Independent bottler

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Independent bottlers of single malt whiskey are companies that do not necessarily produce their own whiskey , but purchase individual barrels from distilleries , which they later bottle under their own names. Usually the name of the original distillery can also be mentioned on the label of these bottlings.

history

Probably the oldest independent bottling company is the Scottish company Cadenhead 's, which was founded in 1842 by William Cadenhead in Aberdeen . However, until the middle of the 19th century it was quite common for distilleries to sell individual barrels to whiskey dealers - either through direct sales or through brokers - who then bottled the whiskey, often fresh from the barrel, for their customers. Only then did the large distilleries discover the blending process , and Scotch whiskey began to become known first in Great Britain and then internationally.

In the 1930s and 1940s, the independent bottler Gordon & MacPhail under John Urquhart built up extensive stocks of selected malt whiskeys and then introduced the “Connoisseurs Choice Malt Whiskey” series. This happened at a time when the trend was clearly towards blended scotch and few distilleries were even selling their single malt whiskeys as such.

Blended Scotch whiskeys dominated the market until the 1960s . It was only after a major Glenfiddich advertising campaign in the 1960s that demand for single malt whiskeys slowly increased. As a result, the distilleries began to offer single-malt bottlings on the market. The distilleries then attached great importance to the continuity of their ten, twelve or 18 year old malts.

This is where the independent bottlers (so-called independents) come in. With their specialist knowledge, they purchased individual, selected barrels from the distilleries and now decided for themselves how long they let the whiskey mature in the barrel. The type and location of storage - both of which influence the later product - are also up to you. The standards of the distilleries played no role for them, rather the independent bottler decides according to his own feelings and experience when the time is right and the whiskey can be bottled and offered.

meaning

The philosophy of the independent bottlers is significant: to let a single barrel rest until the whiskey stored in it has reached its optimal maturation point and only then to bottle it. So-called single barrel bottlings, a product with the greatest possible individuality, was initially only available from the independents, while the commercial bottlings of the distilleries (so-called original bottlings) are more geared towards the recognition value of their standard bottlings with consumers. A whiskey from an original bottler that a customer tasted 10 years ago should still taste the same today.

In addition, the whiskeys of the independents - contrary to the standards of the original bottlers - are often bottled in different alcohol strengths. Here, too, they deviate from the standards of the original bottlers, who usually always offer their whiskeys with the same alcohol strength. In addition, these whiskeys are usually not chill-filtered or provided with the coloring agent caramel , which means that they are offered as naturally and unchanged as possible. These whiskeys then appear lighter than the products of the original bottlers that are darkly colored with an additive, who explain this re-coloring with the customer's desire for the greatest possible continuity, not only in taste but also in appearance. However, connoisseurs suspect that a whiskey treated in this way should also simulate a higher age and better quality.

Independent bottlers were the first to fill whiskeys into former port , rum , Sauternes or sherry barrels for post-maturation in order to find out how these barrel woods affected the taste of the malt whiskeys. Since these experiments were positive and the whiskeys obtained in this way corresponded to the customer's taste and were in demand, subsequent maturation in external casks has long been offered by the distilleries themselves.

With their high standards and the self-imposed commitment to the highest possible quality and individuality of their whiskeys, the independent bottlers represent an important building block in the history of single malt whiskeys and an enrichment of the market.

particularities

There are several special features that make the whiskeys from the independent bottlers attractive to those interested: on the one hand, the chance to try a malt whiskey that differs in age from that of the original bottler; but also the possibility of receiving a whiskey from a distillery that does not fill single malt whiskeys itself, but only serves the blenders.

Not least thanks to the independents, the consumer also has the chance to purchase a single malt whiskey from a still that has long been closed, shut down or even demolished.

In addition, the often limited number of bottlings of the independents represent an interesting field for the whiskey collector .

Ultimately, you can also get rare bottlings from individual, independent bottlers that have spent well beyond the normal time in the barrel.

Bottler

Scottish bottlers (selection)

  • Adelphi Selection
  • Berry Brothers & Rudd
  • Blackadder
  • Douglas Laing & Co. Ltd.
  • Duncan Taylor & Co. Ltd.
  • Elixir Distillers (Port Askaig, Elements of Islay)
  • Gordon & MacPhail
  • Hart Brothers Ltd.
  • Ian MacLeod Distillers Ltd.
  • James MacArthur & Co. Ltd.
  • Murray McDavid Ltd.
  • Scotch Malt Whiskey Society (SMWS)
  • Signatory Vintage Scotch Whiskey Co.
  • The Vintage Malt Whiskey Co. Ltd. (e.g. The Cooper's Choice, The Cooper's Choice Golden Grains, Finlaggan, The Ileach)
  • William Cadenhead Ltd.
  • Wilson & Morgan

German bottlers

  • 82 Chapters to Newcastle
  • Anam na h-Alba
  • Andrea Caminneci - Wine & Spirit Partner (C&S Dram)
  • Best Dram - Finest Whiskey Flavors
  • Brothers In Malt
  • The whiskey message
  • Donatella whiskey
  • Islay Cask Company
  • Jack Wiebers Whiskey World
  • Malts of Scotland
  • Patch sign for Whiskey & Cigars
  • SaarWhisky
  • Scotch Single Malt Circle (SSMC)
  • Scotch Universe
  • The Whiskey Warehouse No.8 (Warehouse Collection, Braon Peat)
  • Whic
  • Whiskey Doris

Dutch bottlers

  • Van Wees (The Ultimate Single Malt Scotch Whiskey Selection)

Swiss bottler

  • Caora GmbH (Olten SO)
  • Hauptstross 100 (Ziefen BL)

Austrian bottlers

  • Single Cask Collection GmbH (Wels)

Sources and literature

  • Michael Jackson: Malt whiskey . Rolf Heyne GmbH & Co KG, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-89910-234-7 .
  • Graham Moore: Malt whiskey. 75 big brands . Delius Klasing Verlag, Bielefeld 2001, ISBN 3-7688-1232-4 .
  • Graham Nown: Malt Whiskey - A Gift from Nature . Müller Rüschlikon Verlags AG, Cham (CH) 1998, ISBN 3-275-01264-9 .
  • Walter Schobert: The whiskey dictionary . 3rd edition. Fischer-Taschenbuch-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main April 2007, ISBN 978-3-596-15868-3 , p. 577 ff.
  • Walter Schobert: Whiskey Watch . Self-published, Issue No. 7 May 1999, ISSN  1434-8217 .

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