaig, Port Ellen, Clynelish, Brora, Rosebank, Springbank etc.

The next tier includes well respected distilleries with a cult following such as Bruichladdich, Caol Ila, Aberlour, Tobermory, Arran, Ben Nevis etc. Casks from other distilleries are still valuable but may not command a premium in the current market.

Over 90% of whisky is bottled before it reaches 12 years old. As such the scarcity of whisky increases exponentially as casks pass this milestone. There are NO leaps in value at specific anniversaries (such as 15, 18, 21) as most people tend to think.

It is fair to say that the older the whisky the more valuable, however as the more air enters the cask the evaporation rate will increase significantly meaning there is less whisky remaining. As such an older cask might well be worth less than a similar younger cask OVERALL as there is less whisky remaining owing to the loss through evaporation.

As this is written in 2020 sherry casks, especially butts and puncheons, command a premium compared to other casks and are more commercial (easier to find buyers for). Fresh fill sherry are particularly sought after, however if the whisky has been maturing too long in a fresh sherry cask the cask can be over sherried. Sherry casks also carry the risk of being sulphured, and a sulphur taint will bring the price down.

Other casks types can still be valuable but do not command the same premium in the current market.

There are four common sizes of cask:

American Standard Barrel/Bourbon Barrel  200 litres

Standard Hogshead  250 litres

Butt 500 litres

Puncheon 550 litres

Clearly the larger the cask the greater potential for value as there is simply more likely to be more whisky (and thus litres of pure alcohol) remaining in a larger cask.

ABV stands for Alcohol By Volume and is measured as a percentage. If the spirit in your cask drops below 40% it is not legally whisky and as such the value is going to be severely affected. 

Most casks (the exception being Bruichladdich casks) are filled at around 63.5% ABV and they then fall as the angels take their share. It is too complicated to suggest what an ideal ABV is, but very broadly speaking mature casks with an ABV over 50% command a premium.

RLA stands for Regauged Litres of Alcohol and is the calculation of the remaining contents of whisky within a cask following a regauge. You can learn what a regauge is HERE.

The greater the number of litres of alcohol remaining the greater the value as this indicates a greater remaining volume of whisky inside the cask.