Whisky FAQs

We have ensured purchasing is a seamless process! Once you have decided which casks will form your “portfolio” we send you a clear and transparent Purchase Agreement (PA) to read and sign. We used our Compliance and Legal pedigrees to ensure we live by our ethos of being “Transparent” and “Ethical” to give you “Diverse” opportunity.

Once you have signed the PA we accept payment in multiple currencies using our global banking partner – it is a simple bank-to-bank transfer.

This is where we think our Compliance and Legal backgrounds give you the best advantage in the industry! Before we started PAI, we witnessed the amount of fraud, schemes and deceit that was rife in the world of investment products (including cask ownership). We go through extraordinary levels of counterparty due diligence to ensure you get what you invested for!

Furthermore, we ensure all our casks over the age of 5 years are immediately regauged once we take possession of them (on your behalf). We work with only reputable, and government (HMRC) approved cask servicing companies and warehouses. Finally, we aim to centralise all our stock in a few select warehouse locations so, if you wish, you can arrange a visit to see your cask (or order to draw a sample) in person.

You are provided with a “Title Deed Certificate” which is authenticated and verified by PAI’s two founders before it is issued.

All our casks come with 5 years storage, insurance and some servicing included. We aim to remove all the cumbersome hassles of owning a cask!

We store your cask(s) with our partner distilleries, or a UK government approved bonded warehouse. The scotch cask(s) are stored in Scotland and welsh cask(s) are stored in Wales depending on what liquid you have procured. As you might know all scotch whisky casks have to mature and bottle in Scotland for them to be labelled as Scotch (unless you have a Welsh whisky).

We identify all cask locations in your Title Deed upon issuance. PAI will always be your first port of call if you want to know anything pre or post purchase on cask locations and visitation.

We always start your journey to cask ownership with an “EXIT” strategy in mind. We ensure it is simple, seamless and hassle free. Upon your request to sell, we can make a recommendation of what is the best option and potential ROI for you. You then sign a “Sell Order”, and we get to work. Once the cask is sold (as a retail bottle or in its cask), PAI simply transfers your sale proceeds (minus any costs and fees as detailed in your PA) to your bank account.  

PAI also sends you regular updates (and in near future via an online dashboard) to give you a potential idea of all your options available to exit.

ABV or Alcohol By Volume is the percentage of pure alcohol in a cask. For example, a whisky that is 40% ABV is 40% pure alcohol and 60% water. 

The volume of liquid in a cask is measured in bulk litres of alcohol, I.e., the total amount of whisky in the cask. However, when a cask is bought or sold the price paid is calculated on the litres of pure alcohol in the cask. This is the alcohol at 100% ABV in the cask. When a cask is filled, this measurement is known as the Original Litres of Alcohol (OLA).

Example: If a cask was filled with 200 litres of whisky at 50% ABV then there would be 100 litres of pure alcohol in the cask. So, the OLA figure is 100 OLA.

Because alcohol is lost through “Angel’s Share”, a cask is usually regauged within about 10 years (although sometimes earlier or later) of being filled to establish its current strength and volume. This new figure is called the Regauged Litres of Alcohol (RLA). The RLA figure is updated each time a regauge is requested. A new ABV is provided at the same time as well.

Example: If the cask in our previous example was regauged to have 150 litres of whisky at 50% ABV after 10 years, there would be 75 litres of pure alcohol left in the cask so the RLA figure would be 75 RLA.

The Angels’ Share is a term for the natural evaporation of whisky out of a cask over the course of its maturation. The story goes that the whisky drifts up to Heaven for the angels to drink, hence the name.

Generally speaking, spirits tend to evaporate more quickly while they’re young, and then slow down as they age. So, at the very beginning of a whisky’s time in the cask, the angels’ share will be right at the top of the spectrum – around 3.5% to 4% every year. As it ages, the whisky will keep evaporating (it will never stop), but it will do so at much lower rates. By the end of its maturation period, a 20-year-old spirit might lose 40% of its volume. But what it loses in volume by its inherent nature it gains in price!

Did you know that a whisky that drops below 40% abv is no longer legally a whisky?

Let us look at our American friends in Kentucky the south-eastern US state. Due to its climate, the Kentucky summer might send the temperatures in top floor of a warehouse in ranges if 50-60C (140 – 140F), while the bottom floor might be 20C (70F) soaring the rates of maturation and evaporation. The casks on the top floors lose liquid rapidly. Furthermore, Kentucky is also humid, thus enabling the water leaving the cask first (rather than alcohol), strengthening the Bourbon. That is in contrast to what happens in Scotland (which is cold and less humid) hence the alcohol leaves the spirit first.

Common Cask Name: Barrel
Wood: Virgin American oak, Irish oak, Japanese oak, etc.
Volume: Usually 200 – 500 litres, though they can have quarter casks as well which are 80L
Comes from: Country of origin
Typical flavours: Spice, vanilla, sweet oak
You may know: Octomore 7.4, Arran The Bothy

Common Cask Name: Barrel or barrique
Wood: Typically, French oak
Volume: Up to 220 litres
Comes from: Local to each wine region, e.g. Bordeaux (France)
Typical flavours: Varies according to wine. Sauternes has notes of fresh bread, tart au citron, and crème caramel. Bordeaux gives red berry, cherry, and plum.
You may know: Glenmorangie Quarter Century, Glenmorangie Pride 1981

Common Cask Name: Pipe or barrique
Wood: Usually French oak
Volume: Up to 600 litres for a port pipe, up to 220 litres for a port barrique
Comes from: Portugal
Typical flavours: Berry fruits, red currant, sultana
You may know: Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban, Balvenie Portwood 21 year old

Common Cask Name: Butt or puncheon (Sherry Finish)
Types: Pedro Ximénez, oloroso, amontillado, fino, manzanilla, etc.
Wood: European or American oak
Volume: Up to 500 litre
Comes from: Jerez, Spain
Typical flavours: Dates, walnut, sultana
You may know: Balvenie DoubleWood, Lagavulin Distillers Edition, Glenmorangie Lasanta

Common Cask Name: Drum (Madeira Finish)
Wood: Portuguese oak
Volume: Up to 650 litres
Comes from: Portugal
Typical flavours: Sweet fruits, figs, spice
You may know: Laphroaig Cairdeas 2016, Tyrconnell 10-year-old Madeira Cask Finish

Common Cask Name: Puncheon (Rum cask)
Wood: American oak
Volume: Up to 500 litres
Comes from: Caribbean
Typical flavours: Molasses, vanilla, tropical fruits
You may know: Balvenie Caribbean Cask, Teeling Small Batch Rum Cask Finish

Common Cask Name: Barrel (Beer cask)
Wood: American oak
Volume: Up to 200 litres
Comes from: Usually a local brewery
Typical flavours: Sweetness, malt, creamy
You may know: Glenfiddich IPA Experiment, Jameson Caskmates

NOTE: Barrel, Hogshead, Quarter Cask, and Barrique are the most common type of drums used in the industry.