For today’s blog I’m going to talk to you about a topic that we’re immensely passionate about here at Great Drams, and one which is hugely relevant to us. The topic in question is independent bottlers. 

Now, without tooting our own horn too much, as independent bottlers we’ve accomplished a heck of a lot over the years, and have picked up a number of awards and honours to prove it. One which we’re particularly proud of is being named ‘Best Independent Bottler’ at the World Spirits Competition. 

While seasoned whisky drinkers will likely know the ins and outs of independent bottling, for more casual drinkers or those just getting into whisky, it might be a little more confusing. After reading the blog today, all will be made clear. 

Here’s a look at independent bottlers and why many consider them to be the unsung heroes of the whisky world. 

Providing More Choice

Take a stroll down your local supermarket’s booze aisle and you’ll notice a bunch of a familiar faces when it comes to whisky/whiskey. In fact, without even going, you can probably name several whiskies that are pretty much guaranteed to be available. 

Now, I’m not bashing these by any means. These are all fabulous whiskies, and they wouldn’t be a mainstay on supermarket shelves and local off licences if they weren’t popular. One of the main drawbacks I tend to find, though, is a lack of choice. When I’m browsing the booze aisles and spot a new brand of spirit, I immediately gravitate towards it. A bit like you would do to the local kebab shop after a night on the town. The reason why I check out any new bottles is because I’m always looking to try something new. If it wasn’t for independent bottlers, finding new and unique whisky would be a great deal harder, not to mention a great deal more expensive. 

Independent bottlers, such as ourselves, source whisky from some of the country’s most popular distilleries and then do our own thing to turn it into something completely different, and hopefully, something that you all find even more delicious. 

What are Independent Bottlers?

Okay, so we’ve established that independent bottlers provide different and unique whisky compared to that which is mass-produced on vast scales, but how exactly do they achieve this? 

Well, first and foremost, it’s important to understand the difference between distillers and independent bottlers. It is the distillers themselves that are responsible for creating the whisky. They use state-of-the-art distilleries, along with a mixture of traditional and modern practices to turn the simplest of ingredients into the liquid gold we all adore so much. It isn’t, however, solely the distillers that are responsible for each and every single bottle of whisky that we find in the shops. A great deal of this is the role of the humble independent bottler. 

Large distilleries produce millions upon millions of litres of whisky each and every single year. A large percentage of them will sell the whisky on to blended Scotch brands who will mix and match different whiskies from different distilleries to make their own unique blends of whisky. 

Once the blended Scotch brands have their whisky however, there will inevitably be a few casks of whisky left over. So, what happens to them? Are they simply forgotten about and left to evaporate in the corner of a dark and dusty warehouse? No, that would be a travesty. What instead happens is independent bottlers may buy a cask or two, and then work their own magic to turn it into something completely different. 

We independent bottlers travel the country, and indeed, the world, visiting various distilleries in the hopes of finding a whisky that meets our own specific criteria. 

What do Independent Bottlers Do?

One of the most common misconceptions surrounding independent bottlers, and one which really frustrates me, is people assuming that independent bottlers simply buy whisky from a distillery, bottle it, plonk a different label on it, and sell it. That is absolutely not what we do. 

As mentioned, we’ll travel the lands on the hunt for the finest whisky we can source. When we visit a distillery, we generally have a clear picture in our heads of what we’re looking for. If we’re looking to release a peaty, smoky single malt from Islay, that’s exactly where we’ll head and what we’ll look for. If we want a sherry bomb, we’ll look to source a whisky aged in a PX or Oloroso sherry cask, or one which already has pretty strong sherry notes.

That’s only the start, though. Once we source the whisky, then the fun can begin. One of the best things about being an independent bottler is enjoying creative freedom over the whiskies. We may not distil the whisky, but we certainly flavour it. We decide how long to mature the whisky, which type of wooden cask to mature it in, and perhaps how to finish it. 

As an example, we could take a bourbon aged single malt, place it into a PX sherry cask, and give it an additional 3 years. We could then source a ruby port cask (pipe) and finish the whisky in there for an additional year. The end result would be a whisky that has enjoyed an additional 4 years of aging, in a combination of PX sherry, and ruby port casks, as well as the ex-bourbon cask it started off in.

We may also choose to blend different whiskies together to create our own unique blends of Scotch. Independent bottlers provide different, completely unique expressions of whiskies. Many of these whiskies turn out completely different to how they began when they were first sourced by the independent bottlers. Once we’re happy with how the whisky smells, looks, and tastes, we’ll go ahead and bottle it, seal it, label it, and sell it to our fantastic customers. 

Ultimately, independent bottlers aim to not only make whisky more accessible to you, but we want to provide whisky drinkers with more variety and more options. We have the freedom and the means to create different whiskies that large-scale distilleries simply wouldn’t be able to do. 

If you’d like to learn more about your favourite whiskies, or simply treat yourself to a dram or two in the process, head on over to GreatDrams.com and take a look at what we have to offer. 

With an impressive selection of limited-edition, rare, and award-winning whisky, as well as heaps of whisky info on our blog, it’s the perfect spot for any whisky lovers out there.