Cask Trade launches creating an honest marketplace to trade whisky by the cask
This month saw the launch of Cask Trade â the first real and trustworthy marketplace for trading single malt whisky casks.
Whisky experts, bottlers, collectors and journalists came together for the launch of Cask Trade at 67 Pall Mall, London, on Monday 7th October.
Guests heard a presentation on whisky investment by the owner, Simon Aron, before a tasting of six cask strength whiskies. All of the tasted whiskies were in casks owned by Cask Trade including Glenlivet 1978 and Aberlour 1989. The tasting was given by Keeper of the Quaich Sir Colin Hampden-White and the worldâs leading authority on whisky Charlie MacLean.
Serial entrepreneur and angel investor Simon Aronâs aim is to build an open and honest marketplace for whisky collectors, investors and whisky bottlers, to trade. Cask Trade is unique in that it only deals in casks of single malt whisky it owns. It is not a whisky cask broker and it does not sell shares in whisky funds or offer fractional sales.
In his presentation, Simon shared example figures on a mixed portfolio investment of ÂŁ100,000. A total of 14 whisky casks purchased for ÂŁ100,000 would appreciate at an average increase of 13-18% a year (over 4-6 years), generating a gross return of more than ÂŁ214,000, an increase of 114%.
He also revealed future plans for the business that are revolutionary and innovative.Â
At the tasting this week, Charlie MacLean welcomed the launch of Cask Trade and the stringent checks and processes the business has in place. âItâs terribly important to evaluate by nosing and tasting the whiskies that you are selling. Itâs so important not to sell a pup. Iâve come across companies and individual casks that have really been below par,â says Charlie who added age is not a guarantee of quality.
To view a live stock list, register an account today at casktrade.com.
âAll casks are owned by Cask Trade and whiskies are listed at a uniform price. â You wonât find casks being brokered here and are no different trade and retail prices either. We regularly check our casks, provide samples and arrange re-gauges. On our new live auction site, which is a worldâs first, there is also a 0% sellers fee at auction. We can even arrange movement, bottling and shipment,â says Simon, who explains provenance and quality are ensured by the stringent application process.
Cask Trade has started the first live auction website dedicated to exceptional whisky casks: auctionyourcask.com.
Hosted four times a year, the auction helps private owners and investors sell their casks to independent bottlers and other investors all around the world. All casks will be re-gauged ready for auction and a full 70cl sample will be drawn so that bidders have the opportunity to try the whisky before they buy – wherever possible. Cask Trade validate all the sellers confirming proof of ownership and the history of the cask enabling bidders to safely buy. With complete transparency and 0% sellersâ fee Cask Trade can offer customers the actual hammer price. Their low buyersâ fee of 15% + VAT will offer the opportunity to buyers, trade or private, to buy fine and rare casks.
The first auction will take place on 20th November 2019.
Picture Caption: Sir Colin Hampden-White, Charles MacLean and Simon Aron
A link to images from Mondayâs event can be found here: https://we.tl/t-2RTEs4uP5z
NOTESÂ
Founded in 2018 by Simon Aron in partnership with several of the worldâs foremost whisky masters, including Keeper of the Quaich Sir Colin Hampden-White, Cask Trade buys and sells exceptional casks of whiskies. The company is unique because it only sells casks it owns outright, and it only sells whole casks: it is not a whisky cask broker and it does not offer fractional sales.
A passionate whisky collector for more than 20 years, Simon Aron suffered many false promises from cask whisky investment companies and this drove his ambition to create a real and trustworthy market place for whisky collectors and investors, and bottlers:
The companyâs casks are held in HMRC bonded warehouses, regularly visited and approved by Cask Tradeâs experience staff. All stock holdings have a complete paper trail:
- Delivery orders from supplier to Cask Trade
- Invoices for transfer of ownership, storage insurance, re-gauging, sampling or movement
- HMRC-issued WOWGR (warehouse keepers, warehouse premises, owner of goods and registered consigners): a fully regulated and closely monitored license requiring due diligence on suppliers as well as customers.
