Helping You Buy A Cask Of Whisky
At Mark Littler Ltd we are dedicated to providing a full education and clear information about purchasing casks. We understand that investing in a whisky cask can be daunting, which is why we prioritise helping you make an informed choice.
Our approach is simple; we provide you with all the information you could need so that you can decide whether a cask is the right choice. Our team of experts will guide you through the process, ensuring that both benefits and potential risks are understood before you make a purchase.
We work with a warehouse that will provide private accounts, meaning we can sell casks via a Delivery Order and you will have full autonomy over any cask purchased through us.
Helping You Make A Great Cask Investment
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 apply the same premise when helping people invest in casks of whisky: to provide trusted information and help our customers make the right decision for them. Rather than providing sales pitches disguised as educational material, we hope you will find the cask pages on this website open and informative.
The information you will find in our PDF guide, videos, blog, education centre and calculator has been curated to help you make an informed decision. Do get in touch if you have any questions that aren’t covered.
If you do decide to invest in a cask of whisky, here’s an example of what we can do:
Mr Smith comes to us to find three casks, one for each of his three grandchildren. We offer a selection of casks from a range of distilleries to match his budget and needs, and answer any questions he may have on ownership etc.
We organise the paperwork for his chosen casks, and once the sale is complete Mr Smith’s casks are moved to our partner HMRC Bonded Warehouse where they are stored in his name.
Mr Smith visits his casks every 2-3 years on his way up to Scotland. Before he travels he contacts us to have three bottles drawn, one from each of his casks, which he collects when he visits the cask.
We have the bottles applied with bespoke labels and he enjoys how the whisky inside his casks is maturing and developing.
When his grandchildren reach 21 they decide to sell their casks. Mark Littler LTD. help them draw a final six bottles from each cask as a keepsake.
The casks are then sold in bond and the three grandchildren each use the proceeds from the sales towards a house deposit. Casks are classed as a wasting asset, so their profits are free from Capital Gains Tax.
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The Mark Littler Difference
Mark Littler Ltd are a broker in the purest sense of the term as we are agents rather than dealers. Think of us as an estate agent for the cask world; we simply connect buyers and sellers and charge a fixed £300+VAT commission per cask that you buy.
As a broker our fees are disclosed in advance, so you know exactly how much you are paying for the cask versus our services.
Every cask purchased through us is sold via a delivery order. This is the industry standard way of transferring ownership into your name and means you have full autonomy over any casks you buy with us. As a delivery order is acknowledged by the registered warehouse where the cask is stored it also acts as a guarantee that the cask details are correct.
What Casks Are Available To Buy From Mark Littler LTD?
We are a broker, which means we don’t hold our own stock and as such the distilleries we have available change on a regular basis. The cask sizes and the prices they are available at will be dependent on a number of factors, but broadly speaking you can expect the following as a guide:
- Barrels, starting from around £4,000 for a quality cask of single malt scotch whisky from a well established distillery.
- Hogsheads, starting from around £5,000 for a quality cask of single malt scotch whisky from a well established distillery.
- Butts and Puncheons, starting from around £10,000 for a quality cask of single malt scotch whisky from a well established distillery.
What Cask Is Right For You?
We offer a bespoke cask buying service and will offer you a small, handpicked selection of casks that match your needs and budget.
Generally we advocate buying younger casks of whisky that are broadly 4-10 years old at the time of purchase. If you want to read more about why then we suggest downloading our cask buying guide pdf, which goes into more detail.
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Long And Short Term Cask Investment
Casks should be treated as a long-term investment of 10+ years. We would not suggest looking at buying a cask of whisky if you do not intend to hold it for at least 10 years and we do not tend to source casks for investment over 12 years old.
We can supply mature casks (12-30+ years old) that are suitable for immediate bottling. If this is something you are considering then please get in touch.
From experience the only reliable way to see good returns on your whisky cask investment is to hold your cask for 10-20 years.
Casks aged between four and ten years old are competitively priced as they are still relatively common and yet to command a premium.
In our opinion buying a cask that is aged between four and ten years and holding it for 10-20 years is the best way to see a good financial return.
There is no reliable way to use a whisky cask for short term investment (less than 10 years) unless you are inside the industry. If you want to learn the reasons why we suggest reading our PDF guide as that goes into more details than we can here, download it here.
Mature casks are perfect candidates for immediate bottling and we can help supply casks aged between 12 and over 30 years old. Please contact us directly to tell us your needs and we will be happy to help.
Buy A Cask of Whisky from Mark Littler Ltd
We can source casks from a wide range of distilleries. For more information on each distillery please explore that page, or get in touch for a chat about your requirements.