Why Spirited?

Spirited is one of many whisky cask traders, and most offer very similar platforms. This raises a question we asked ourselves a few years ago when Spirited was just a concept, and a question anyone exploring whisky cask ownership should ask: Why Spirited?

More specifically, why does Spirited exist, and why should anyone choose Spirited as their broker, service provider, representative, and ally in the whisky cask market?

Problem Statement

Whisky cask ownership is dominated by investment intermediaries that prioritise financial speculation over client experience. The result is a system that lacks transparency, service quality, operational efficiency, and investor education, which creates widespread and often unavoidable problems for cask investors.

Whisky cask investment, collection, ownership, maintenance, and utilisation have historically been mediated by whisky investment firms that focus, more or less, solely on the “investment” in whisky casks. For most participants this model is strictly financial. It usually fails to meet acceptable standards of transparency, service, efficiency, and education that a savvy client would reasonably demand. As a result, problems are abundant and often unavoidable for cask investors.

Spirited, the concept

Spirited exists to help balance the playing field between cask vendors (including us) and cask buyers. Even our name, Spirited, is “Spirit Ed(ucation),” a commitment to educating anyone who wants to learn about the cask market. Our goal is to make cask ownership, whether for investment or otherwise, as safe as possible for anyone in the market.

Our hypothesis is that anyone looking to buy a cask will want good‑faith guidance that is demonstrably trustworthy, reliable, realistic, and robust. We make a few key assumptions in every discussion with prospective clients:

• If you are looking to buy a cask, you want advice supported by third‑party evidence.
• You expect us to answer your questions clearly and walk you through, in detail, all of the processes involved.
• You might not be in a position to understand some answers at first. You therefore expect us to explain them clearly.
• You might not ask some questions that are important to you. It is our responsibility to pre‑empt this by offering answers to questions you may not have thought to ask.

The whisky cask market is unregulated, which means there are many pitfalls and limited protections for owners. This should be taken seriously. At the same time, cask ownership offers many opportunities and joys. It is important to approach a cask purchase with the mindset of a scrupulous investor. There are risks, so you should learn what they are and consider how they affect you.

The explosion of whisky cask investment firms, especially since around 2019, has created many cautionary tales. It has also opened doors for savvy investors and enthusiasts. Historically, the industry was not well equipped to serve private cask owners. Buying specific casks from specific distilleries was difficult, and private bottling projects were even harder. Regular investors were effectively locked out of the market.

Why choose Spirited? With everything above in mind, why should you work with Spirited over anyone else?

"We focused not on those known for investment, but on people with deep roots in whisky heritage. We sought advice from distillery owners, master distillers, cask warehouses, representatives of multinational drinks companies, independent bottlers, cask whisky logistics firms, insurance providers, journalists, whisky authors, and educators."

When we were at the drawing board, we approached many of the most significant participants in the market. We focused not on those known for investment, but on people with deep roots in whisky heritage. We sought advice from distillery owners, master distillers, cask warehouses, representatives of multinational drinks companies, independent bottlers, cask whisky logistics firms, insurance providers, journalists, whisky authors, and educators. And we continue to do so....We saw many problems in the cask marketplace and were open about our concerns. This frankness did not stall the project. It helped us build strong bonds and form a kind of coalition.

Because the whisky cask market is unregulated, strong, trusting, and transparent relationships are essential for everyone’s safety. Many parties are involved in transferring ownership and securing each cask. We have invested significant time in building and maintaining trusted partnerships across our value chain. We work closely with the teams who inspect and store every cask we handle. We have visited warehouses to review their processes and to see the casks under our management. When we buy casks, we run a robust due diligence process to verify the cask’s authenticity and all associated information.

Due diligence

We stand by our due diligence so firmly that we offer a guarantee on every cask we sell. In the unlikely event that something goes wrong in the transaction, you should not suffer the financial repercussions for a mistake on our part or on the part of any supplier upstream of us. While this may seem simple, it is extremely rare in the market. Brokers frequently fail to perform proper due diligence on their suppliers and products, or they fail to deliver what was sold. In those instances the client pays the price. That should never happen.

Pricing

Since casks are an investment, price matters. We strive to offer highly competitive pricing. We cannot always guarantee the lowest price, but we do ensure that our service, responsiveness, and individualised care are unparalleled. Whenever we access a great deal on whisky, we pass it on to buyers. If our cost drops, your price drops. In many cases, we buy in bulk to lower the unit cost for everyone.

Conclusion

Spirited is a project built not just for us but for you. We are all stakeholders in this market, and it matters to us that everyone is well cared for. Whether you are buying a cask today or bought one 18 months ago, we are thinking about you and advocating for you. That may mean proactively checking on your cask at the warehouse, developing services and workflows that benefit you, or finding ways for you to derive additional or auxiliary value, often at no cost, from your experience as a Spirited client. As a cask owner, you are part of a special community of like‑minded individuals around the world. We are here to help you maximise your enjoyment and experience, whatever that looks like.