TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Date: 30/10/23

1. CONTRACT OF SALE – The completed Cask Order Form and these Terms & Conditions comprise the contract of sale for a cask filled with new make malt spirit or mature whisky (“the Cask”), between Annandale Distillery Company Ltd. A company registered in Scotland under Company number SC316346 whose registered office is at Annandale Distillery, Northfield, Annan, DG12 5LL, Scotland (also referred to as “Annandale Distillery, Annandale, we, our or us”) and the customer: – «First_Name» «Last_Name» of «Address_Line_1», «Address_Line_2», «City», «State», «ZIP_Code» «Country_or_Region», Phone number: «Work_Phone» Email: «Email_Address» (also referred to as “the Customer, the Owner, you or your”).
2. OWNERSHIP – This offer is aimed at individuals, or small groups of private individuals. We require a single point of contact who will become the legal owner of the Cask (the “Owner” as specified above). The legal owner and all other individuals associated with the purchase of the Cask must be of legal age for consuming and purchasing alcoholic beverages. An email address must be supplied at the time of purchase and contact between the Owner and Annandale will be solely via email. It is the Owner’s sole responsibility to ensure that Annandale has a current, valid email address for you. Should you wish to dispose of your Cask, you must first offer the Cask back to Annandale. If Annandale informs you that it does not wish to purchase the Cask or does not respond within 21 days of receipt of notification of your intended disposal, then ownership may be transferred to another single, named individual, with our written approval. Ownership of casks sold to private individuals or groups of private individuals cannot be sold or otherwise transferred to blenders or independent bottlers without Annandale Distillery’s express permission. Annandale Distillery highly recommends that casks owned by a private individual should be included as an asset in the cask owner’s will and specify any details of the intended beneficiary if possible.
3. INITIAL PAYMENT – Payment is required in full in advance of the cask being filled and/or ownership being transferred to you.
4. PRICE – The price is dependent on cask type and age, as specified on our order form. The price includes the cost of the spirit and the cost of warehousing for a period up to the cask being 10 (ten) years old from date of filling, and insurance to the purchase value only. Further storage may be purchased in one-year blocks at the prevailing price at the end of the term.
5. VALUED ADDED TAX (VAT) – VAT is not chargeable at the time of purchase as the spirit will remain under bond. Excise duty and VAT is chargeable when the cask is released from bond. You will also be charged VAT on the bottling cost and Excise Duty when it leaves bonded status. Should the Cask be sold back to Annandale Distillery whilst still under bond, no VAT would be payable.
6. THE CASK – All cask volumes are nominal. The actual volume of spirit contained within the cask when filled will be recorded at the time of filling or reported when disgorged for initial RLA results, and you and His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs will be informed accordingly.
7. CASK CONTENT – Peated or non-peated new make spirit will have been transferred into the cask as specified on the Cask Order Form at a minimum spirit strength of 63.5% alcohol by volume (ABV). As spirit evaporates naturally from all whisky casks during maturation, evaporative losses of approximately 3% per annum should be expected. Losses due to evaporation in excess of these rates may also occur. Whilst Annandale Distillery will do its utmost to select a sound cask on your behalf, losses due to leakage sometimes occur. Should your cask suffer significant losses due to leakage Annandale Distillery will select at its sole discretion a replacement cask of equivalent whisky and similar age. During maturation alcohol by volume (% ABV) decreases with age because alcohol is more volatile than water.
8. STORAGE – All casks will be stored under bond at Annandale Distillery, Northfield, Annan, Dumfries & Galloway, DG12 5LL, Scotland. Your cask cannot be removed from our bonded warehouse without written permission from Annandale Distillery, and all appropriate licences being in place.
9. FINAL PAYMENTS – These will be due when your Cask is ready to be bottled. The majority of these costs will consist of Excise Duty, bottling and labelling costs and VAT (Value Added Tax). All payments must be made before your Cask can be removed from bond. For overseas customers who choose to receive their bottles in their homeland, under bond still, local taxes and VAT will be payable, but not on the liquid itself in the UK. VAT on bottling & labelling will still be due.
10. EXCISE DUTY – This is the tax on the percentage of pure alcohol payable to His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs in the UK. This tax must be paid by you before the cask is removed from bond. For a fee Annandale Distillery may be able to assist with the process of duty payment in the UK. UK duty is not payable if the cask is sold onwards under bond or, as above, if the final product will reach the owner’s homeland ex-UK still under bond. It will be possible to export the bottled whisky overseas whilst under bond (duty suspended), but it is your responsibility to make the necessary arrangements and provide Annandale Distillery with the necessary release documentation.
11. BOTTLING – Whilst Annandale Distillery offers a bottling service, Owners may choose to have their cask bottled elsewhere, provided that the designated bottler satisfies all requirements stipulated by His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs. It is the Owners responsibility to ensure that these requirements are satisfied and to demonstrate to Annandale Distillery that this is the case. Annandale Distillery will make a small charge for despatching whole casks off-site whether duty-suspended or duty paid. Should the owner wish to remove the cask from Annandale Distillery, a refundable deposit of 20% of the original purchase price, as specified on the Cask Order Form at the time of purchase, must be paid to Annandale Distillery for the wooden cask, unless the Customer owns the physical cask or purchases the physical cask. The deposit will be returned to the owner when the original cask is returned to Annandale Distillery in good condition, less any bank or currency charges. Carriage costs to and from Annandale Distillery are the sole responsibility of the Owner. Should the Owner default, the cost of recovering the cask and returning it to Annandale Distillery will be deducted from the deposit. Your whisky must be bottled between 46% alcohol by volume (ABV) and Cask Strength when disgorged. Your whisky may not be chill filtered, and colouring must not be added. There can be no discretion on this matter without written permission from Annandale Distillery.  The form and wording of your label must be agreed in advance, in writing by Annandale Distillery and the decision is at our sole and absolute discretion although we will do our best to accommodate your reasonable suggestions.  All labelling must comply with the prevailing legislation and insuring compliance is your sole responsibility. The label and packaging will record that the product was distilled, matured, and bottled at Annandale Distillery (refer to Clause 17)
12. DELIVERY – Collection of your bottled whisky from Annandale Distillery must be arranged and paid for by the Owner who is responsible for making the necessary arrangements with us. For an additional fee Annandale may be able to organise collection and delivery on behalf of the Owner, depending on the country of destination.
