Glossary of commercial terms

The vocabulary used in Irish whiskey transactions, defined for commercial rather than consumer use.

ABV

Alcohol by volume.

Angel's share

Natural loss of volume through evaporation during maturation. The rate varies by warehouse, cask and environment.

Bond / under bond

Duty-suspended status within an authorised excise system.

Bulk litres

Physical litres of liquid in a cask, irrespective of alcoholic strength.

Cask finish

Additional maturation in a different cask after the principal maturation period.

Duty paid

Excise duty has been accounted for and the stock is no longer under duty suspension.

First fill / refill

Whether a cask is being used for the first time in whiskey maturation or has held whiskey before. A description of use, not of absolute quality.

GI

Geographical indication. Irish Whiskey is a registered geographical indication protected under Regulation (EU) 2019/787.

Heads, hearts and tails

The three fractions of a distillation run. Only the hearts are normally retained for filling.

Importer of record

The party responsible for import entry and associated compliance in the destination market.

LPA

Litres of pure alcohol. Bulk litres multiplied by ABV expressed as a decimal.

New make spirit

Freshly distilled spirit intended for maturation. Not yet legally whiskey.

Regauge

Measurement of a cask's current volume and alcoholic strength.

Single cask

A product or parcel derived from one identified cask.

Tax warehouse

Authorised premises for holding excise goods under duty suspension.

Warehouse keeper

The authorised operator responsible for the warehouse system and its prescribed records.

Fuller treatment of each term, and the commercial consequences that follow from it, is given in The Commercial Guide to Irish Whiskey.