Updated November 2024
When you start looking at whisky investment you may come across a range of claims, promises and inferences. Since January 2024 the UK Advertising Standards Agency have cracked down on misleading claims, but you may still come across figures suggesting anything from 10% to 20% per annum returns, to the fabled 582% increase over 10 years.
If you think that sounds tempting then you are not alone. However there is a reason that the ASA has put a stop to companies using these figures. In this article we guide you through per annum returns and the five other biggest myths of cask investment, from not needing delivery orders to the fabled Knight Frank figures.
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The State Of Whisky Cask Investment In 2024
Even though the Advertising Standards Agency stepped in to offer some protection to consumers, advertisement by the cask investment industry had been unregulated for long enough that many myths have become accepted. Mark Littler has been been campaigning for more transparency around the risks of ownership since 2019 (we wrote the first version of this article in February 2020). While he and other members of the industry have been working hard to bring more tools for consumers to use, like ProtectYourCask.com, it is an uphill battle.
In the first half of 2024 the City of London Police opened an investigation into Cask Whisky Ltd. that resulted in the so called whisky investment company receiving a court mandated liquidation. Now the owner of casks bought through that company without a delivery order face the uphill battle of proving ownership of assets they believe they have paid for.
The situation has not come out of the blue as earlier in 2024 another cask investment company folded leaving customers wondering how to show they owned their casks. In May 2023 The Telegraph reported on a man who had bought casks from cask investment company without a delivery order, and when he got them transferred into his name at another warehouse they were different from what was on his certificates and contracts. By June 2023 The Mirror had released an article about a distillery ‘losing’ privately owned casks worth tens of thousands of pounds. Even back in 2022 the FBI arrested a British man in connection with a multi-million dollar whisky scam in the USA. In the opening weeks of 2023 there were articles featured on BBC Radio 4 and in The Telegraph urging caution to potential investors.
Businesses want to make money, that is a completely normal state of affairs, however when companies are making money by misleading purchasers then that is, at best, bad for the industry, and at worst fraud. So in the interest of clarity we cover the six biggest myths around cask investment.

Myth One: 10-20% Per Annum Returns
The basic principle behind cask investment is simple: the value of whisky in a cask increases with age due to a increase in quality caused by maturation (caused by interactions between the spirit, wood and atmosphere) and because the scarcity of whisky increases with age. Despite that increase over time, there are multiple reason that 10 to 20% per annum returns are a myth!
Arguable the biggest part of this myth is the “per annum” part. That’s simply because you don’t get an annual return on a cask; you won’t get any money back at all until you sell the cask at the end of your investment. How much money you make over your investment period is going to vary significantly because of all the factors that influence a cask’s value over years to decades. If you divide your eventual profit by the number of years you invested for that still won’t be representative, and that’s because…
The second part of this myth is in implying that the increase in value you’ll see in a cask will be similar in year one versus year 12 or 20. The value of whisky increases slowly in the first 3 to 12 years of its lifetime and you can see this in the bottles of whisky you buy/see in the shops. In the graph below we collected data on the average value of a spread of whiskies bottled at different ages. You can see the slow increase in value over the first 10 to 15 years and how that starts to increase more in the late teenage years. While the specific values are not relevant here, the shape of the increase is.

