Free guide · 2027 edition

A cask of your own: a guide to owning Scotch whisky in the cask

Choosing a cask, maturation, costs, bottling and your label, with the questions to ask any seller and a glossary for owners.

Download the free guide18 pages, sent straight to you as a PDF

Cover of the MacLean & Bruce A Cask of Your Own guide

Cask ownership in brief

The essentials on one page.

3 years

The legal minimum in oak, in Scotland, before spirit becomes Scotch whisky

40%

The lowest strength at which Scotch whisky may be bottled

c. 2%

The “angels’ share”: volume lost to evaporation each year, roughly

In bond

Casks are stored duty-suspended in HMRC-approved warehouses

Your name

The cask should be held in an account in your own name at the warehouse

Scotland

Single malt Scotch whisky must be bottled in Scotland

Inside the guide

Eighteen illustrated pages.

Why own a cask
How ownership works
Choosing a cask
Maturation and time
Costs along the way
Visiting and sampling
Bottling your whisky
Your label
Insuring, moving and selling
Questions to ask any seller
Questions owners often ask
A glossary for cask owners

Cask values depend on the distillery, the age of the whisky and demand, and can fall as well as rise. Casks are not regulated financial products. Choose casks you would be proud to bottle. Already own one? Try our Bottle Calculator.

Thinking of a cask?

Choose with your palate rather than a label. We help private collectors and families find, keep and bottle casks they would be proud to share.

Download the free guide