Scotland has more than 140 single-malt distilleries, each one creating its unique style of whisky. This incredible tapestry of tastes is what the global success of blended Scotch is based on. More than 95% of all Scotch whisky sold is blended; the balance is malt whisky. The main drivers in this tiny niche are powerhouse distilleries such as The Macallan, The Glenlivet and Glenfiddich, who bottle and sell their spirit under their own labels.
From this legion of Scottish distilleries, some of the whisky that is not used in blends or bottled under a distiller’s own label is picked up by independent whisky bottlers. These cask curators scour the Scotch scene, liberating liquid that might otherwise be forgotten. This role is not a new one. Long before single-malt distilleries decided to sell their wares direct to consumers, small Scottish grocers would often purchase a cask, bottle it up and put the distillery name on the label. Elgin’s Gordon & MacPhail, founded in 1895, was one of the first to ensure that the community could purchase whisky from their local distilleries, pioneering the concept of independently bottling stocks from the Speyside region and bringing them to market.
Occasionally, these liquor-focused Indiana Joneses find incredible casks of interest; sometimes, they’ll additionally mature or finish whisky in different or unusual styles of cask. For these reasons, it is to the world of independent whisky bottlers that aficionados turn to for uncommon releases.
The independent-bottling landscape gives you the freedom to shine the spotlight on the distilleries you love
– Georgie Bell
For both the bottler and the consumer, there are elements of risk and reward. Where big-name distilleries aim for consistency, independent whisky bottlers look for something that stands out, that reflects their own house style or, more often, an ethos or philosophy. This might manifest itself in something very old (the aforementioned Gordon & MacPhail has released some of the oldest whisky in the world, up to 80 years of age), a rarity from a closed distillery or maturation in a cask style in which the distillery’s spirit is rarely seen. Usually these releases are single casks, bottled at natural cask strength, representing the ‘outtakes’ of whisky production.
It is these elements that make diving into the world of independent bottling so exciting, and the bottlers so extraordinary. They are bringing a different perspective to whiskies you think you know, and introducing you to ones you need to know about. All at their own risk, too. And for this, they should be applauded. Here are six innovators well worth having on your radar.
The OG: Cadenhead’s
Scotland’s oldest independent whisky bottler, Cadenhead’s has a rich history that stretches back more than 180 years. Established in 1842 in Aberdeen by George Duncan, and soon after acquired by Duncan’s brother-in-law, William Cadenhead, the company has built a reputation for bottling and distributing a wide range of Scotch whiskies and other spirits.
Initially dealing in rum, which was coming into the busy port of Aberdeen, Cadenhead decided to start purchasing and bottling whisky from some of the surrounding distillers. ‘Single-malt distilleries weren’t really selling their own product at the time,’ says Cameron McGeachy, director of sales for Wm Cadenhead Ltd. ‘It was going to blenders, and it was independent bottlers who first showcased these whiskies as they were.’
The business struggled to maintain its growth during the tough economic times of the mid-20th century, and in the early 1970s it was bought by Hedly Wright, owner of Springbank Distillery (the J & A Mitchell company) in Campbeltown. Initially, Wright bought the business not for its stocks of whisky or its history and heritage, but because there was a shortage of glass in the UK at the time, and Cadenhead’s had plentiful stock. In 1972, he relocated the business to Campbeltown, where it has thrived as one of the most revered independent bottlers around.
In terms of its liquid offerings, Cadenhead’s has a very old-school focus. The whiskies are bottled as close to ‘straight from the cask’ as possible, with no chill filtration. Its labels also still feature the original distillery names (keeping the heritage suffix ‘-Glenlivet’, which was carried by Speyside distillers until around the mid-1900s). Traditional prices at traditional levels are key for Cadenhead’s, too. ‘Because of the history we have, and the relationships we have built, we always try to get our bottles to the consumer at a reasonable price point,’ McGeachy says.
Its releases drop on a monthly basis and sell fast. Recently, Cadenhead’s put out under its Authentic label a 29-year-old Ardbeg distilled in 1993. Bottled at 51.5% ABV, it has a £1,000 price tag – which is cheap for such a rarity. But this four-figure bottling is balanced by the Seven Stars 30 Year Old, which the company releases in small batches. This weighs in at around £90 a bottle – pricing from the last century, not this one.
