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Ludlow Whisky Cask Reserve
Own a piece of English whisky history.
A good bottle of whisky is worth buying.
A good cask is worth waiting for…
Private casks laid down under your name at Ludlow Distillery. This is your opportunity to become part of the next chapter in Ludlow’s distilling story – commissioning your own cask of English single malt, filled by hand and left to mature under your name.
Exclusive Opportunity
Our very first casks were offered quietly to close friends and family of the distillery. Now, for the first time, we are opening access more widely to those who believe that whisky should be made slowly, owned personally, and waited for.
We release a maximum of 10 private casks each year into the Ludlow Whisky Cask Reserve — no more. Each one is registered under a single name and laid down to mature in our warehouse, where it rests in your care and ours.
The Distillery & The Spirit
Ludlow is a place shaped by craft, food, and quiet excellence — and our whisky reflects that character. Every batch begins with English malted barley, slowly fermented to build depth and nuance.
Distillation takes place on our 200-litre German copper column still — the only wood-fired whisky still in England — run by hand, by taste, and by instinct.
Our early cask editions — including releases that went on to win Bronze at the Great British Food Awards two years running — sold out within minutes of bottling. The spirit laid down for the Ludlow Whisky Cask Reserve comes from that same still, treated with the same care.
Your Cask Options
| Cask Size | Approx. Bottles (57% ABV) | Entry Price (Under Bond) |
|---|---|---|
| Standard Barrel — 200L | ≈ 270 bottles | £5,995 |
| Quarter Cask — 125L | ≈ 160 bottles | £3,995 |
| Firkin — ~50L | ≈ 65 bottles | £2,495 |
You choose your cask. From there, you decide how time will shape your whisky.
How The Journey Unfolds
Choose your cask size – full, quarter, or firkin
Attend the filling (optional) — sign your cask as it begins its life
Receive a 5cl sample each year to taste its development
Decide your timeline – choose whether to keep maturing, cask finish, or prepare for bottling
Collect or bottle – your name, your whisky, your story
Whisky evolves — and so can your plan.
Cask Reserve Benefits
Certificate of ownership
Annual 5cl cask sample
Two bottles of Ludlow cask-edition whisky each year for three years (value c. £450+)
10% members’ discount for three years
Annual private cask visit and tasting for two at the distillery
Maturation & Yield
As your whisky matures, around 10% of its volume will naturally evaporate by year three — the Angels’ Share, long regarded as part of whisky’s quiet poetry.
A 200L barrel bottled at 57% ABV typically yields around 270 × 70cl bottles after three years. You can bottle everything at once, let it rest further, or release in stages.
Your whisky. Your timeline.
A Moment For English Whisky
English whisky is entering a new chapter. Once rare, it is now one of the most closely watched emerging categories in whisky.
Ludlow’s cask editions have already gained national recognition, winning Bronze at the Great British Food Awards two years running — first for the PX Cask release, then again for the Islay Cask edition. To have your name on a cask now — marked into the Ludlow Whisky Cask Reserve — is to enter that story from the cask up.
“There’s a lot of excitement around English whisky right now. Enthusiasts and collectors worldwide have rapidly established a strong market for it.”
Simon Aron, CEO, Cask Trade
What Will It Cost?
Your entry price secures your cask under bond, covering spirit and three years’ storage and insurance. Duty and VAT are only paid when you bottle.
Example for Standard Barrel — 200L at 57% ABV:
| Cask purchase | £5,995 |
| Duty | £3,531 |
| Bottling & packing | £1,620 |
| VAT | £2,229 |
| Illustrative total payable at bottling | £13,375 |
Indicative cost per bottle: ~£49 (Compared to £99 RRP for our single cask editions.)
“Exploring English Whisky commisioned a cask from Ludlow Distillery as part of our wider offering of English Whisky casks. The process has not only been straughtforward and transparent throughout, but it has been incredibly enjoyable working through cask samples, exploring wood types for the maturation, and receiving regular updates on the liquid and the distillery at large.
We’re incredibly happy with how our whisky has matured, at three years old, the whiksy tastes mature and ready to bottle. I can’t wait to bottle the first half of th cask in January 2025. We’re choosing to use the other half to fill a smaller peated cask, to add even more character to the spirit and age it that little bit longer for an even more sumptuous product.
Supporting such a small, craft distillery run by dedicated, passionate individuals is also incredibly rewarding – anything to keep the smallest (and ony wood fired) whisky still in England running is a no-brainer as far as we’re concerned.
Cheers to the Spirit of Ludlow.”
Richard Foster, Exploring English Whisky
