Whisky Cask Investment

BaldyBaldy

I am considering investing in a few casks of whisky -- I have approx. £10-15k to invest and I'm happy to put it away for 10-15 years

I've been in discussion with 2 companies

' Whisky Partners' whose model is I buy the cask/s outright and make an extra payment to them to insure & store the cask/s and i can sell the cask/s at any time.. Plus they sell the cask in totality. (no VAT or Duty)  They indicate they might be interested in buying They also charge a commission (i think he said 4% at sale point'

'Eden Mill' is a slightly different model whereby I buy the cask/s and at end of term - when i decide to sell -- they arrange to bottle, label and brand (all at a cost) plus i have to pay VAT and DUTY

Has anyone got any firm guidance / experience as to which route i should follow? Or any experience of either company? Or any strong recommendations ??

Stubod

..the only time I would ever consider buying a whisky cast is if I had the space to store one at home....

On-the-coast

Sounds like a terrible idea to me - high risk and (ironically) illiquid asset. 

k12479

BaldyBaldy said:

Or any strong recommendations ??

Yes. Don't.

fwor

Unfortunately this category of investment seems to attract the worst types, from merely misleading, to outright scams. It would be a good idea to do a forum search on the subject - this should give you an idea of how these schemes ~might~ go wrong.

leosayer

Stubod said:

..the only time I would ever consider buying a whisky cast is if I had the space to store one at home....

I agree. Too much counterparty risk.

It's about as far away as you can get from investment platforms which are highly regulated entities in a very mature industry that segregate client assets from their own, with FSCS protection.

Clive_Woody

BaldyBaldy said:

Has anyone got any firm guidance 

Go here (https://www.vanguardinvestor.co.uk/what-we-offer/life-strategy-products) open an ISA, stick your money in and sit back for 10-15 years, then take some out and buy a nice bottle of whisky and use the rest for whatever you need.

...other funds are available (I am not an IFA).


EDIT - go here for whisky - https://www.masterofmalt.com/whisky/shop-all-whisky/

gravel_2

It's worked for some but tbh the current whisky boom time already feels like it's at its end. Distilleries have made so much new make recently in anticipation of continued demand, yet distilleries are now going dormant/bankrupt due to lack of current demand. I have a feeling there will be plenty of 10-20 year old whisky available 10-20 years from now.

Beddie

Only do it if you don't mind losing all of your money. They use pressure sales techniques - why would they do that if it was such a great deal? Surely we'd all want in!

To be avoided.

Bigwheels1111

Avoid.

Buy some Britannia gold coins.

No CGT.

Reaper

The market is unregulated has a terrible reputation for scams and people losing all their money. I have no knowledge about these particular companies but I would not deal with middle men. If you are absolutely determined to buy then how about buying a cask directly from a distiller?

The Scottish Whisky Association has a fact sheet with many of the issues you need to consider:
https://www.scotch-whisky.org.uk/media/1738/personal-investment-in-a-scotch-whisky-cask_2023.pdf