FAQs

There are lots of commonly asked questions in cask ownership and indeed some that come only with our Cask Owners Club. Here we do our best to answer as many of them as we can, the list is by no means exhaustive so if there is anything we have missed please let us know, we will happily answer and add to the list for the future. No question is a stupid one if you don’t know the answer!

Indication of Quality (I.O.Q)
it is common within the malt whisky industry for many of the big names to sell their single malt whisky into the market unnamed. This is simply to protect their branding and marketing. There is NO difference between the spirit they supply in these I.O.Q casks and the ones that end up in their branded bottles. These casks find their way to independent bottlers who often use clever names or anagrams to divulge the secret identity (look at some past Dramfool bottlings for examples). Many are just sold as ‘mystery’ or ‘unnamed’ malts. These mystery malts seldom stay secret for long and are the most open secrets among drinkers and collectors alike! While we know what is in the cask legally, and of course will tell you, we can’t put it on the label but we can put indicators. 

Cask type and size
the cask is as important as the new make spirit that it contains. The type and use of casks is strictly controlled by Scotch Whisky Authority (SWA) regulations. While the majority of whisky is aged in American bourbon barrels some of the most sought after can come from sherry or wine casks. Casks can be refilled on more than one occasion (and then will be termed re fill) and the most sought after are usually the 1st fill of any type. Casks can legally be re filled many times but the flavour they impart will likely be lessened each time they are used. 

The most commonly used are;

Octave / Firkin – approximately 45 - 60 litres

Quarter Cask – approximately 125 litres 

Bourbon barrel – approximately 190 – 200 litres

Hogshead – approximately 225 – 250 litres

Barrique – approximately 250 – 300 litres

Puncheon – approximately 450 – 500 litres

Butt – approximately 475 – 500 litres

Port Pipe – approximately 550 – 650 litres

Madeira Drum – approximately 600 – 650 litres

Angels share
Not just a movie featuring whisky legend Charlie McLean it is the amount of liquid or to be precise alcohol lost to evaporation through the cask over time. Each cask is different so there is no rule of thumb as to the amount lost in a year. However, the industry average is approximately 2% per year and this should always be remembered when buying a cask. with regular re-gauging of the casks we can check that there are not any leaks or the cask is particularly susceptible to evaporation, meaning the angels only get their share (no more) and you get the rest. 

Peak maturity
all whisky has a different peak maturity and these even vary from cask to cask. While it is often tempting to wait for older maturity in whisky not all spirit and casks are suitable for long term maturation. Each of the casks under our control is regularly sampled to be sure that they do not pass past a point of peak maturation. At the end of the day a good whisky should be and is a valuable as an old one. 

Where will my cask be
all casks under our control are held by various trusted industry partners within their bonded warehouses. These warehouse form part of the nationwide infrastructure used by the whole Scotch whisky industry and are closely monitored and controlled under UK government guidelines. The government wants to protect their £3bn per year income from the industry as much as we want our casks looked after so it is a win win partnership. 

Who owns the wood
The physical cask will not be owned by the club members it will be retained by Dramfool Casks. It will not be possible to send cask ends, staves or bungs to club members. 

Can I visit my cask/s
Sadly we don’t have out own warehousing facility (yet….) so this will not be possible to facilitate.

What is re-gauging
Re-Gauging is the process, carried out under bond, of testing the cask for the amount of liquid stored within and the strength of the spirit. This is not only used to determine value of the cask, give an accurate indication of yield of bottles (at cask strength) but also used to calculate the duty owed on the sprit contained within. We also use these figure as a ’health check’ on the cask to determine that no leaks or damage has occurred. 

Re-Gauged Litres of Alcohol (RLA)
one of the key figures determined by re-gauging this gives the accurate amount of pure alcohol (that duty will be based on) held within the cask. This differs from Alcohol By Volume (the actual strength of the liquid) as it is worked out on the levels of pure alcohol not volume of alcohol within the liquid. RLA differs from OLA which is Original Litres of Alcohol which is the levels when the cask was originally filled. The difference between OLA and RLA does help in showing the maturation of the spirit.

Original Litres of Alcohol (OLA)
Simply the amount of pure alcohol in the cask when it was originally filled. This figure when compared with RLA is helpful is seeing how the whisky is changing and how the cask is acting. 

Alcohol By Volume (ABV)
much like on any standard bottle of whisky or alcohol this is the Alcohol by Volume contained within. So the actual strength of the whisky unlike the RLA or OLA based on the amount of pure alcohol the volume contains.

Re- racking
where a cask of whisky is filled into a different cask. This could be a cask of the same type to further help maturation or could be a different cask type to aim to add new and different flavour profiles. This can be important as if the spirit has lain within an inactive cask that has imparted little flavour over a number of years it simply will not be improving. It must be remembered that the age of a whisky is calculated on the time from it first went into a cask and when it was finally removed. A cask of 8 year old whisky re-racked for two years and a day would still be considered (and bottled) aged 10. There is no limitation (either short or long) on how long the whisky must spend in the second cask for that to be mentioned on the label. 

Insurance of cask
All casks will be fully insured against loss and damage, please see our T&C’s for full information on this 

Duty
Duty will be payable at the prevailing rate at the time of bottling. Sadly we have no control over this and unless the bottles will be being shipped directly to a non duty location (for example out with the EU) it will have to be charged. If you are in a non duty paying location your bottle will not attract this cost but maybe be chargeable for duty at the point of arrival. 

What if the shares don’t divide equally into bottles
it is obviously likely that we may not get a number of bottles per cask that divides equally among club members. All club members will receive the same amount of whisky and these will be distributed equally in full and half bottle sizes. 

Labelling
all labels will be fully compliant with the Scotch Whisky Authority (SWA) regulations. These will carry full details of the cask, distillery and age etc. as you would expect. None will carry your name or details (although this can arranged at an extra cost on your behalf should you wish). 

Can I have bottle number 1
No, but only because there will be no bottle one! All bottles will be labelled for exmaple ‘1 of only 220 bottles’ so each bottle is the same and it is fair to all members. 

Bottling cost
bottling will be done by one of our trusted partners and you will enjoy discounted rates we have negotiated from our continued and regular use of their services. Bottles are purchased in advance in larger volumes again offering a saving. All bottles from our cask will be handled and presented the same way.

This will all be outlined before you buy your cask membership so there will be no surprises come bottling. 

Bottling costs do vary but again these will be laid out before purchase. 

Can I sell my bottles?
once you receive your bottles they are yours to do with what you wish, no restrictions. Many cask ownership schemes restrict the sale off your own bottles and indeed actively forbid it. We do not. We must point out that it is your responsibility to this legally within your jurisdiction and that in most cases personal alcohol sale license and premise license will be required (however selling via a specialist whisky auction is normally unrestricted). 

Shipping
shipping will be made only on full receipt of cleared funds for the final amount billable after bottling and will be done predominantly through DHL. All bottles must be sent to the Cask Club member and cannot be split amount different consignees or addresses. 

Samples
To be fair to all members samples will only be drawn from the cask at the pre agreed dates, sorry but there can be no exceptions to this. In the end it will be to all member benefit as there will be more whisky to share!

Scotch Whisky Association
add link https://www.scotch-whisky.org.uk/ - The industry body who oversee the rules regulations and market of Scotch Whisky globally. Their strict (but fair) rules on the production and sale of Scotch Whisky without doubt largely contribute to the trusted and valued nature of the product globally. From the biggest global brands to the smallest new distillery or independent bottler the rules are their to protect and promote all.