13. CHANGE OF ADDRESS – You must communicate any change to your address or contact details immediately. Any changes will not be deemed to have taken place until receipt of them is confirmed by Annandale Distillery.
14. NON PAYMENT OR LOSS OF CONTACT – In the event that we are unable to contact you within six months after the expiry of 10 years from the date when the Cask is filled and/or any payment due under this agreement is not made when due, we reserve the right to sell the Cask and the spirit and to hold the proceeds on your behalf after deduction of sales costs and any other costs which we may incur from warehousing the Cask.
15. THIRD PARTY RIGHTS, GOVERNING LAW, AND JURISDICTION – Under this contract of sale your rights may not be transferred or assigned to a third party without our consent in writing. This contract of sale is governed by English Law and you; we agree to and accept the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts in respect of any matters arising from it. By paying for the cask at the time of purchase or in signing the Cask Order Form either by hand or digitally you agree that where this contract has been translated into a language other than English the English language version will prevail.
16. UK WAREHOUSE OWNERS AND WAREHOUSE GOODS REGULATIONS – To comply with the UK Warehouse Owners and Warehouse Goods Regulations (“WOWGR”) you are required to confirm that you are purchasing the filled cask as a private individual, and in paying for the cask at the time of purchase or signing this agreement either by hand or digitally you are deemed to have confirmed your compliance. In the event you assign a new cask owner as the current cask owner you are bound to inform the new cask owner of their obligations to abide to the terms of this agreement, under their ownership, as they are should they pass on ownership. This will be subject to administrative charges. Cask owners must consult Annandale Distillery prior to selling their products in non-UK geographical markets. Some geographical markets have exclusivity arrangements in place forbidding others to sell Annandale Distillery related whisky products within it. If such an exclusivity agreement is in place the Cask Owner must not sell their bottled product without prior permission from Annandale Distillery. Removal of Casks from Annandale Distillery’s Warehouse may be subject to handling fees and other charges.
17. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – The expressions “Annandale Distillery”, “Annandale Whisky”, “Annandale Single Malt Scotch Whisky”, “Man O’Sword”, “Man O’Words”, “Nation of Scots” and “Rascally Liquor” and all associated logos and devices are the property of Annandale Distillery Limited and the copyright, designs and all rights are owned by and intellectual property reserved by Annandale Distillery Limited. Under no circumstances may you use the expressions “Annandale Whisky,” “Annandale Single Malt Scotch Whisky,” “Man O’Sword,” “Man O’Words,” “Nation of Scots” and “Rascally Liquor” or any associated logos and devices. You will be granted naming rights permission to use the expression “Annandale Distillery” (typically styled ‘Single Malt Scotch Whisky from or produced at Annandale Distillery’) (but not the associated logos and designs) that can appear on Single Cask Single Malts, Blended Malt, and Blended Scotch. Naming rights are not granted if Annandale Distillery casks are used in the production of Single Malt Whisky, or any whisky under 46% ABV.
18. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY – Except for liabilities which cannot legally be limited and liability in respect of deliberate fault, neither party shall be liable for loss of profit; loss of sales or business, loss of agreements or contracts; loss of anticipated saving, loss of data or information, loss of damage or goodwill, indirect or consequential damage. Annandale Distillery’s total liability to the Cask Owner shall not exceed in relation to each claim the amount paid by the Cask Owner and/or the Purchaser on behalf of the Cask Owner under the relevant Order.
19. FORCE MAJEURE – “Force Majeure Event” means any circumstance not in a party’s reasonable control including, without limitation acts of God, flood, drought, earthquake or other natural disaster, epidemic or pandemic, terrorist attack, civil war, civil commotion or riots, war, threat of or preparation for war, armed conflict, imposition of sanctions, embargo, or breaking off of diplomatic relations, nuclear, chemical or biological contamination, or sonic boom, any law or any action taken by a government or public authority, including without limitation imposing an export or import restriction, quota or prohibition, or failing to grant a necessary licence or consent, collapse of buildings, fire, explosion or accident, any labour or trade dispute, strikes, industrial action or lockouts, non-performance by suppliers or subcontractors; and interruption or failure of utility service. If Annandale Distillery is prevented, hindered, or delayed from performing any of its obligations under this Agreement by a Force Majeure Event it shall not be in breach of this Agreement or otherwise liable for any such failure or delay in the performance of such obligations. The time for performance of such obligations shall be extended accordingly. Annandale Distillery shall as soon as reasonably practicable after the start of the Force Majeure Event but no later than 14 days from its start, notify the other party in writing of the Force Majeure Event, the date on which it started, its likely or potential duration, and the effect of the Force Majeure Event on its ability to perform any of its obligations under the agreement; and use all reasonable endeavours to mitigate the effect of the Force Majeure Event on the performance of its obligations.
20. Annandale Distillery reserves the right to review and adjust its terms and conditions.