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WHAT IS A REGAUGE?

What is a regauage? How often should I obtain one and what does it mean? Find out more about regauge and RLA (Regauged Litres of Alcohol) in our video guide.

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What is a Whisky Cask Regauge?

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A regauge is an essential health check for your whisky and should be done every 3 years once your cask is over 5 years old, and every year once it is over 15 years old. It determines the bulk Litres (the amount of liquid in the cask) and the ABV (alcohol by volume) to give the RLA (regauged litres of alcohol).

What is a regauage?

A full cask regauge has three steps:

  1. A sample is drawn and is tested to determine the alcoholic strength: the ABV, this must be above 40% for it to be legally termed whisky.
  2. The full cask is weighed, and the weight recorded, then the cask is emptied, and the unfilled weight is recorded. Subtracting the weight of the empty cask from the weight of the full casks gives the volume of liquid in the cask: the bulk litres
  3. Finally, the bulk litres and ABV are used to calculate the RLA. For example, if you had a bulk litres of 400 and a ABV of 60% then your RLA is 240 litres.

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Why do you need to regauge your cask?

A regauge is important because the volume of your cask and the alcoholic strength of your cask will both drop over time due to natural evaporation; casks are porous and not sealed so the liquid naturally evaporates, and alcohol is more readily evaporated than water so the ABV also drops. A regular regauge can ensure your whisky does not drop below the required ABV of 40%, ensuring you sell or bottle your whisky at the correct time.

When you come to sell your whisky, any potential buyer will want to know the information calculated in the regauge: Bulk Litres, ABV and RLA to determine the value of the cask.

If you are thinking of buying or selling a whisky cask and want to know more about the process you can sign up to receive our Whisky Cask Buying Guide. We created this free 52-page magazine to cover everything you need to know before becoming a cask owner.

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’.

Mark-Littler-Whisky-Broker-Square

What is a regauage? How often should I obtain one and what does it mean? Find out more about regauge and RLA (Regauged Litres of Alcohol) in our video guide.

What is a Whisky Cask Regauge?

Video Guide 4 of 10

A regauge is an essential health check for your whisky and should be done every 3 years once your cask is over 5 years old, and every year once it is over 15 years old. It determines the bulk Litres (the amount of liquid in the cask) and the ABV (alcohol by volume) to give the RLA (regauged litres of alcohol).

What is a regauage?

A full cask regauge has three steps:

  1. A sample is drawn and is tested to determine the alcoholic strength: the ABV, this must be above 40% for it to be legally termed whisky.
  2. The full cask is weighed, and the weight recorded, then the cask is emptied, and the unfilled weight is recorded. Subtracting the weight of the empty cask from the weight of the full casks gives the volume of liquid in the cask: the bulk litres
  3. Finally, the bulk litres and ABV are used to calculate the RLA. For example, if you had a bulk litres of 400 and a ABV of 60% then your RLA is 240 litres.

Send me my free cask buying guide

Cask Sign Up Complex COLLAPSABLE
By signing up to receive our Cask Buying Guide we also subscribe you to our mailing list as per our privacy policy. This is to send you links to additional information and resources on cask investment. You can unsubscribe at anytime.

Why do you need to regauge your cask?

A regauge is important because the volume of your cask and the alcoholic strength of your cask will both drop over time due to natural evaporation; casks are porous and not sealed so the liquid naturally evaporates, and alcohol is more readily evaporated than water so the ABV also drops. A regular regauge can ensure your whisky does not drop below the required ABV of 40%, ensuring you sell or bottle your whisky at the correct time.

When you come to sell your whisky, any potential buyer will want to know the information calculated in the regauge: Bulk Litres, ABV and RLA to determine the value of the cask.

If you are thinking of buying or selling a whisky cask and want to know more about the process you can sign up to receive our Whisky Cask Buying Guide. We created this free 52-page magazine to cover everything you need to know before becoming a cask owner.

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’.

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