Wild and free
Independent bottlers are some of the most historic businesses in the industry, but a new wave of creative brands are forging a new path. So, in an incredibly competitive whisky market, what are the benefits of being a business that doesn’t actually produce its own liquids?
What comes first…the distiller or the bottler? It may sound like the beginning of an over-told joke, but it’s a fair question. Independent whisky bottlers have long been a key part of the industry, buying stocks from multiple producers and putting their own name on the bottle. They’re entirely dependent on whisky producers for their existence. Yet, any brand worth bottling likely already has strong consumer demand.
In many ways, independent bottlers are a spirits industry anomaly. Dating back to the days before whisky producers bottled their own stocks, these businesses were the link to retail, selling to grocers and merchants. They were the ones who knew the market, knew what customers wanted, and they helpfully obliged.
Changing times
But, times have long since changed. Bottlers are no longer a necessity. Yet, new ones continue to enter the market. In late 2023, the Heart Cut launched, selling cask-aged liquids – including world whiskies from Denmark, Finland and England – targeted to newer consumers looking to have the spirits market ‘demystified’, according to its founders.
Historic merchant and bottler Berry Bros recently announced the hire of a new spirits curator, Felix Dear, a former whisky buyer at perhaps one of the most modern of bottlers, Atom Brands (That Boutique-y Whisky Company). While acknowledging a tough climate for the indies, even amidst a boom in activity, he agrees it’s an exciting time. In September Berry Bros announced the launch of The Pioneer Series, which celebrates “like-minded producers”. Read as, small sustainable producers.
Meanwhile, in a symbiotic move, Edinburgh-based The Artisanal Spirits Company – owners of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society – acquired US bottler Single Cask Nation (SCN) in a bid to tap into the increasingly prime American whiskey market. Interesting. SCN also currently works with single malt producers in England, Sweden, Israel, Australia and India, among others.
Nimble and adaptable
All of which show what bottlers key strengths are; nimbly reacting to the market. Without having to worry about production capacity, they’re limited only to what they can purchase when it comes to the number of annual launches. They can champion small, lesser known, or even closed producers. They can combine the good bits of lots of different brands, production years, casks, and take risks others can’t. Crucially, they can react fast to trends, and deliver them even if the audience for them is tiny.
Or, to let Andrew Dane, CEO of The Artisanal Spirits Company tell it: “One of the special things about being an independent bottler is handpicking and bottling exceptionally high-quality spirits from single casks, offering unique flavours and taste experiences that can’t be replicated.
“Independent bottlers add depth and variety to the whisky and spirits industry, for example by experimenting with different casks, ageing periods, and blending techniques, which results in unique whiskies.”
But, speaking of that tough climate Gordon & MacPhail may have been in business for 128 years. But reputation and tradition can’t protect you against overwhelming market forces. In July last year, the company announced it was to cease independent bottling in the face of increasingly expensive casks, and the move by more and more distillers, to release their single malts themselves.
It’s personal
What are consumers buying into when they choose to buy not from a brand, but from a bottler? Often, it’s scarcity… a unique liquid that by rarity, blend, age, or other factor, no-one else has. Essentially, you’re buying into an ethos, the taste of the bottler, and the foresight they have to predict what will become interesting. Their brand, their reputation depends on their track record of picking ‘winners’. And rather than focusing on process, they put personalities at the centre of their brands, inviting consumers to get to know them, and their personal tastes. It’s an intimate affair.
Yet supply and demand are shaping the industry. With increased competition for casks, the cost of operation, and the ability to stand out become challenging. But these businesses are uniquely placed to keep pace with an industry, and a consumer group, that is itself rapidly changing. From the championing of female producers, sustainable businesses, tiny operations, unique distillation methods, and emerging regions, bottlers are able to express a point of view and to challenge established industry norms.
What can larger producers learn from them? The personal relationships bottlers are able to build with followers, by anticipating their needs is surely a big one. Championing individuality is hard to do when catering for a mass market. But with nuance an increasingly rare commodity, it’s ever more worthwhile.