Scotch whisky evolved from a drink whose name translates to “water of life.” If Scotch whisky is the water of life, Spec’s suggests that independent Scotch bottlings may add the spice. Independent bottlings are low-yield, rare creations that produce one-of-a-kind tasting experiences. Since Spec’s strives to include independent bottlings in its Scotch selection, let’s look at how these beautiful bottlings come to be.
Independent bottlers (IBs) buy casks of whisky from many distilleries. They generally mature the whisky in their own warehouses, bottle the whisky and market it themselves. Some bottlers supply casks in which the distillers fill “new make” spirit, but more often they buy a parcel of casks from a distillery. Bottlers may also buy casks from cask brokers which otherwise would likely have ended up in blends.
The distillery’s own bottlings, or official bottlings (OBs), generally consist of vattings of hundreds or thousands of casks in each batch. Official bottlings aim for a consistent house style, balancing out the highs and lows of superior or inferior casks. (Spec’s carries a sizable selection of these Scotches.) In contrast, independent bottlers usually produce single cask or small batch bottlings.
Single cask bottlings can highlight an outstanding expression of a distillery’s output – or a very poor one. Cask selection is key. The bottler’s reputation is on the line, so bottlers usually have tasting panels to select the best casks to bottle. Any given cask may not be to your taste, but the fun is in the discovery of something different.
Independent bottlers often bottle at cask strength (see our post on Cask Strength Whisky), so you can drink your whisky at its most flavorful or add water to your preferred drinking strength. These bottlers usually bottle their whisky with natural color (without the addition of spirit caramel) so you can see the cask influence. Also, independent bottlers do not use chill filtration in order to avoid removing unique flavors from the whisky. While a growing number of official bottlings are naturally colored and not chill-filtered, the majority still are not.
Since independent bottlers offer whiskies from many distilleries, they provide an opportunity to try whiskies that would otherwise be unavailable or very difficult to obtain. Closed distilleries – distilleries whose whiskies are primarily destined for blends and thus have no official bottling – and distilleries whose official bottlings are not marketed in this country may all be found from independent bottlers.
Independent bottlers may offer bottlings from your favorite distilleries that wouldn’t fit in the distillery’s core ranges. For example, bourbon cask-matured Macallan, Aberlour, or Highland Park allow you to experience how their distillate matures without the influence of sherry casks. Some of the other Scotches from independent bottlers that you may see at Spec’s stores include Duncan Taylor, AD Rattray, Signatory, and McKillop’s Choice.
Submitted by: Simon Taylor in Dallas, Texas
