Bite-sized learning on everything and anything relating to wood, casks and the maturation of spirits by Dr. Martin Purvis.
Maturation loss reduction…….
What can be achieved?
First you need to understand what is happening – ‘what gets measured gets managed!’ – love this mantra.
Standard losses (for Scotch) is just a benchmark for HMRC reference – loss can vary a lot.
Standard assumption is for 3% in drink (absorbed by the cask) with 2% per annum thereafter (for the first 12 years). Gives you a standard loss of 9% after three years . But in the real world it can and does vary.
By way of example i have seen fresh ex bourbons range from losing only 6% of their contents in 3 years up to almost double that (without obvious catastrophic loss).
For a 1mlaa distillery that difference amounts a difference of 50,000 laa on an annual basis (on tipping at 3yo). Bigger distillery – bigger loss or bigger saving depending on which side you are looking at.
With costs going up the loss is significant in terms of inputs but when you consider that 50,000 laa equates to ~14,000 9 -litre cases then it really becomes thought provoking.
Look us up if you want to learn more about this critical area.
by Master of Wood and Barrel Expert Dr. Martin Purvis, at Smart Distillery Solutions, servicing clients such as Kelvin Cooperage.
Qualifications: BSc/PHD Geology, MSc Brew/Distilling, MBA Luxury Brand Marketing and Family Business
Background: Martin has worked for nearly 20 years across the spirit drinks industry in a variety of roles from Technical Support, Compliance, Food Safety, HMRC, Blending, Procurement of raw materials, Barrel Procurement, Maturation improvement, grain storage and merchanting, used and new barrel sales, customer relationship management, new business development.
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