What is an Independent Bottler?

Independent Bottlers play an important role in the Scotch Whisky Industry.

Nowadays, consumers are searching for rare, specialist whiskies to satisfy their thirst for knowledge about the fascinating world of Scotch Whisky and this is where these companies come into their own.

Independent bottlers can offer a fantastic range of Scotch whiskies and through acquiring a number of whisky casks, sometimes from distilleries that are currently 'mothballed' or have been completely dismantled they are preventing certain fine Scotch whiskies from disappearing altogether. The casks will be matured by the Independent Bottler as they see fit, bottled and presented under their own particular label.

Some Independent Bottlers specialize in producing limited editions of rare, premium single malt whiskies from specially selected casks (from brokers or direct from the distillery). Such whiskies are attractive to the real whisky connoisseur as an opportunity to sample a rare vintage, or a whisky from their favourite distillery that has been matured in a different type of cask or bottled at a different age from the normal standard production.

An increase in demand for more specialist whiskies has seen various independent bottlers extend their range to offer 'Cask Strength Whiskies'. Proprietary whiskies are normally bottled at 40% vol, 'cask strength' means that no water has been added to the whisky prior to bottling and therefore the whisky may be over 50% vol. Other attractive bottling features may include 'NO chill filtering or colouring'.

It is clear that Independent Bottlers offer a vital service to discerning whisky connoisseurs all over the world.