Legal
Terms of Service
Last updated 30 May 2026 · Version 2026-05-30
These Terms govern your access to and use of the CaskMatch platform. CaskMatch is a subscription-based service that helps verified whisky cask owners, buyers, brokers, and traders find each other. CaskMatch is not a broker, not an escrow service, not a payment processor, and does not provide financial, investment, tax, or legal advice.
CaskMatch is a product operated by Katonah Platforms, LLC, a limited liability company formed under the laws of the State of Delaware, USA. Wherever this document refers to “CaskMatch”, “we”, “us”, or “our”, that means Katonah Platforms, LLC.
1. About these Terms
These Terms of Service (the “Terms”) form a binding agreement between you and CaskMatch. By creating an account, accessing the platform at caskmatch.com (the “Site”), or using any service offered through the Site (the “Services”), you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to these Terms, our Privacy Policy, our Whisky Cask Risk Disclosure, our Acceptable Use Policy, and our Subscription Terms.
We may update these Terms from time to time. The “Last updated” date at the top of this page shows the current version. Where changes are material, we will ask you to re-accept the updated Terms before continuing to use the Services.
2. What CaskMatch does
CaskMatch is a subscription-funded introduction platform for Scotch whisky casks. It is not a checkout, not an escrow service, and does not take commission on completed deals. The platform provides:
- Verified seller listings of whisky casks, including technical data such as distillery, vintage, cask type, ABV, bulk litres, and regauge information.
- Buyer-side search, valuation context, and the ability to express structured interest or place bids on listings.
- Anonymity-first negotiation: identities remain hidden until both parties agree on price and explicitly accept the identity reveal step.
- Direct introduction after agreement, so the buyer and seller can arrange samples, payment, transfer of ownership, and warehouse logistics between themselves.
CaskMatch is not a party to any transaction between users. We do not hold funds, take title to casks, deliver casks, or guarantee any user’s performance under a deal struck after introduction.
3. Who can use CaskMatch
To create an account you must:
- Be at least 21 years old. CaskMatch is designed around an alcohol-related asset class and we apply a stricter age threshold than the UK statutory minimum to reflect the international nature of our membership.
- Have the legal capacity to enter into a contract in your jurisdiction.
- Provide accurate, current, and complete profile information, including your real name, role, and business context where relevant.
- Comply with all applicable laws, including those relating to the ownership, sale, storage, taxation, and movement of whisky casks in your country of residence and any other country in which you transact.
We may refuse, suspend, or terminate access to any user at our discretion, including (without limitation) where we suspect fraud, misrepresentation, breach of these Terms, or misuse of the platform.
4. Accounts and security
You are responsible for activity that takes place under your account. You must keep your sign-in credentials confidential and notify us at admin@caskmatch.com without undue delay if you suspect unauthorised access.
We use Supabase Auth to authenticate users. You agree not to attempt to bypass authentication, share credentials, or use another user’s account.
5. Roles and access tiers
The platform supports several roles, including Buyer (buy-side access), Seller (list-side access), and Trader (both sides). Access to specific features is determined by your role and your current subscription. We may add, remove, or change roles and tiers as the platform develops.
6. Seller obligations
If you list casks on CaskMatch, you confirm that:
- You are the direct owner of every cask you list. Brokered or third-party stock is not permitted.
- You can produce, on reasonable request, proof of ownership including a valid Delivery Order and any supporting documentation reasonably required by a buyer or by CaskMatch.
- Information you provide about a cask — including distillery, vintage, cask type, wood, ABV, bulk litres, OLA, RLA, regauge date, warehouse, and pricing — is accurate to the best of your knowledge at the time of listing.
- You will not list casks that are subject to any third-party claim, encumbrance, or restriction that would prevent a clean transfer following an introduction.
- You will keep listings current and remove or update them when their status changes (for example, when a cask is no longer available).
7. Buyer obligations
If you use CaskMatch to express interest in casks, you agree:
- To submit bids and interest in good faith and at price levels you are genuinely prepared to honour.
- To conduct your own due diligence on any cask, seller, warehouse, valuation, and supporting documentation before committing to a purchase. CaskMatch does not warrant the accuracy, completeness, or commercial fitness of listings.
- To comply with all applicable laws and tax obligations associated with purchasing, importing, storing, or onward selling a whisky cask, including any duty, VAT, customs, warehouse, and ownership-transfer requirements.
8. Introduction, not transaction
CaskMatch facilitates the moment of introduction between buyer and seller once both parties accept a price and authorise the identity reveal. After introduction, the commercial transaction itself happens directly between you and the other party, outside the platform.
