Whisky 1901 has successfully joined the Alcohol Wholesaler Registration Scheme (AWRS), supporting the company’s mission to be the number one cask investment firm for independent bottling, delivering award-winning Scotch whisky to the retail and consumer markets.
Whisky 1901 is one of few cask investment companies to hold a HMRC awarded Warehouse Keepers and Owners of Warehoused Goods Regulations (WOWGR) licence granting the firm permission to own, buy and sell goods in duty suspension in a bonded warehouse. Joining the AWRS means the company is now approved by HMRC to bottle and trade casks wholesale.
Diversifying from its core cask investment business, Whisky 1901 launched its independent bottling line – The Collection – in June 2024. The first in the range is a multi-award-winning 35-year-old Glenburgie single malt Scotch whisky from the Speyside region – Edition One. The company plans to launch its second bottle in spring this year.
Aaron Damiano Sparkes, Founder and CEO of Whisky 1901, explained: “The AWRS approval means we can move forward in our mission to be number one investment firm for independent bottling, delivering award winning whisky to consumers via retailers. Our ambition is having multiple award-winning bottles as part of our range being sold in UK stores nationwide.
“We’re proud to be able to source some of the finest casks of single malt whisky from the five whisky regions of Scotland for our 300 plus investment clients. Some casks are from well-known distilleries, others from distinguished hidden gems. Our independent bottling line – The Collection – enables us to share some of these special casks with a wider audience.”
Introduced to tackle alcohol fraud in April 2016, the AWRS requires businesses who wholesale alcoholic product at or after the point at which excise duty is payable (the ‘duty point’) to be approved by HMRC. Businesses are required to pass a ‘fit and proper’ test to be approved to trade. From April 2017, trade buyers who buy their alcoholic product from UK wholesalers for resale need to ensure that wholesalers are approved by HMRC.
For more information, visit: https://whisky1901.com/