Casks are not bottled evenly throughout their lifetime; 88-90% of all whisky is used for blends, of which the majority are less than 12 years old. Whisky aged 12 and under is common, and also not yet classed as a premium product. It means you can buy whisky casks up to 10/12 years old without paying a premium, but you’re also not going to get a premium selling at that age either. Whisky becomes classed as a premium product around 18 years old and this is when you can expect to see more of an increase in value year on year.
The graph shows us that the relative jump in price between 5 and 10 years is smaller than the jump between 15 and 20 (see Graph 2 below). This is very important for potential investors to understand in order to make an educated investment that works for them. What’s more, it explains why, if you only hold a cask investment from new make to ten years old your average returns will differ significantly than someone who holds from zero to 18 or ten to 20.
Why We Don’t Suggest Expected Returns
If someone asks me what I expect a cask to be worth in 10 or 18 years time the answer is long. The reason for this is that in order to understand the potential spread you have to have a basic understanding of how casks are valued and how they mature. At Mark Littler Ltd we have sold casks for people that are otherwise identical (same distillery, storage warehouse, fill date, casks size and the same price per litre of alcohol) yet had more than £10,000 difference in value due entirely down to how those casks matured next to each other. One had thirsty angels, the other didn’t.
Trying to turn that kind of variation into data that makes sense is confusing at best. It’s certainly unlikely to give you the data you need to make a sound decision. So instead of giving a baffling range of numbers or confusing spread of data, if you want to consider buying a cask with Mark Littler Ltd we’ll run through all of that on a one to one call. Use the form at the top of this page to download our free cask buying guide, or email [email protected].
Myth Two: Short Term Investments
Looking at the profile of above it can be pretty tempting to think, well why can’t I buy a 15-year-old cask and sell it as an 18 year old cask in order to short cut the maturation process and get a quick return?
Most casks in the market are valued based on a number of factors and nothing moves quickly. What that means is, if you’re buying a 15 year old cask, then its likely been valued with an assumption that it will get to 16/17. You’ll also be paying the premium for whoever has invested the time to get it to that age. What this means is you’re limiting your potential returns over the short term.
We always suggest looking at cask investment as a 10 year investment. However, this is just the broad guide for being able to see brand driven returns. For new make and young casks you should aim to exit at roughly 18 years old. That means for new make you ideally need to be looking at 15 years minimum, for young casks you could look at 8 to 12 years.
For mature casks your minimum investment period needs to be decided on an individual basis, reacting to the specific cask’s age and health, but broadly you should plan for at least a 5 year hold. If you have the capital to invest in the right older cask, for a fair price and keep it for a medium amount of time there is potential to see returns. It is important to note that older casks come with higher risk and more need for active management of your asset.
Casks Don’t Age Indefinitely!
You also need to be aware that casks do not age indefinitely. Even if you have no plans to do it yourself, all casks are eventually bottled. The angel’s share—the loss due to evaporation—means if you left that cask long enough the whisky inside will either evaporate completely or the alcoholic strength will drop below 40% and you can no longer legally call the spirit inside whisky. This means you need to be ultra careful about which cask you choose to buy; you must by a healthy cask with a robust RLA and a good ABV suitable for older age maturation.
Why does ABV and RLA matter?
Casks are generally valued on a price per RLA (regauged litres of alcohol). The longer you keep your whisky cask the more liquid will evaporate and the lower the RLA. However, the value of the whisky in the cask generally increases with age so the price per RLA increases. This creates something of a paradox when trying to decide when to sell your cask.
Simply put, although the value of your whisky per litre will increase, the number of litres you have will decrease. For example, if you have a value of £100 per RLA on a cask with 100 RLA then the value is £10,000. Let us hypothesise that the cask is mature, from a sought after distillery, has an ABV well above 40% and experiences an average loss of 2% per year due to evaporation; if the price per RLA rises at 10% per year after 2 years the price per RLA is £121 but the RLA is 96 so the value has risen to £11,616 (rather than £12,100 if the RLA had remained at 100). For the same cask and rates of change, in five years the price per RLA would have risen to ~£160 but the RLA may have dropped to 90L. You must also remember that a high ABV commands a premium, and the ABV also drops at an average of 0.5% per year, which will also impact the rate of increase in the price per RLA.

Myth Three: Anniversary Year Value Jumps
Another myth that often appears with the suggestion of investing in older casks is the concept of anniversary years significantly increasing the value of a cask.
The whisky sold in supermarkets is predominantly from certain anniversaries: 10, 12 15, 18 years old etc—therefore the suggestion is that whisky at these ages is more desirable than the ages either side of these years. That is then used to imply that if you buy a 14 year old cask and sell it as a 15 year old cask you will get a premium.
This is simply not true.
It takes a long time to do anything with casks. So if your cask is healthy (and by that we mean it has a good RLA and an ABV significantly above 40%) any sensible offer on your cask as a 13 year old or 14 year old will take into account the fact that it will likely survive to 15 years or older. As such it is the ABV and RLA that has a bigger impact on the value than the specific age.
In addition, most independent and private bottlers do not care about anniversary years; they bottle casks at whatever year they think will produce the best whisky for them. Most independent bottlers do not have long running age statement series like distillery release do, and do not have to adhere to supermarkets’ requirements.
Often it makes no odds to a private buyer the specific age of the cask so long as that cask is healthy and meets their needs at the time. There may be a premium for a 20 year old cask versus a 15 year old cask, but that increase in value will be smooth; in general the value of a cask will not jump significantly between years – unless you have a leak or the ABV drops below 40% in which case your cask’s value is likely to drop rather than rise.

