American Cask

The Borders Distillery®, the first whisky distillery in the Scottish Borders since 1837. To celebrate this achievement the Directors are releasing American Casks for sale by invitation only.

This companion app allows American Cask owners to follow their cask and access exclusive benefits. The app offers:

Cask info - Details of your cask, wood type filling date

Cask tracking - Track the evolution of the spirit in your cask. Each year on the filling anniversary we will assess the state of the spirit and you will receive a proprietary ‘spidergram’ developed by the Borders Distillery® . As the spirit matures into whisky you will be able to follow its progress of the spirit by scrubbing through your ‘spidergrams’ and after three years you will be able to assess progress of the whiskies within the American Cask universe.

Finding your cask

Casks have been used since the seventeenth century (although the word appears in English as long ago as 1526) as way of softening the harsh new spirit and adding layers of flavour to the matured spirit. Oak is the only material used for Scotch Whisky. It is sufficiently porous to enable the spirit to ‘breathe’ but hard enough to be a robust container with a long life.
You can choose from five different cask types, chosen by the Borders Distillery®, to suit your own preferences.

American Oak ex – bourbon
Regarded as classic cask for maturing scotch with excellent porosity and an ability to impart subtle flavours to the maturing whisky. Typical characteristics of vanilla, dry, floral, scented

American Oak Refill
These have been used for whisky for a period that can vary from three to six years. Typical characteristics are smooth, vanilla and sweet.

European Oak Douro Wine
A relatively recent addition to the roster of oak casks used for maturing scotch. Typical characteristics are spice, sweet, ripeness.

American Oak Regenerated
Often older casks that have been regenerated in Scotland’s cooperages. This process involves a light re-charring of the staves comprising the barrel. Typical characteristics are gentle smoke, vanilla, semi-sweetness.

American Oak – ex sherry
First used in the second half of the nineteenth century casks used for ageing sherry are a standard in maturing scotch whisky. Typical characteristics are fruity, ripeness and vanilla scents.

Each cask, once selected is filled with new make whisky at 63.5% alcohol by volume (the official UK measure used since 1980). Capacity can vary as casks vary but we will always seek to fill to the cask’s full potential; typically, 190-200L for our cask selection.

Filling your cask

You can select the month and the day upon which you wish your cask to be filled. Mark a birthday or a future celebration by instructing us on the filling date up to twelve months in advance from your acceptance of this invitation.

Once filled, your cask will be stored by the Borders Distillery® and managed by us. The first ten years of storage and insurance are included in the purchase price.