The recent BBC investigation into whisky cask fraud has thrown a harsh spotlight on a growing problem within the spirits world – transparency, or the lack of it. Outdated manual systems and paper certificates – which can be easily forged or duplicated – have left whisky cask ownership wide open to fraud, eroding trust and shaking investor confidence.

Now for the good news… solutions exist, and many in the industry are already taking steps forward. But isolated fixes aren’t enough. The whisky world, steeped in centuries of tradition and craftsmanship, needs a coordinated, digital-first approach to ownership and transparency.

It’s time to move beyond paper (and excel!).

Digital Deeds are a core feature of our platform. Early adopters like 

 and Ahascragh Distillery are already reaping the rewards – anchoring their businesses around transparency and traceability. The results they’re seeing have been described as ‘game-changing’. They are now able to operate with accurate, real-time cask data that proves beneficial ownership, provenance, and authenticity.

Gareth McAllister, Founder and Managing Director of 

 says, “Digital Deeds bring much needed transparency and assurance to cask ownership - owners know exactly what they have, where it is and that it’s the real deal. They are a huge step forward in providing authenticity and confidence to the industry and collectors."

Let’s dive into the details… What are Digital Deeds? Why do they matter? And how are they shaping a more secure future for the industry?

Whisky cask fraud is not a new problem, but the 

 has brought it into sharp focus. It highlighted real and troubling stories of people losing significant amounts of money due to falsified ownership records, non-existent casks, and bad actors exploiting the system. It has brought the integrity of the whisky industry into question and spurred on many spirits businesses to make the shift towards more transparent and secure forms of ownership.

While digital ownership is still emerging in the whisky world, it's already well-established in other sectors. In property, fine art, and luxury collectibles like watches, it's becoming essential for verifying authenticity and provenance. IBM’s Food Trust uses digital IDs to trace produce, Prada employs Aura Blockchain to authenticate handbags, and BMW assigns digital twins to cars and components to verify their production history and components. Whisky cask ownership can follow this path – adopting similar systems to ensure authenticity, provenance, and accurate ownership records.

A Digital Deed is a unique digital identity assigned to each cask. It acts as a permanent ID that stays with the cask throughout its life, enabling data to be recorded, updated, and verified over time. Think of it as the cask's digtal passport.

Once a cask is filled, it’s paired with a QR code that links directly to its Digital Deed. Powered by blockchain technology, the deed is a tamper-proof, auditable record containing key details such as location, ABV, age, and ownership. Plus, it provides a transparent audit trail accessible at any time to anyone with access - distilleries, warehouses, managing agents, beneficial owners, and even used to automate reports to HMRC.

How warehouses benefit from Digital Deeds

Proof 8 streamlines and optimises warehouse operations through the digitalising of cask management and site operations. When a delivery of casks arrives, the warehouse team assigns Digital Deeds to each one, giving accurate, real-time visibility and verifying ownership. It gets even better if casks arrive from a Proof 8-enabled distillery, they’re simply scanned and checked in.

As Jacqui Hanna, Warehousekeeper and Co-Director of The Foundry Vault explains,

 “When lorries now come into the warehouse with a delivery, within half an hour to an hour we can have all casks assigned a Digital Deeds and all cask data logged and recorded on the 

. All the data is then immediately available for anyone to access.

Proof 8 has allowed us to remove the old certificate system around cask ownership. Especially around change of ownership. Previously when something [a cask] would sell, we had no way of knowing if the original certificate had been surrendered or if it was still floating around for someone to claim ownership at a later date. Now, because of Proof 8, we have full visibility of that Digital Deed being transferred to the new owner. This is incredibly important to us as the warehouse storing the asset, but also the cask owner and for audit purposes for HMRC.”


Digital Deeds make compliance much easier – a relief for many warehousekeepers who are now having to navigate a shift in regulation with recent WOWGR reform and uphold meticulous record-keeping as a result. Data integrity is a major priority for them and there’s no room for error. Vulnerable Excel spreadsheets and outdated legacy systems for managing cask data are a concern for many still. They simply don’t provide the assurance now needed for warehouses to operate efficiently and compliantly.

How cask owners benefit from Digital Deeds

Ownership transparency is now non-negotiable. Managing agents and beneficial owners want verifiable proof – not only of ownership, but of provenance and location. Without Digital Deeds, this is slow and often unclear. With Proof 8, cask owners are able to access their assets on the Proof 8 platform, to see for themselves what they own, and where it is. No ambiguity. Full trust.

Traditional paper-based certificates of cask ownership no longer meet the expectations of today’s industry, consumers, or collectors. With increasing scrutiny and demand for transparency, the limitations of legacy systems are becoming pretty hard to ignore.

That’s why Proof 8 was created – to bring practical, modern solutions to meet industry-wide challenges. By embracing technology and building modern digital tools, whisky producers and warehouses can improve data accuracy across the entire supply-chain, from production, to maturation, to bottling.

Digital Deeds are a crucial part of this shift. They eliminate ambiguity, securely recording every ownership transfer on the Proof 8 platform, baked into the digital deed, in a way that is instantly verifiable and fully traceable.

By reducing the risk of fraud, misrepresentation, and disputes, Digital Deeds help build a more transparent and resilient industry. One where trust is not assumed but proven.

Whisky’s future is digital – and the proof of ownership is already here.

A Digital Deed is a unique digital identity assigned to each cask. It acts as a permanent ID that stays with the cask throughout its life, enabling data to be recorded, updated, and verified over time.

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Digital Deeds: The Answer to Cask Ownership Fraud

Digital Deeds: The Answer to Cask Ownership Fraud

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Platform

Marketplace

Connected Products Coming soon

About

Team

Careers

Digital Deeds: The Answer to Cask Ownership Fraud

More from Proof 8

Getting started with Digital Deeds

Proof 8 V1.3 has landed

The Foundry Vault’s digital transformation

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