On average approximately 2-3% of the cask contents naturally evaporate each year and at the same time the strength of the spirit decreases. The evaporation rate for each cask will vary and the amount of liquid and/or strength of the spirit therefore varies between casks.

What this means is that after 8 years in the cask the 200 litres that was filled may have reduced to about 163 litres and the strength of the alcohol which started at 63.5% may have reduced to about 57.5%.

However, these losses are more than offset by the increasing value of your Single Malt Whisky in cask as it improves with age.

You may be charged annually for storage and insurance of your cask(s). In certain circumstances storage and insurance is included within your initial order and this will be clearly stated on your purchase order.

The cost of storage and insurance is not significant and would currently be expected to be between £50 and £75 per cask per annum.

Additional costs may be incurred to receive periodic samples of your whisky that will allow us to assess how the whisky is maturing and advise you accordingly.

Visual inspections are undertaken by the warehouse team on a daily basis and they will take every step to preserve the value of your cask. In the unfortunate event that your cask has a defect then the full value of your cask is insured.

Through our partnerships with design agencies and independent bottlers we can take care of all the complexities involved in getting your cask bottled.

At the appropriate time we will discuss with you your personal requirements and then help design and source the bottles, labels and closures for bottling.

There will be number of costs associated with bottling your cask including:

• Design costs if you wish to personalise the bottle
• Bottle components – including bottles, labels and closures
• Bottling costs
• VAT and Duty that may become due on removing the goods from the bonded warehouse

Costs for packaging can vary significantly depending on the price point that you will look to achieve at sale. As a rough rule of thumb we estimate that the overall costs of bottling, duty and VAT currently are likely to be between £20 and £25 per bottle.

They are yours to do with as you wish. You might want to keep some cases for yourself and sell the rest for profit.

As stated previously The Stirling Whisky Company has several routes to market and therefore will provide as much help as it can to help our “Cask Club” members arrange the sale of your product through our global distribution network or through our online platform.

No. You can sell your cask at any time prior to bottling either independently or through the Stirling Whisky Company. We always recommend that you speak to us in the first instance as it is likely that we would purchase your cask from you at market value.

As personal circumstances will vary we always advise getting your own independent tax advice, but the following might be useful:

• The Stirling Whisky Company Ltd holds an unrestricted WOWGR license issued by HM Revenue & Customs. This certificate is subject to strict due diligence procedures and allows a business to hold goods under duty suspension and as a consequence your casks are not subject to UK Duty or VAT at time of purchase.
• Should you decide to bottle your cask Duty and VAT may become payable at the applicable rate once the goods are removed from the bonded warehouse.
• Often the cask will be sold whilst still in bond and therefore the seller is not liable for Duty or VAT. In such circumstances UK Capital Gains Tax is not generally applicable as HMRC regards cask whisky as a “wasting chattel” as a result of the “angel’s share”.