VERSION 1.1 · EFFECTIVE 2026-09-26
These terms apply when you list a whisky cask for sale to another buyer through The Whisky Index resale marketplace. Please read them carefully. You'll be asked to accept them before your first listing goes live.
1.1 "We", "us" and "our" means THE WHISKY INDEX LTD, a company registered in England and Wales with company number 17216416, whose registered office is at 71-75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9JQ, trading as The Whisky Index.
1.2 "You" means the owner listing a cask. "Buyer" means the person who buys it. "Cask" means the specific whole cask you list. "Warehouse" means Castlelaw, the bonded warehouse holding the cask in your name. "Stripe" means Stripe Payments UK Ltd and its affiliates, who process and hold payments for resales.
1.3 These terms cover listing and selling your cask through our resale marketplace. They are separate from the Cask Sale Agreement, which applied when you bought the cask from us.
2.1 We run the resale marketplace. When your cask sells, the contract of sale is between you and the buyer. We are not the seller, the buyer, or a party to that sale, and we never own your cask.
2.2 We don't hold buyers' money. Payments are processed and held by Stripe, and released to you through your Stripe connected account, under Stripe's own terms, which you must accept to receive payouts.
2.3 We don't value casks, give investment, tax or legal advice, or promise that your cask will sell, sell at any particular price, or sell within any particular time. Any comparison we show is with current asking prices, not a valuation.
3.1 To list a cask, you must: (a) be at least 18, and the person named as the cask's owner in our records and at the Warehouse; (b) be recorded as the owner of the cask in the Warehouse's own register, with your own account there; (c) pass our identity, age and sanctions checks, and keep your details up to date; (d) give us the information we need to meet our legal reporting duties, including your full name, date of birth, address and tax identification number (in the UK, your National Insurance number or Unique Taxpayer Reference); and (e) tell us if you're selling in the course of a business. If you are, you must say so on your listing, and consumer laws that apply to traders apply to you.
3.2 Only whole casks with a Whisky Index record can be listed. Shares in a cask, or casks we have no record of, can't be.
3.3 A cask can only be listed once the Warehouse has confirmed to us directly that you are its registered owner, and that there are no holds, charges or unpaid amounts on it. A certificate of ownership, a broker's letter, an invoice or a screenshot isn't enough on its own. If your cask is recorded in someone else's name, such as a broker's, they will need to transfer it into your own name at the Warehouse before you can list it.
3.4 We may ask the Warehouse to confirm these details again at any time, including at the moment of sale, and you consent to the Warehouse sharing them with us.
4.1 When you list a cask, and again at the moment it sells, you promise that: (a) you are the sole legal and beneficial owner of the cask, and are recorded as its owner in the Warehouse's own register; (b) you have the full right to sell it, and nobody else's consent is needed; (c) the cask is free of any charge, lien, security interest, claim, or unpaid warehouse charge; (d) everything you tell us or the buyer about the cask is true, accurate and not misleading; (e) the cask isn't listed, promised or sold anywhere else while it's listed with us, and you'll withdraw your listing immediately if that changes; and (f) you're not subject to sanctions, and the sale isn't connected with any unlawful activity.
4.2 If any of these promises turns out to be untrue, you are responsible for the consequences, as set out in section 11.
5.1 You set your price, in pounds sterling, or set a private minimum and invite offers. Buyers may see the price in their own currency.
5.2 Your listing will show what you paid for the cask and when you bought it. Agreeing to this is a condition of listing.
5.3 We label every listing by comparing its price per litre of alcohol with comparable casks, using the method published on our website. Comparable casks share region and wood type, and age once it's recorded: "In line with the market": up to 15% above the typical comparable price; "Above the market": between 15% and 50% above; "Well above the market": more than 50% above.
5.4 We don't accept listings priced at more than twice the typical comparable price. You'll see this limit, and how it's worked out, before you set your price. Where we have too few comparable casks to work it out reliably, we review your price ourselves before the listing goes live.