We do not act as an agent, broker, escrow agent, financial intermediary, or fiduciary for any user. We do not guarantee that a deal will complete, that funds will move, or that goods will be delivered. CaskMatch does not assume liability for any loss arising from a user’s conduct after introduction.
9. Anonymity and identity reveal
Pre-agreement negotiation is anonymous by design. You must not attempt to identify, contact, or solicit another user outside the platform before an introduction has been formally made, and you must not use the platform to publish or leak another user’s identifying information. Identity is revealed only after both parties accept a price and confirm the reveal step inside the platform.
10. Data, listings, and confidentiality
Inventory data, pricing information, and any information you see while logged into CaskMatch is confidential to the platform and its users. You agree not to copy, redistribute, scrape, mine, or otherwise share confidential listing information outside the platform, except where strictly necessary to complete a transaction with a counterparty introduced through CaskMatch.
11. Subscriptions and payment
Access to CaskMatch is subscription-based. Detailed pricing, billing, refund, cancellation, and renewal terms are set out in the Subscription Terms. During the beta period, some or all subscription fees may be waived; we will tell you clearly when that changes.
Subscriptions auto-renew monthly on a recurring basis. While you can cancel your subscription at any time, we do not provide pro-rata or partial refunds for the remainder of a billing cycle once started, except where required under applicable consumer-protection laws, in cases of verified billing errors, or where we terminate your subscription without cause.
CaskMatch does not process payments between buyers and sellers and does not take commission on completed cask deals.
12. No advice; whisky cask risk
CaskMatch provides marketplace access, valuation context, and deterministic search tools. CaskMatch does not provide financial, investment, tax, accounting, or legal advice. Nothing on the platform should be interpreted as a personal recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any asset.
Whisky casks are physical, unregulated assets. Values can rise or fall, casks naturally lose strength and volume over time, and additional costs can apply for storage, regauging, insurance, duty, and bottling. Please read the Whisky Cask Risk Disclosure before using the Services. You should consult appropriately qualified professional advisers about your personal circumstances.
13. Acceptable use
Your use of CaskMatch must comply with our Acceptable Use Policy, which sets out prohibited content, behaviour, and platform misuse. Breach of the Acceptable Use Policy may result in immediate suspension or termination of your account.
14. Intellectual property
The Site, the software, the user interface, valuation tooling, aggregated market data, and all original CaskMatch content are owned by CaskMatch or our licensors and are protected by intellectual-property laws. You may not copy, modify, distribute, sell, reverse-engineer, or create derivative works from any part of the Site or the Services except as expressly permitted in these Terms.
You retain ownership of information you submit (for example, listing data and profile information) and grant CaskMatch a worldwide, royalty-free licence to host, store, process, and display that information for the purpose of providing the Services.
15. Disclaimers
The Services are provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis. To the maximum extent permitted by law, CaskMatch disclaims all warranties, express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the Services will be uninterrupted, error-free, or secure, or that listings, valuations, or counterparties are accurate, complete, or trustworthy.
16. Limitation of liability
16.1 Nothing excluded by law
Nothing in these Terms limits or excludes our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for any other liability that cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law.
16.2 Indirect loss
Subject to clause 16.1, CaskMatch is not liable for any indirect, consequential, or special loss, loss of profit, loss of revenue, loss of opportunity, loss of goodwill, loss of anticipated savings, or loss of data, in each case howsoever arising and whether or not foreseeable.
16.3 Cap
Subject to clauses 16.1 and 16.2, our total aggregate liability to you arising out of or in connection with the Services in any 12-month period is limited to the greater of (a) the total subscription fees paid by you to CaskMatch in that 12-month period and (b) one hundred pounds (£100).
17. Indemnity
You agree to indemnify CaskMatch and our officers, employees, and agents against any claim, loss, damage, cost, or expense (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of (a) your use of the Services, (b) your breach of these Terms or any law, (c) any listing, bid, message, or other content you submit, or (d) any dispute between you and another user.
18. Suspension and termination
We may suspend or terminate your access to the Services at any time, with or without notice, where we reasonably believe that you have breached these Terms or any other CaskMatch policy, provided false information, posed a risk to other users, or where required to comply with applicable law.
You may close your account at any time by contacting admin@caskmatch.com. Closing your account does not relieve you of obligations accrued before closure, including outstanding subscription fees.
19. Changes to the Services
CaskMatch is an actively-developed platform. We may add, remove, or modify features, valuation tooling, and pricing from time to time. Where changes are material we will tell you in advance and, if appropriate, ask you to re-accept updated terms.
20. Governing law and jurisdiction
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, USA, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. You and CaskMatch submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in Delaware for any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Services, subject to any non-waivable rights under the law of your place of residence.
21. Contact
Questions about these Terms can be sent to admin@caskmatch.com.