Annandale Distillery cheers 'revolutionary' whisky cask investment deal

Annandale Distillery, based in Dumfries and Galloway, has cheered an exclusivity deal with a London brokerage that promises a “revolutionary step towards transparency in whisky cask investment”.

The deal will entitle whisky cask broker VCL Vintners to half of Annandale’s output each year – some 276,000 litres – for sale to investors.

Clients of VCL will be able to receive a clear market price, for all grades of single cask single malt whiskies from the distillery – the first time this information has become available to the public.

VCL Vintners will be offering the casks for investment purposes to those with a medium to long-term investment horizon.

With a history that dates back to 1836, the distillery had lain empty for almost 90 years until 2007, when husband and wife David Thomson and Teresa Church saw the significant potential and intrinsic beauty of Annandale’s historic buildings, with its Charles Doig ventilator.

Benjamin Lancaster, director of VCL Vintners, said: “We’ve been working with David Ashton-Hyde (distillery general manager) and the team at Annandale since early 2020 and we’ve seen significant demand from investors for their premium product.

“We ended up forming a close friendship with the distillery and started to explore the possibility of working closely together on an exclusive basis.

“We’re excited because now that we have secured a consistent supply, our clients can benefit from casks with a high-grade premium product and an even higher potential for return on investment, and we can explore both digital and non-digital options for distribution.”

He added: “VCL Vintners intends to disrupt the market and revolutionise the way whisky investors access this high performing, capital growth alternative asset.”

Annandale Distillery owner David Thomson added: “When my wife and I bought the distillery in 2007, our goal was to make whisky that has a complex sensory profile; we wanted it to be big, different and excellent in every respect. I’m proud to say we’re achieving this today, and our single malts are being widely recognised for their unique character.

“We only make one grade of whisky, so our customers can be assured of its quality. We’re very pleased to have the expert support of VCL Vintners to communicate the quality of our cask whisky and we’re very hopeful that the next five years of this partnership will bring a lot of success to both VCL Vintners and Annandale Distillery.”

With a history that dates back to 1836, the distillery had lain empty for almost 90 years until 2007.

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