5.5 If you have evidence that your cask is worth more than the limit, such as a recent auction result for a comparable cask or an independent valuation, you can ask us to review it. We'll decide in good faith and tell you our reasons. Our decision is final for that listing.
5.6 We may order search results so that fairly priced casks appear first.
5.7 A listing lasts 90 days. After that, it's paused until you confirm or change your price.
5.8 We may refuse, pause or remove any listing, at any time, including where we believe it's inaccurate, misleadingly priced, breaches these terms, or puts buyers or us at risk. Where we can, we'll tell you why.
5.9 If you invite offers and accept one, that acceptance is binding in the same way as a sale at your listed price.
7.1 Every buyer can cancel within 14 days of the Warehouse confirming the cask in their name, for a full refund.
7.2 If a buyer cancels, the cask is transferred back into your name at the Warehouse, and your transfer authority covers this. The buyer's payment is returned to them, you receive nothing, and no fee is charged. You may relist the cask afterwards.
8.1 We'll ask Stripe to release your payout once: (a) the Warehouse has confirmed the cask in the buyer's name; and (b) the buyer's 14-day cancellation period has ended without a cancellation.
8.2 Your payout is the sale price, less our fee (section 9). Stripe pays it to your connected account under its own terms and timescales.
8.3 We may ask Stripe to delay or withhold a payout while we look into a suspected breach of these terms, fraud, a sanctions concern, a dispute with the buyer, or a payment reversal. If a buyer's payment is reversed after you've been paid because you broke these terms, you must repay the amount to us on request.
9.1 Our fee is 8% of the sale price, with a minimum of £250. It's charged only when a sale completes and you're paid, and it's deducted from your payout.
9.2 There are no other charges from us: no listing fee, no fee if your cask doesn't sell, and no fee if the buyer cancels.
9.3 Warehouse charges, and anything Stripe charges you directly under its own terms, are not our fees.
10.1 You are responsible for any tax due on your sale, including any capital gains tax. We don't give tax advice.
10.2 By law, we report information about sellers and their sales to HM Revenue & Customs, and where required to other tax authorities. We may also share information with law enforcement or regulators where we're legally required to.
11.1 You agree to cover us for any loss, cost, claim or liability (including reasonable legal costs) that we suffer because: (a) any promise in section 4 is untrue; (b) you break these terms; (c) any information you give us or the buyer is inaccurate or misleading; or (d) a tax, customs or duty liability arises from your sale.
12.1 We're responsible only for running the marketplace with reasonable care and skill. We're not responsible for: (a) the cask itself, its contents, strength, volume, condition, quality or value; (b) what the buyer does or doesn't do; (c) the Warehouse's or Stripe's actions, delays or charges; or (d) whether, when, or for how much your cask sells.
12.2 We're not liable for any loss of profit, loss of opportunity, or any indirect or consequential loss.
12.3 Our total liability to you, however it arises, is limited to the fees you've paid us in the 12 months before the event giving rise to the claim.
12.4 Nothing in these terms limits or excludes liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for anything else that can't be limited or excluded by law. If you're a consumer, nothing in these terms affects your statutory rights.
13.1 You can withdraw a listing at any time before it sells, free of charge.
13.2 We may suspend or end your access to the resale marketplace if you break these terms, we suspect fraud or misuse, or we're required to by law.
14.1 To complete a sale, we share the information needed with the buyer, the Warehouse, Stripe and, where required, HM Revenue & Customs. Our Privacy Policy explains how we handle your information.
15.1 We may update these terms. Changes apply to listings made after the change is published. If a change affects a live listing, we'll tell you, and you can withdraw it free of charge.
15.2 If you have a complaint, contact us first at toby@thewhiskyindex.com or +44 7564 226927. If we can't resolve it, our Complaints page explains the alternative dispute resolution route available to you.
15.3 These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction. If you're a consumer living elsewhere, you keep any protection given by the mandatory laws of your country of residence.
