Hi folks.

First off: I know this is an ad, but hey, it's my site so it's a perk for me to be able to break the rules when it suits ;-)

A friend and I are looking into the feasibility of purchasing a refill Hogshead cask of raw malt whisky from a reknowned distillery, with a view to producing in the region of 250 bottles and an intended bottling year of 2015.

This in itself is a moderately expensive proposition to undertake on one's own, so we're looking for interested parties to form part of a new exclusive consortium to split the cost.

The commitment is in two parts: an up-front fee for the cask and contents (plus admin), and an element of duty to be paid on bottling, which should cost around £10 per bottle.

It is anticipated that the overall cost will be an initial 'buy in' for a 1/5 share at £200 (i.e. approximately 50 bottles) and duty on those 50 bottles at £500, this last fee being payable to HMC&E in 2015.

This brings the total to £14 per bottle plus a bottling charge and possible admin cost, which would be investigated and disclosed before any commitment was requried.

What we are looking for is whether this might interest you. The plan is simple: our "Canny Cask Club" will have a simple contract drawn up: entry of £200, and the right to sell on your share prior to bottling (subject to a first-refusal at purchase price clause to remaining Club members).

In subsequent years we intend to locate further casks in reknowned Scottish distilleries, at a similar price. Of course, further investment in new casks is optional - it depends on the interest and feasibility.

Spread this email around your friends - it's open to anyone over 18, who likes a dram or three.

Let me know, and if there is sufficient interest we will move things on. Hey, if enough people are up for it we might even buy two casks of different composition, size or intended bottling date.

John

I could be interested I have forwarded info onto the rest of the Whiskyacoholic members of my family.

Do you have any more details!

So far it's just an idea, and the details will be fleshed out if I reckon there are enough people to make this feasible. It's a fair commitment - £700 per person I reckon, but that gets you 50 bottles. It could work out less if we choose to export the whisky to France and pay the duty there, but the savings might be minimal by the time the carriage costs are factored in, so I'm saying £10-ish per bottle duty as a 'probable'.

This won't be your average supermarket dram: this is full strength, single cask malt whisky without filtering or colouring. It will probably emerge at around 55-60% ABV, and ought to taste divine. I reckon the current market value of a bottle of similar whisky would be around £40-£55 in the UK, perhaps more. Of course, the point is that this ISN'T an investment in that sense, just a way of getting our grubby paws on some fine cask whisky without the middle man/men.

As a pessimistic 'price per bottle' to the members, I reckon if you count on it costing no more than £20 all-in, per bottle. Probably closer to £16. And that's assuming UK duty, non export (which is the path of least resistance, though perhaps the more expensive route).

I'll keep you informed once I find out more.

Cheers,

John

Please remember that the value of Canny Whisky investments, and the income from them, may go down as well as up, and that you may not recover the amount of your original investment. In the case of overseas whisky, changes in the rates of exchange may also cause the value of Canny Whisky investments to go up or down. Whilst a portfolio of whisky specially blended to meet your requirements can be expected to perform in a broadly similar way to the market as a whole, some divergence will be experienced, especially over the short to medium term. Past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance.

This never actually happened for a variety of reasons, but I'm now nudging the topic up again as now would be a good time to get in on this (before the opportunity passes us all by).

Let me know if you are interested.