Such a civilized drink... does anyone here know the `go betweens` for purchasing a whole cask and importing it to the US?
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cask purchasing of fine scottish whisky
- Thread starter **Bingo_Bob**
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if you check on the Bruichladdich site, you can find information on purchasing casks and futures for a case of whisky,
- Thread starter
- #3
What is the Bruichladdich site?
The Bruichladdich site is http://www.bruichladdich.com/ I know Arran also sells casks, you may try them, or Tullibardine. I have shares in a cask of each, but I'm not sure if we bought them directly from the distillery or from an independent. (I'm not involved in the details of our 'acquisitions.'
As far as the go-betweens, I don't know about in the US but in Canada we need to use a bonded importer, then run it through the appropriate liquor control board for the corresponding province. If you already have a cask, the distillery may be able to give you the name of the distributor for your area who may be able to help you.
It seems to vary by state, too. I notice on the Bruichladdich site that they will no longer sell casks to residents of certain states.
As far as the go-betweens, I don't know about in the US but in Canada we need to use a bonded importer, then run it through the appropriate liquor control board for the corresponding province. If you already have a cask, the distillery may be able to give you the name of the distributor for your area who may be able to help you.
It seems to vary by state, too. I notice on the Bruichladdich site that they will no longer sell casks to residents of certain states.
- Thread starter
- #5
thanks for the info!
I'm doing a Bourbon barrel purchase (samples tasting is tonight!), and it could be similar for Scotch.
In the US, the 3-Tier distribution system is the 800 pound guerrilla. There must be 3 players in every liquor sale: producer/importer, distributor and retailer. You would need to get one of each of these on board, and each have their own foibles.
What you would receive are cases of whisky, most likely in 750ml bottles. I believe 1.75 containers are the largest common size that is legal to retail in the US (being just under 1/2 gallon). The barrel can be sent dry to you, depending on the deal.
Used American Bourbon barrels make up 3/4 or more of Scotch barrels, with the largest remaining percentage being used Sherry barrels. This is significant, of course, for flavor, but also size, as there are several standard sizes of barrels. Bourbon barrels are some of the smallest, at 52 gallons. With the "angels share" of evaporation, you could expect 8-15 12 bottle cases of 750ml from an ex-bourbon barrel.
Some Scotch distilleries are specially set up for barrel sales to enthusiasts or enthusiast groups, and it wouldn't surprise me if the independent bottlers (Signatory, Murray MacDavid, etc.) would be happy to work with you.
This said, there are many liquor stores, often local chains or specialty stores, that already have barrel programs. The easiest way for an enthusiast to get a portion of a barrel of his/her choice is to work with a liquor store. The standing deal I have with a liquor store for my tasting group is that we do most of the footwork to organize the deal and choose the sample. The liquor store uses its existing distribution system and retail license to receive the bottles. In our arrangement, he keeps 8-12 cases to retail in his store and members of our tasting group buys several cases from him at a nice price.
Scotch single barrels are often quite different than the distillery's standard product, especially when a mixture of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry barrels are mingled to create their standard profile. If the standard profile is, let's say 10% ex-sherry, with a single barrel one gets either all of the sweet, fruitiness of the Sherry or none of it. I have a 19yo Beltramos Highland Park that is more of a sherry monster than an a'Bunnadh, quite out of HP's standard. That is the delight and mystery of Scotch single barrels.
My caution for the OP is that a lot of juice and a lot of money is involved in these transactions, and it shouldn't be entered lightly. I would recommend to get started by buying individual bottles of store-chosen barrel purchases (Binnys is one that sells mail-order nationally, where legal) and independent bottlers. There's a lot of good drinking and learning about flavors to be had before making the leap to purchasing 120 bottles of the same flavor.
Roger
In the US, the 3-Tier distribution system is the 800 pound guerrilla. There must be 3 players in every liquor sale: producer/importer, distributor and retailer. You would need to get one of each of these on board, and each have their own foibles.
What you would receive are cases of whisky, most likely in 750ml bottles. I believe 1.75 containers are the largest common size that is legal to retail in the US (being just under 1/2 gallon). The barrel can be sent dry to you, depending on the deal.
Used American Bourbon barrels make up 3/4 or more of Scotch barrels, with the largest remaining percentage being used Sherry barrels. This is significant, of course, for flavor, but also size, as there are several standard sizes of barrels. Bourbon barrels are some of the smallest, at 52 gallons. With the "angels share" of evaporation, you could expect 8-15 12 bottle cases of 750ml from an ex-bourbon barrel.
Some Scotch distilleries are specially set up for barrel sales to enthusiasts or enthusiast groups, and it wouldn't surprise me if the independent bottlers (Signatory, Murray MacDavid, etc.) would be happy to work with you.
This said, there are many liquor stores, often local chains or specialty stores, that already have barrel programs. The easiest way for an enthusiast to get a portion of a barrel of his/her choice is to work with a liquor store. The standing deal I have with a liquor store for my tasting group is that we do most of the footwork to organize the deal and choose the sample. The liquor store uses its existing distribution system and retail license to receive the bottles. In our arrangement, he keeps 8-12 cases to retail in his store and members of our tasting group buys several cases from him at a nice price.
Scotch single barrels are often quite different than the distillery's standard product, especially when a mixture of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry barrels are mingled to create their standard profile. If the standard profile is, let's say 10% ex-sherry, with a single barrel one gets either all of the sweet, fruitiness of the Sherry or none of it. I have a 19yo Beltramos Highland Park that is more of a sherry monster than an a'Bunnadh, quite out of HP's standard. That is the delight and mystery of Scotch single barrels.
My caution for the OP is that a lot of juice and a lot of money is involved in these transactions, and it shouldn't be entered lightly. I would recommend to get started by buying individual bottles of store-chosen barrel purchases (Binnys is one that sells mail-order nationally, where legal) and independent bottlers. There's a lot of good drinking and learning about flavors to be had before making the leap to purchasing 120 bottles of the same flavor.
Roger
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