A whisky cask investment company is to relocate over 1,000 whisky casks owned by its 250-plus investors to Fife.
The casks will be managed by Whisky 1901 in two bonded facilities in Glenrothes.
The move to the Whisky 1901 facilities will improve cask management and provide investors with greater transparency over the performance of their portfolios, "regardless of the distillery of origin".
Over the next 12 months, the barrels will be transported from around 50 of Scotland’s distilleries and holding facilities to the site in Fife.
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Typically, whisky casks lose around 1-2% in ABV (alcohol by volume) per year, known as the "angels' share".
If this number falls below 40% the product can no longer be called Scotch and its value diminishes significantly.
Housing the casks together will enable Warehouse Keepers & Owners of Warehoused Goods Regulations license holder Whisky 1901 to "better control and monitor cask credentials, particularly the all-important ABV and liquid levels" it claimed.
In addition, the wood, size of barrel, and where the casks are stored, including humidity levels, can all greatly affect the value of the maturing spirit, and must therefore be carefully administrated.
The Knightsbridge firm said that, akin to regular health checks, regauge reports rely on barrel samples to reveal "the true value of a cask based on ABV and liquid levels".
While distilleries and other locations also carefully manage casks, the firm said it means its casks will be "easily accessible and digitally managed within the Glenrothes facilities".
It said the time taken to acquire samples will be significantly reduced, from around three to six months when requests are made via third-party distilleries, as is currently the case, to a matter of just weeks, and at the click of a button via distillery management platform Vapour.
The firm added said the results of the regauge reports help provide a greater understanding of the longevity of a cask, enabling Whisky 1901’s consultants to best advise clients on how long they should invest their money for and the right time to bottle the product.
Whisky 1901’s investors will now be able to visit their casks in the Glenrothes facilities by appointment.
Aaron Damiano Sparkes, founder of Whisky 1901, said: “Getting this wrong could be a costly mistake, particularly if ABV and liquid levels are allowed to drop below a certain level.
"By relocating our barrels to new facilities offering the latest in digital technology we’re able to further improve how we manage casks on behalf of our investors, as well as enriching the experience we offer our clients.
"The move not only gives us tighter control over the maturing product, including tracking, re-racking and bottling, but our clients benefit from greater transparency in their investments via private online accounts.
“We understand just how important it is that people have peace of mind that their investments are secure, and we’re committed to ensuring that we are the safe haven for whisky investment in this growing market.”
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However, the company warned inflation “remains a more intractable issue”. Wetherspoon, which has around 70 pubs in Scotland, underlined, said it witness its “busiest-ever Saturday” during the traditional bank holiday weekend at the start of May.
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