Own a Raasay Distillery Whisky Cask: Big,
Small or Shared

The number of bottles in your cask will vary depending on the angels’ share – the natural evaporation and loss of spirit that occurs during maturation – as well as the maturation period, bottle size and bottling strength. For example, we estimate a 190 litre cask will produce 250 70cl bottles at 46% ABV. This number is approximate and will vary based on the above factors.

Additional costs over and above the price paid for your whisky include:

• Bottling, Dry Goods & Delivery.
• UK Duty & Value Added Tax (VAT). All taxes are subject to change by the UK government.
• International Taxes.

If your bottled whisky is exported from the UK, international duty and other taxes may be payable. Different tax rates apply throughout the EU and the rest of the world. If your bottled whisky is being exported from the UK, UK duty and VAT may not payable.

Duty
HMRC charge Duty on liquid based on the percentage of pure alcohol. This is measured in alcohol per volume (ABV).

VAT
UK value added tax (VAT) is currently 20%. Both Duty and VAT are due after your cask has been bottled and the finished goods are removed from our bonded warehouse.

Other Taxes
Different rates of Duty apply throughout the EU and the rest of the world.

Tax Variations
All taxes are subject to change by the UK government.

The below examples are based on what we believe to be the worst case future scenario. The figures used in our examples are all subject to change.

30 Litre Casks
Based on current UK duty rates of £28.74 (valid at February 2019) per litre of pure alcohol, a 30 litre cask when filled at 63.5% will hold 19.05 litres of pure alcohol, equating to a total of £547.50 alcohol duty. However, these rates are subject to change and the figure does not account for variables such as the angels’ share, which is the natural evaporation and subsequent loss of spirit that occurs during maturation in the cask.

For approximately 40 bottles – not including any potential evaporation in order to offset potential UK duty increases – we estimate that including bottling costs charged at standard industry rates, UK duty and VAT at 20%, the total payable will be around £2,009.2 in three years’ time, which equates to £50.23 per bottle including the original cask price of £999.

190 Litre Casks
Based on current UK duty rates of £28.74 (valid at February 2019) per litre of pure alcohol, a 190 litre cask when filled at 63.5% will hold 120.65 litres of pure alcohol, equating to a total of £3467.48 alcohol duty. However, these rates are subject to change and the figure does not account for variables such as the angels’ share, which is the natural evaporation and subsequent loss of spirit that occurs during maturation in the cask.

For approximately 250 bottles – not including any potential evaporation in order to offset potential UK duty increases – we estimate that including bottling costs at standard industry rates, UK duty and VAT at 20%, the total payable will be around £11,365 in ten years’ time, which equates to £45.46 per bottle including the original cask price of £5,000.

Delivery costs are not included in the cost of your whisky and will be charged at standard rates at the time of bottling. Bottles can also be collected from the distillery by prior arrangement at a mutually agreed time. All collection costs are the responsibility of the cask owner. Single Malt Scotch Whisky can only be exported from Scotland in bottles, so your cask will be bottled by us on Raasay and then exported to your country. The cask is not included in the sale, unless you are buying one of our smaller 30 litre casks, which are included in the sale.

UK & Europe

Delivery is available to UK and European countries. Shipping cost will vary dependant on the delivery address.

United States of America

Please contact us for more information on shipping to the US.

Other International

If you would like to have your bottles delivered to an address outside of the UK or Europe, please contact us.

Whisky purchased in a cask in the UK that is for personal use (e.g. a gift for family, a wedding present for a friend etc.) is considered exempt from Capital Gains Tax. This is because in the UK, Capital Gains Tax is not applicable to whisky as it is regarded as a “tangible”, “wasting” asset. On realisation of the asset, you would not be expected to pay Capital Gains Tax.

You can view our full terms & conditions for cask purchases by clicking on the link below.

To request more information on our cask offering, please complete the form below. A member of the Raasay Distillery team will then be in touch to answer any queries.

Alternatively, please feel free to contact our team on +44 (0) 1478 470178 or email info@raasaydistillery.com