Included in its extensive list of customer services, Cask Tradeâs rigorous processes means that the company will buy back from its clients the casks they have bought from and had managed by Cask Trade. It also offers:
- Regular sampling and re-gauging of casks
- Re-racking (sherry, wine, port, etc.)
- Estimates of bottles and strength in cask (effects of angelsâ share over years of maturations)
- Financial modelling for each cask based on age and rarity with estimated % returns
- Costings for bottling, labelling and shipping (duty & tax)
- Regularly updated whisky investment guide which includes statistics from two authoritative third parties (independent of Cask Trade)
- Cask Trade will arrange for clients to receive samples of their whiskies and visit their barrel(s), upon request â where available.
Hosted four times a year and helping private owners/investors sell their cask to independent bottlers and other investors all around the world. All casks will be re-gauged ready for auction and a full 70cl sample will be drawn so that bidders have the opportunity to try the whisky before they buy. – Wherever possible. We validate all the sellers and confirm proof of ownership and the history of the cask enabling bidders to safely buy. With complete transparency and no sellersâ fee we can offer you the actual hammer price. Our low buyersâ fee of 15% + VAT will offer the opportunity to buyers, trade or private, to buy rare casks.
https://www.casktrade.com/
https://www.auctionyourcask.com/Â
Simon Aron
Simon Aron is a serial entrepreneur and angel investor. He has a background in technology, commercial property and agriculture. Aged 23, in 1990 he founded his first business, Eurodata Systems plc. He grew the business to 180 employees with a turnover of $50 million in just over 20 years. During that time Eurodata won 22 business awards and Simon was Plimsoll Publishing Entrepreneur of the Year in 2002 (https://www.plimsoll.co.uk/).
Simon is currently the Vice President of Agrovision (https://agrovisioncorp.com/) which includes a 24,000-hectare farm in Peru and is the one of the worldâs largest supplier of blueberries. The company operates with special care for the natural conservation of the land and environment, and it strives to make a positive impact on its local communities through employment opportunities and training, health care, educational and recreational programs, infrastructure projects, and other charitable programs.
Amongst his extensive charity work, Simon is also a trustee of Ort UK (https://ortuk.org/), which is part of a global network that empowers young people through life-changing science and technology education and vocational training. âHaving spent time with hundreds of IT Directors, working on their technology strategies, I believe that I can apply my knowledge to the next generation and even re-educate people on how to use IT to better enhance their lives and careers. Education in certain parts of the world is the only path to follow to counteract a vicious circle with no way out. ORT UK gives me the opportunity to make a difference; itâs a fantastic charity with a long heritage in education since 1880.â
Sir Colin Hampden-White
Sir Colin is Keeper of the Quaich and sits on the judging panel at the World Whisky Awards and International Wine & Spirits (IWSC) competition. He also presents on The Three Drinkers global TV show on Amazon Prime and is Chairman of the Circle of Wine Writers.
Colin has taken an unconventional route into the world of whisky. A trained quantity surveyor, in 2001 Colin decided to follow one of his passions and he moved into the world of media as a professional photographer. After several years at the Scotsman, he moved to London to work with The Times and The FT. There he was able to combine photography with wider journalism and became a freelance writer as well. His focus was fine wine and whisky for Condé Nast and LUX magazine. In 2012 he won the Louis Roederer Award for Artistry in wine.
Whisky Price Growth
Whisky, according to the recent Knight Frank Wealth Report, is 2019’s top performing luxury investment. With an increase of 40% on rare bottle values in the last 12 months, it far outstripped the more established alternative assets such as art, wine and cars.
From page 78 – https://content.knightfrank.com/resources/knightfrank.com/wealthreport/2019/the-wealth-report-2019.pdf
Data collected by Rare Whisky 101 suggests the four-year growth from December 2014 in rare whisky has increased over 160%, compared to just 2.47% for the FTSE 100. https://www.rarewhisky101.com/indices
The same report by Rare Whisky 101 claimed via the BBC that they had performed a controlled test of 55 rare bottles, of which over a third were fakes.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-46566703
