Collectors Cask

For the Collectors Cask, you may choose New Zealand Peated or Distillers [unpeated] Malt. We offer both choices for our Collectors Casks, at the same price. The cask will be filled with new make spirit, distilled in the Waiheke Island Distillery. The Collectors Casks will all be refill 50L casks. This is a ‘’quarter cask” and smaller than our standard barrel size. This is a high quality cask and is the first of this size filled at Waiheke Whisky. It is perfect for a 3 year ageing period. These casks have all been filled in 2024.

A Collectors Cask will be aged for three years. It must be aged a minimum of two years to be legally ‘whisky’ in New Zealand, and three years for many other countries. We believe these casks will be perfect after three years. The angel share (evaporation rate) we have experienced in Waiheke is higher than in Scotland where it is reported at around 5% per annum. This is why our whisky matures more quickly here and means we tend to bottle our first Waiheke Whisky releases by around 5 years. While it is possible to age for longer, if you’d like to hold it for a certain event or date, we recommend you discuss this with us to understand the implications of final volume and costs.

It can be, but that is not the idea behind the Collectors Cask program. This is a rare opportunity to be a part of the story and shape a cask of our whisky for you, your family and friends to enjoy.

The bespoke Waiheke Whisky bottle volume is 700ml The owner can choose to bottle their whisky at a specific bottle strength or cask strength which dictates the number of bottles you will receive. We will help you through the process. The owner can choose to name the whisky upon bottling. Labels must be legally compliant, and the Government’s rules can change. We will undertake to professionally print our Collectors Cask labels to our own design specifications that allow space to print your chosen name, and the distillation and bottling date, along with the ABV%.

If you are having your bottles delivered to a NZ domestic address, then all costs are covered with the initial purchase. If you require bottles to be delivered internationally then freight, taxes and excise are the purchaser’s responsibility. If you choose to store your cask past the 3-year mark, storage will be applied at the prevailing rate per year and further samples will be charged at cost. However we recommend bottling at the 3 year point as above. You may buy the barrel your whisky was aged in for NZ$500 after the whisky is bottled. Shipping it to you will be charged at the cost price from the shipping supplier. [see can I take my empty barrel home?] Re-casking (see below) will carry associated costs, we can discuss this with you.

If you wish to purchase a cask with other people, we will require one ‘owner’ to hold the title for the cask. Any sharing agreement outside of this will be a private agreement between the ‘owners’. One progress barrel sample will be shipped during the maturation, or you can arrange with us to try your cask at the distillery on Waiheke Island, and you are welcome to bring the other ‘owners’ to this tasting. The named owner will be responsible for all communicating with Waiheke Whisky and will be the single decision maker on bottling date[s], when it is time to deliver the whisky to you. They’re also the contact for all billing etc. We are happy to provide a Cask certificate to multiple ‘part-owners’ to a maximum of 10.

Yes, you can. Further ageing is subject to the proviso above, that the angels share will impact the final volume. Re-racking (moving the spirit into a new cask) is an excellent way to boost the flavour profile of a cask. We have contacts for all varieties of casks whom we work with to tweak and tailor our own releases. We are more than happy to provide options for further cask ageing for your own whisky, for example sherry finish, ‘port’ finish, or a wine finish. Cost will vary by cask. We can also advise on flavour profiles and any other aspects of re-racking that you would like to know about. Further storage costs will be applied too.

You may transfer ownership of your cask, subject to relevant checks on the purchaser i.e. AML legislation, and the new owner will adhere to all the original agreement signed on purchase of the cask. A transfer of ownership is deemed a non-transactable process i.e. not a sale. All requirements that applied to transfer of ownership of the Collectors Cask must also be adhered to by the new owner and that the new owner also needs to sign an agreement with Waiheke Whisky agreeing to the terms of transfer.

There are two options for you, should you wish to sell the cask in the future: 1. You can sell the spirit back to us - we would have first right of refusal on any sale and if we can agree a price at the time and there would be minimal fees involved as the stock is and would stay in our warehouse. 2. You can sell it to a third party. If we can’t match the refusal, you would then be free to proceed with the sale. In this instance, costs are minimal as transport, insurance costs etc. are usually passed as a buyer’s responsibility, however all the benefits of the Collectors Cask program are not transferable, only ownership of the cask. 3. All requirements that applied to sale of the Collectors Cask must also be adhered to by the new owner and that the new owner also needs to sign an agreement with Waiheke Whisky agreeing to the terms of sale.

You can but we don’t recommend this – not only are casks heavy, and potentially dangerous as they contain a high strength alcohol, and part of the provenance of Waiheke whisky is ageing casks at the distillery. Any removal prior to the fixed storage period will attract a service fee, payment of excise unless transferred to a bonded warehouse and no guarantee on the final evaporation, or condition of the whisky will be made if the cask is uplifted from our distillery. Transport will be at the purchaser’s own risk including any damage or loss of spirit. Whisky that is removed from our care may also not be labelled using the Waiheke Whisky name – this is to protect the integrity of the distillery by ensuring only casks that have spent their entire ageing period in our care will carry our name.

You may buy the barrel your whisky was aged in for NZ$500+GST. Shipping it to you will be charged at the cost price from our shipping supplier.

Example answer. A non-refundable 10% Deposit will be required to secure your cask The balance of the total will be due within 7 days of filling Further storage than the 3 years included will be charged to the customer If the customer chooses to bottle the cask, duties, excise and bottling charges will apply. The cask is intended to be stored at Waiheke Whisky Any costs related to export of the bottled whisky are the responsibility of the purchaser and our team can assist with this process Enquire for further information info@waihekewhisky.com or see our website www.waihekewhisky.com for terms and conditions,