Provenate vs DRAMS
Provenate vs DRAMS: which fits your distillery?
DRAMS is the long-established specialist in maturing spirit inventory. Provenate covers the whole production spine, from mash to bottling, with duty, finance and consumer QR in one cloud system. Here is where each one is strongest.
The honest version
Two good systems built for different jobs
DRAMS describes itself as the longest-established software provider dedicated to managing maturing spirit inventory, with over 50 years of industry experience. Its customers include large groups such as Suntory Global Spirits, John Dewar & Sons, Inver House and International Beverage. If you run very large bulk stocks across several warehouses, that depth is real and we say so plainly.
Provenate starts earlier in the process. Operators record mashing, fermentation and distillation on the floor, and the same records carry through cask filling, maturation, vatting and bottling. HMRC W1 and W5 figures, Alcohol Duty figures, cost per litre of pure alcohol and stock valuation are built from those movements. Most sites are live in 2–4 weeks.
Provenate is a distillery ERP for whisky distilleries, independent bottlers and bonded warehouses — production, cask stock, HMRC duty returns (W1, W5, Alcohol Duty) and finance in one platform — built in East Lothian, Scotland by Third Platform Technologies and used by Ardnamurchan, Isle of Harris and Adelphi.
Side by side
Provenate and DRAMS side by side
| Provenate | DRAMS | |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Whole production lifecycle: mashing to bottling, orders and duty. | Bulk stock and distillery management; maturing spirit inventory is the core. Source |
| Mashing, fermentation, distillation records | Recorded on the floor, with strength and LPA calculated automatically. | Distillation appears in long-term planning (distillation, filling and dumping plans). Source |
| Cask and warehouse stock | Cask history, regauges, OLA/RLA, warehouse locations and bulk cask movements. | Barrel inventory, warehouse management, bulk spirit management and handheld scanning (DRAMS Scan). Source |
| HMRC returns | W1 and W5 figures and monthly Alcohol Duty figures built from recorded movements, with an audit trail. | Auto-populated templates for regulators including HMRC (the W Return) and the US TTB. Source |
| Finance | Cost per litre of pure alcohol, duty due, book and market stock valuation. | Costing models and inventory valuation. Source |
| Accounting and ERP | Native Xero, QuickBooks, SAP and Salesforce connectors, plus REST API and webhooks. | Works with ERPs such as SAP, IFS Applications and JD Edwards. Source |
| Consumer engagement | Serialized QR per bottle, provenance story and live scanning dashboard. | Not listed on DRAMS's public feature pages. Source |
| Deployment | Cloud (SaaS), each customer in its own isolated database. | DRAMS 5 is web-based, with a fully managed hosting service. Source |
| Who it's for | Distilleries, independent bottlers and bonded warehouses, from single sites to groups. | Small, growing and large distillers, groups and brokers. Source |
Competitor details come from DRAMS's own public pages, checked October 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we'll correct it.
Which one fits
Which one fits your site
Choose DRAMS if
- Your main job is managing a very large maturing stock across many warehouses.
- You already run SAP, IFS or JD Edwards and want a stock system with a long enterprise track record.
- You report to the US TTB as well as HMRC.
Choose Provenate if
- You want production, from mash to bottling, on the same record as cask stock and duty.
- Finance needs cost per LPA, duty and stock value without rebuilding spreadsheets.
- You use Xero or QuickBooks, or want consumer QR on your bottles.
- You want to be live in weeks, not months.
FAQ
Provenate vs DRAMS: common questions
Is DRAMS suitable for a craft distillery?
DRAMS lists small and growing distillers among the businesses it works with, but its core is maturing spirit inventory. A craft distillery that also wants mashing, fermentation and distillation records, duty figures and finance in one system is the case Provenate was built for.
What does Provenate cost compared to DRAMS?
Provenate pricing is quote-based and depends on the size of your site, from a single distillery to a multi-site group. Neither Provenate nor DRAMS publishes a price list, so the honest answer is to ask both for a quote on the same scope.
Does Provenate handle HMRC W1 and W5 like DRAMS?
Yes. Provenate builds W1 and W5 figures and monthly Alcohol Duty figures from the movements already recorded, with every line traceable to casks and orders. You review them and submit to HMRC as you do today. See our W1 and W5 guide.
Can I move from DRAMS to Provenate?
Yes. Onboarding includes data migration from your current system or spreadsheets, so cask histories, stock and locations come across before you go live. Most sites are live within 2–4 weeks.
See Provenate on a setup like yours
Bring your current DRAMS reports and we'll show you the same numbers in Provenate, from mash to duty return.
Book a demo