Inside independent Scottish single malt bottling and interesting drams from the whisky industry’s approach

Often seen as the less stuffy, younger sibling of traditional single malt providers, independent bottlers are a long standing part of the eco-system of whisky production in Scotland and they are producing some unique, fun and often ‘cease and desist’ worthy whiskies. Rosalind Erskine spoke to a range of independent bottlers.

Blending whisky has been going on for centuries in Scotland - and with it the trading of casks. This has resulted in the creation of many independent bottler businesses in and outwith Scotland.

Often seen as disruptive to stand-alone distilleries or big name brands, these firms are creative and often agile businesses that are making some seriously interesting drams. It’s all about knowing your customer, price point and quality of liquid.

Dawn Davies, buying director at The Whisky Exchange, explained what to look out for as a customer, saying: “There are a lot of independent bottlers out there who do not understand the liquid and are putting out some really bad quality and many who are just bottling the same brands time and time again and have not done research into pricing or what the category needs.

“There are, however, really good ones that do have great liquid at a fair price. When it comes to independent bottlings, the customer really has to do their due diligence to make sure that they can trust what they are buying. But by investing this time they can uncover some excellent bottlings.”

Dawn Davies of The Whisky Exchange said: "My absolute favourite to date are our Whisky Show Bottlings from 2024 which featured some of our fabulous staff on the label! We bottled these as part of our #WeAreWhisky campaign to hero the people that make whisky so special." | The Whisky Exchange

One of these is Fife-based Lady of the Glen, which does four outruns a year. Within each outrun, the firm has about six casks. Balance and customer taste is in mind with every release.

Director Gregor Hannah said: “Within the outrun we try to follow five principles - one, it's not from a distillery we have bottled in the last 12 months. Two, we have a peated release.

“Three, we have a strong finish or Port or Sherry finish whisky. Four, we have something older, so over 20 years old and five, something that is relatively low priced. Ultimately, we want a good, well balanced spirit within each of the releases. This means we have something for everyone within each outrun.”

For Sam Simmons, head of whisky of That Boutique-y Whisky Company (TBWC), it’s all about creating whisky that you want to share.

He said: “It’s always about finding the next ‘holy s**t you have to try this’ drinking experience, whether it’s a 42-year-old unnamed Tomatin or a three-year-old rye from Australia. Good, bad, or mind-blowingly great, if a whisky makes you want to enthusiastically share what’s in your glass with a like-minded whisky lover, that’s a Boutique-y.”

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Independent bottlers buy casks of whisky directly from distilleries and are then free to do what they wish with the casks and liquid, such as re-racking, cask finishing or just leaving the liquid in cask for longer. The whisky will then be bottled and sold under the bottler’s own brand, often with no mention of the distillery. This can give the freedom and opportunity for a wider variety of products and expressions.

Dawn Davies, Buying Director, The Whisky Exchange | The Whisky Exchange

Mr Hannah said of the excitement about being able to bottle something from a famous distillery: “[It’s] being able to illustrate how the distillate character has changed or is different from the official bottling version or taking a risk with a single cask and re-racking it into something the distillery couldn't risk doing with a large release of thousands of bottles. We can try it with a single cask because, why not?

“However, I would say distillate character being expressed in different circumstances is always interesting because it's like listening to David Bowie in different eras. It's the same, but then it's not.”

Mr Simmons added: “Beyond taste, the package and labels of indie bottlers are often pop art in themselves and are able to tell stories in ways many distillery bottlings simply cannot. When TBWC began 13 years ago, there were few doing this, but today there are many excellent examples of this benefit of indies.”

As with anything whisky, there are some common misconceptions - one of which is that independent bottlers are not as good as a big single malt brand.

Graeme Mackeddie, master blender at Morrison Scotch Whisky Distillers, said: “People often think that independently bottled spirits are somehow inferior to their ‘official’ counterparts. The truth is often the opposite, with independent bottlings of whiskies being presented naturally, free of artificial colouring, and without chill filtration. Very often these whiskies will be presented at slightly higher strengths or perhaps at natural cask strength.”

Mr Simmons added: “There is a misconception that independent bottling is not part of the long standing eco-system of whisky production in Scotland and are instead somewhat malignant, parasitic and harmful. I have long believed that indie bottlers are big whisky’s greatest advocates and assets.”

The past five to ten years have seen the opening of some new and exciting Scotch whisky distilleries, which means potential casks of liquid from these winging their way to independent bottlers. So which are they most excited to work with?

Ms Davies said: ”There are a lot from non-traditional countries that are exciting at the moment. We’re also finding gems like Clynelish back on the market. In fact, we worked with Signatory Vintage to release a 17-year-old Clynelish earlier this year, which sold out almost immediately when we launched it online.”

Graeme Mackeddie, Morrison Scotch Whisky Distillers | Morrison Scotch Whisky Distillers

Mr Hannah added: “I genuinely get excited when we receive stock from any distillery. Even the young stuff, where you can taste the raw character, but you can chat with colleagues around the cask about what could make this better, is it just time or will it benefit from a re-rack in a particular style of cask? Those are exciting days.”

Mr Simmons said: “Holyrood, Dornoch, Ardnamurchan and the incredible Inchdairnie are high on my list and we’re big fans.”

Lady of the Glen Craigellachie bottling | Lady of the Glen

There is a huge market out there for whisky fans to try something unusual, quirky or just see how their favourite whisky tastes when someone else has been creative with it. Later this year look out for The Samhein from Lady of the Glen; “Badly Drawn Dogs” an indie bottler that assigns dog breeds to distilleries, and the potential Inaugural release from Aberargie Distillery.