What is an Independent Bottler?
The noble trade of Independent Bottlers dates back hundreds of years.
In simple terms, an Independent Bottler is a third party who buys casks of whisky or spirit and then matures and bottles it under their own or another label.
A Brief History
This used to be very common back in the late 1800s into the 1900s. Merchants or grocers would buy spirit directly from distilleries and either store it or bottle it and sell it to their customers.
WM. Cadenhead’s, the oldest Independent Bottler, started out as Wine and Spirit Merchants in 1842. They would work as agents buying spirit from distilleries and maturing it themselves before bottling it and selling or exporting it.
Gordon & MacPhail started out as grocers up in Elgin; they began buying spirit from the distilleries around them, maturing it, and then bottling it under their own name.
Why Independent Bottlers Matter
Now we have loads of Indy Bottlers who have access to some great whisky and are putting out really exciting releases.
We’ve had great fun hosting our Indy Bottler Spotlight events, learning about the whisky as well as the journeys each bottler has been through.
At this year’s Whisky Fringe Whisky Festival, Angus and I were put to the test by Rare Find and let loose on their stand. We had a range of their releases to pour and talk about on the day.
It’s very easy to fall into the trap of thinking Indy Bottling is a new thing and that everyone seems to be doing it. Social media has made it much easier for bottlers to promote themselves and grow followings.
Since lockdown, there’s been a surge in whisky drinkers wanting to get geeky and find out more about their drams, try new things and really dive into experimental whisky releases.
New distilleries can be a bit more experimental, but the bigger distilleries and whisky brands that have been about for a long time don’t have the freedom to be radically different. And they don’t need to be.
Indy Bottlers can fill that gap.
Woodrow’s of Edinburgh brought out an Aberlour 12 from an ex-bourbon cask. This became a solid favourite on the podcast. A chance for us to try Aberlour in bourbon at cask strength isn’t something that Aberlour themselves release unless it’s a distillery exclusive.
Tri-Carragh brought out a Bowmore 27 in bourbon which was an absolute banger.
Indy Bottlers also often get access to casks from distilleries that don’t put out their own releases.
There are grain and malt distilleries who only produce for blending. But every now and again, an Indy Bottler will get hold of some casks and release them. Some of the nicest whiskies I’ve had over the last few years have been grain whiskies that are independently bottled. Thompson Brothers North British 33 Year Old being one of them.
Trust and Quality
In the end, it all comes down to trust.
The distilleries and whisky brands have to trust the bottlers who are buying their spirit or whisky that they’re going to ‘do right by the whisky’, and the drinker has to trust the bottler that they’re not going to put rubbish whisky into bottles and expect people to buy it.
When we do our Indy Bottler Spotlight tastings, you can see the passion for whisky from the bottlers that we’ve interviewed. They might not have made the product, but they’ve either had an impact on the flavour and, most importantly, made a decision on when it’s ready. That gives them skin in the game, and it keeps the standards high.
Learning more about Independent Bottlers has opened up a whole new sweetie shop for me. I’ve said it plenty of times before, but it really is a great time to be a whisky drinker.