Myth Four: Casks And The Knight Frank Index
Since 2019 Knight Frank have included bottles of rare whisky in their Knight Frank Luxury Investment Index. Their index specifically looks at ultra-rare high end bottles and the addition of bottled whisky to their index in 2019 caused quite a stir thanks to some impressive numbers. The 2019 Wealth Report announced a 582% increase over 10 years and 40% over 2018 for the 100 ultra rare bottles in their index. These numbers have dropped over successive years (280% and -9% in the 2024 report).
Despite this index being irrelevant to casks of whisky, and the 582% figure being 5 years out of date those figures were widely used by cask investment companies to indicate potential performance of a whisky cask investment. As of January 2024 the UK advertising standards agency has banned the use of the Knight Frank luxury investment index for whisky bottles being used by cask investment companies.
Whisky casks and whisky bottles are fundamentally different products. What’s more, the Knight Frank Index looks at one specific section of the whisky bottle market (ultra-rare, ultra expensive) so it cannot even be used to indicate the whisky bottle market as a whole. Using an index for bottles to predict the performance of casks is like comparing the price of bricks and mortar to the value of a luxury, penthouse apartment in a nice part of London: One can be used to make the other, but without the other key ingredients that go into making a premium, sought-after product (brand, desirability etc.) you simply have a large quantity of building material.
In the case of whisky casks that building material (the spirit in your cask) has historically increased with age due to an increase in perceived quality over time and increasing scarcity; the fundamental premise of investing in casks. Once bottled the quality of whisky is set, and therefore it is branding and desirability that will cause the increase of a bottle of whisky to increase.
The market for each product is very different, and it is important to understand this when looking a buying bottles or casks as an investment.

Myth Five: What The Scotch Whisky Association Say
The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) recognise that casks are an increasingly popular personal investment opportunity but that the potential investor should be aware of the nature of the Scottish whisky industry. You can read their full guidance here.
The SWA guidance is often misquoted regarding delivery orders. The specific guidance on delivery orders is as follows:
“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 warehouse keeper. 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 an invoice or owner’s certificate may suffice. Before completing the purchase you should check with the warehouse keeper what documents they require and ensure that the seller can deliver them to you.”
The final sentence, in bold, is the section that is usually left out by dealers trying to sell casks without a delivery order.
If you are buying a cask without a delivery order and have not had contact with the warehouse to confirm that they accept whatever else you have been offered, then the likelihood is that you do not own that cask at the warehouse level. This increases the risks associated with cask investment.
Myth six: You Do Not Need A Delivery Order
Many dealers will tell you that you do not need a delivery order, or that you need to register under WOWGR in order to receive one. Neither statements are true as long as you are not a revenue trader.
A delivery order is the industry standard way of transferring ownership of casks. It is simply a document signed by the seller and purchaser and acknowledged by the warehouse. It allows for compliance of other legislation that warehouses must adhere to, including their WOWGR certification. A delivery order is not a legal requirement for owning a cask, but if you’re not getting one you should find out what your storage provider requires instead (as per the SWA guidance linked in the previous section).
If you don’t have direct contact with the warehouse then the likelihood is that you are not the official owner of that cask of whisky. This can cause problems when you come to sell your cask. Ultimately the biggest risk is in the event that the company you bought the cask from disappears or goes bankrupt, which unfortunately has happened to two cask investment companies already in 2024.
A delivery order is the best way for you to ensure you are taking full ownership of a cask at the warehouse level, which will give you full autonomy over your asset. If a cask broker or dealer is not providing you with a delivery order, or worse telling you that you cannot get one, then at best they do not understand their own industry, and at worst they are purposefully misleading you.
For the avoidance of doubt, you do not need to register under WOWGR to get a delivery order unless you are planning to regularly buy and sell casks as a business. WOWGR specifically covers revenue traders, and as long as you are a private individual owning 5 or less casks then WOWGR does not apply to you.
Are Scotch Whisky Casks A Good Investment?
At Mark Littler Ltd our experience is that when done correctly scotch whisky casks can be a good investment. We can be confident in this assertion because we have sold millions of pounds of casks for customers who have made anything from £5,000 to over £300,000.
Unfortunately our position as educators and providers of free advice means that we are also contacted by individuals who have had a bad experience with whisky cask investment. Almost universally the four main causes for a negative experience are:
- Not getting a delivery order and finding out the cask was not what their dealer/broker said it was and/or having issues with the company they bought it from (uncontactable or bankrupt)
- Overpaying for the cask
- Trying to sell too soon
- Forgetting about the cask for 30 years and the ABV dropping to below 40%.
These four big risk factors can be mitigated by following a few simple guidelines:
- Make sure you take full ownership at the warehouse level, ideally via delivery order
- Get a second opinion on a cask’s value or compare to other publicly available cask prices
- Understand that casks are a long-term investment
- Monitor the health of your cask via a regauge every three to five years
- Generally educate yourself about the whisky industry and casks in particular (we provide a lot of free resources).
If you want to learn more about cask ownership and investment then you may want to start here, we also have a free PDF guide available to download.