The first regular online auction for whisky casks was launched in June 2019. At the time it was noted as a levelling landmark for whisky lovers, but it quickly became obvious that for whisky casks, auctions are not yet suitable for private individuals looking to buy casks.
The sale of whisky casks to the public had been available prior to 2019, and cask sales had take place via auction before this time, usually on a small case by case basis. Cask auctions were seen as a way to speed up the cask sale process and open up the wider market. However it has since become clear that this speed actually puts warehouses in breach of the regulations they must follow, and as such many will not allow the sale via auction of casks stored with them.
It is also important to remember that in order to own casks without a WOWGR you must not be classed as a revenue trader. That means private individuals can buy and sell casks for private use, but as the public cannot regularly buy and sell cask for profit without becoming a revenue trader, as per HMRC Excise Notice 196. This further limits the need for and application of whisky cask auctions.
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How To Buy A Whisky Cask At Auction?
You can still buy whisky casks at auction, but there are usually limitations that you will need to check.
As well as the fill details of the cask, the fees (buyers premiums etc.) you will also need to check whether you need an existing account at the warehouse in order to bid on the cask, or if there is a time limit for moving the cask out of the current warehouse. Most auction listings now clearly state this, but if you are unsure contact the warehouse where the cask is currently located.
If you already own cask/s stored under account at a different warehouse you may want to contact your existing warehouse to establish transport fees and expected timeframes.
Once you have established whether you can bid on a cask, you the need to establish how much you want to pay.
How Much Is The Cask Worth?
It is likely that you would not buy any other investment without doing your market research. When you buy another mainstream investment, such as stocks and shares or property, there is a rich source of independent market research available through resources like Rightmove, Zoopla, Morningstar and Trustnet. However, there are no open, publicly available databases listing the open market value of casks of whisky. The industry strictly prohibits the publication of such lists, which means you have no way to decide what is a fair price to pay for a cask.
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As a result, most people look at the cost of the cask, divide this by the bottle count, and assume that is a good way to determine the price. In fact, dividing the cost of a cask by the potential bottle count can undervalue the potential overheads by 50-100%.
Most members of the public are not fully aware of the cost of bottling (see below), and are often completely unaware of the licenses needed to sell bottles, the wholesale to retail markup (wholesale prices are circa 40-50% of retail prices) and the main difference between bottles and casks (see here). Without this information it is difficult to make a judgement about whether you are making a sound investment. A lack of public knowledge and understanding of bottling costs means it can be easy to hugely underestimate the costs involved in bottling a cask of whisky. Bottling a cask of whisky involves several costs and you must pay VAT and duty, so it is not enough to divide your cask cost buy the number of bottles.
We have created a free cask calculator, which you can use to get a good idea of the cost of bottling your cask so that you can make an informed decision before you buy a cask.
If you use our cask calculator you will see that the cost of bottling a cask can often be equal to the purchase price of the cask once VAT, duty, shipping and bottle costs have been added. Not to mention the licences you need to obtain in order to sell the bottles.
Should You Buy A Cask At Auction?
Once you have all of the details about the cask you then need to consider whether buying a cask of whisky at auction is the best way to buy a cask for you. Buying a cask of of whisky is no different to any other investment, i.e. you need to know all the facts before you invest.
Below we summarise some of the main advantages and disadvantages of buying a cask at auction.
The benefits of buying a whisky cask at auction:
- The bidder determines the price they pay, rather than the seller
- You can look at the track record of the distillery (where available) to see the kinds of malts being produced
What to beware of with online cask auctions:
- Limited ways to research prices so you do not know what is a fair price to bid
- Volumes are often given as a bottle count rather than industry standard bulk litres/RLA
- Bottling costs are not made clear and can be 50-100% on top of the purchase price
- An auction implies a time limit and gives a false sense of urgency
- Most warehouses now have limitations on opening new accounts, meaning you may not be able to bid.
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An Opportunity, But Not Yet The Universal Answer
Overall, we feel that the introduction of online auctions for casks could eventually be a good avenue for potential buyers. However as it stands they often underperform for the cask seller because of the limitations on prospective buyer.
If you want to buy a cask of whisky we suggest considering all your options carefully and taking your time to understand value and ownership. If you are looking to sell a cask of whisky then we would not currently suggest auction. You can get in touch for a no-obligation cask valuation and advice on sales routes if you are considering selling your cask.