Well I’ll be drammed: Leading whisky merchant Cask Trade hosts ultimate rare whisky tasting

Cask Trade, the cask whisky merchant for collectors, enthusiasts and independent trade bottlers, recently unlocked its extensive drinks cabinet, home to thousands of rarities and premium spirits, to celebrate its 5th anniversary.  

Founded by Simon Aron in 2018, in partnership Keeper of the Quaich Colin Hampden-White, and other industry luminaries, the company has ploughed a unique furrow, owning all the casks it sells, and delighting enthusiasts in the process.

Aron, himself a whisky collector for more than two decades, launched the enterprise with an ambition to create a trusted marketplace for fellow collectors, and to date it has sold over 10,000 casks from around 160 distilleries. 

Cask Trade says around half of the casks it sells are to independent bottlers…

“I’ve been into whisky for about 28 years, travelling to distilleries when there weren’t visiting centres, collecting bottles – that got out of hand – and then started buying casks,” says Aron. “Some were very unusual. I decided to start a company and do it properly, curating casks for bottlers.”

Five years on, the company now employs 23 people and sells casks to whiskey connoisseurs on every continent. The business has gone international, says the founder: “We’ve sold into Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia…”

Cask Trade: trusted marketplace for whisky collectors

Amongst the various services Cask Trade offers is online auction platform for cask whisky, Auction Your Cask (launched in 2020), and Regent Street Cask Bottlers (founded 2021), a bottling service for cask owners seeking bottling services.

The company, which has recently set up a charity bottling partnership with The Drinks Trust, says around half of the casks it sells are to independent bottlers.

So what are buyers looking for? “We’re noticing quite a few different trends toward alternative casks, mainly because people can’t afford sherry hogsheads and sherry butts.”

And it’s not just about whisky. Cask Trade also handles armagnac, cognac and rum. 

“Our oldest casks are from 1973,” says Aron, “single grain from the North of Scotland; the newest stuff we taste is from 2023 – we tend to sample all our whiskies. For this anniversary, we thought we’d demonstrate the depth and breadth of what we do. To open up the sample cabinet and get stuck in.”

Cask Trade 5th anniversary whisky tasting

The Luxe Review was invited to join the team at the company’s Tasting Room on Regent Street, London, to sample drams from its extensive library of whisky, rum, and Armagnac casks. Never has there been so much choice and so little time…

The tasting menu for our visit was formidable, with drams aged 5 to 15 years, a selection of old and rare tipples, a variety of Non-Scotch and a Springbank collection. Hampden-White offered expert guidance as we manoeuvred around the listing. Ostensibly, the our task was to pick 5, but that restriction was quickly forgotten…

An early favourite of mine proved to be a 2007 Orkney Malt (Highland Park) at 62.5% ABV, with distinctive notes of Viking honey, vanilla, and burnt treacle.

But competition was fierce, with a younger 2010 Bunnahabain, at 66.3% ABV, and a 2021 Craiggellachie, from 2007 with a 56.01%ABV, proving equally sippable. The former offering chocolate and raisins with a little H2O encouragement, the latter smooth and fruity.

Founder Aron has a fondness for Springbank, and has fostered many casks from the distillery. A specially curated selection, comprising a 1994 hogshead (48.3% ABV), 1995 cask (48.7% ABV), 1997 Sherry hogshead (49.8% ABV), 1997 barrel (50.1%ABV) and 1998 refill bourbon cask (53.7%ABV) were offered as personal favourites. A strong endorsement indeed.

The most startling discovery was a fat, funky 1992 Uitvlugt rum from Guyana. This certainly sent pulses racing, it was a real party animal.  

Perhaps the biggest treat was to be found amongst the rarities. A 1997 Aldunie, at 54% ABV, received unanimous praise around the table. There was even a sample from a 1997 cask from the now closed Caperdonich distillery.

I left, eagerly looking forward to the next excuse to venture in Cask Trade’s cabinet of delights.

Cask prices start at £1,995. For more visit Cask Trade online here.