Single cask and cask strength: what does it say on your whisky bottle?

By Meadow Lane · Updated on October 11, 2026

Many Annandale bottles feature the terms single malt, single cask and cask strength together. They answer three different questions: where the whisky was made, which cask the bottling comes from and at what strength it was bottled. Once you know the difference, comparing them becomes much easier.

Single malt: one distillery

Single malt Scotch whisky is made at a single distillery from water and malted barley, with distillation in copper pot stills. Scotch is also subject to requirements regarding production, maturation and bottling in Scotland. Single malt does not necessarily mean that a bottle comes from a single cask: whisky from several casks from the same distillery can also be a single malt.

Single cask: the character of an individual cask

A single cask bottling focuses on the individual cask. Annandale presents its range with this approach. The product information can therefore state a specific cask number, distillation year and alcohol percentage. This information makes it possible to distinguish a bottling from another release.

For the buyer, it is especially important that a subsequent release does not automatically taste identical. Read the new tasting notes again, even if the name of the series and the cask style are known. A bottle of a previously chosen type may have a related style, but the product description remains the best purchasing information.

Cask strength: the strength from the cask

Cask strength indicates that the whisky was bottled at its strength from the cask. The percentage is on the bottle and may vary from one bottling to another. The term is a useful product specification; a higher percentage is not proof of a better whisky in itself.

Therefore, distinguish between a preference for a particular flavour profile and a percentage on the label. A fruity, unpeated cask strength whisky may suit you better than a smokier whisky with a lower percentage, or vice versa. Start with the style and tasting notes and use the alcohol strength to further understand your choice.

Four pieces of information to read together

Series: Man O’Words is unpeated; Man O’Sword is peated.
Cask style: for example Fresh Bourbon, Refill Bourbon, Oloroso Sherry, STR or Double Oak.
Alcohol percentage: the strength of this particular bottling.
Age or distillation year: check what is actually stated. A distillation year alone is not a complete age statement.

A comparison you can repeat

Before choosing, place two product pages side by side and write down the four pieces of information for each bottle. Then look at where the tasting notes agree and differ. This way, you base your choice on the bottling itself, rather than on one impressive word on the packaging.

When tasting, you can start with a small amount and add a few drops of water if desired. Give your glass time and compare carefully. The goal is to discover what you enjoy; there is no mandatory serving ritual that everyone must recognise the same flavours with.

For hospitality businesses and off-licences, these terms are also useful in a short customer description. Clearly state the series, cask style and exact strength, and when changing a bottling, explain again which bottle is on the menu or on the shelf.