The club: The Scotch Malt Whisky Society
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) is an independent whisky club founded in 1983 in Leith, near Edinburgh. Its USP has always been to hide the name of each distillery, instead using a series of numbers to link to different producers – first in Scotland, and now across the whisky-making world. This system was the brainchild of founder Pip Hills, a whisky lover who had a passion for discovering whiskies in their purest, most unadulterated form.
Hills was introduced to whisky pulled direct from a cask at a friend’s farm in the Highlands in the late 1970s. He was struck by the richness and complexity of that natural-strength, single-cask offering; motivated by this experience, Hills decided to purchase his first cask of whisky. The first cask release, from Highland distillery Glenfarclas, was labelled simply as 1.1 (Distillery 1, Release 1) on the bottle.
‘[Hills’s] whole motive was to get people to discover and enjoy the flavour in the whisky, rather than just be drinking it for drinking’s sake,’ says John McCheyne, SMWS’s master brand ambassador.
The SMWS bottles whiskies from a wide range of Scottish distilleries, as well as distilleries from around the world, including Japan, the US and France. Each cask is carefully selected by the Society’s expert tasting panel, led by whisky writer Charles MacLean MBE, which evaluates the whisky for quality and distinctiveness.
Before bottling, everything has to be tasted and approved by a tasting panel. We have times when more than 50% of the samples are sent back for longer maturation. It is a fantastic way to keep the quality high for our members,’ says McCheyne. Each bottling is given a name that reflects the flavour of the whisky. For example, their current outturn features a 12-year old Speyside single malt called Lifting A Beehive Lid.
The SMWS was one of the first independent whisky bottlers to release Japanese whiskies in 2002, which was unheard of at the time. Some of their most sought-after releases come from traditional Scotch distilleries such as Glenfarclas (Distillery 1) and Highland Park (Distillery 4). The latter is already up to release number 340. Glen Moray (Distillery 35) has featured 349 times so far.
Today, the SMWS has grown into a community with thousands of members across multiple countries, all drawn by the variety on offer. ‘Over the past 41 years, there has been a lot of innovation, a lot of non-Scotch bottled, and different types of casks, too,’ says McCheyne.
The art-school offering: That Boutique-y Whisky Company
Gaining widespread recognition for its eclectic approach to whisky and its distinctive artistic labels, That Boutique-y Whisky Company (TBWC) first appeared on the scene in September 2012 with four releases: two single malts from Ardbeg and The Macallan, plus two from the long-closed distilleries of Caperdonich and Port Ellen. While its irreverent approach and design ethos helped it to stand out, what really put TBWC on the map was a serious dedication to quality whisky. This passion has earned it a loyal following among whisky lovers, who are also keen collectors of its bottlings.
In addition to Scotch, TBWC also bottles whiskies from around the world, including American bourbon and Irish whiskey. ‘We have done a lot of non-Scotch,’ says Dave Worthington, long-time global brand ambassador. ‘Our first was from US distillery Few, and we have gone on to do whiskies from India and other parts of the world, like Japan.’ The brand’s goal is to showcase the diversity of whisky in an unconventional and fun way, offering enthusiasts a chance to try something new and different.
‘We have really grown over the past two decades,’ says Worthington, ‘and we have bottled from 79 of the 95 established single-malt distilleries in Scotland, which is fantastic. We have also done six of the seven grain distilleries.’
One of the key elements of TBWC’s approach is its focus on small-batch releases. Each batch is a limited-edition bottling, often drawn from a small number of casks. This means that once a particular batch is sold out, it is unlikely to be seen again. The company frequently experiments with different cask types, such as applejack, and a variety of maturation periods – from under a year, to over 50 years – resulting in a wide variety of flavour profiles and unique expressions.
‘We have even bottled “whisky” – although it can’t be called that for legal reasons – at just 11 months old,’ says Worthington. ‘This was with Distillery 291 from Colorado, and we don’t shy away from great liquid, such as this New World whisky. Diversity is our house attitude. I love it when a whisky we have bottled divides a room!’
Perhaps TBWC’s most recognisable feature is its eye-catching and playful bottle labels. Each one is designed as a comic-style illustration, often featuring humorous depictions of whisky industry figures, distilleries or whisky-making processes. This aesthetic serves as a visual representation of TBWC’s philosophy: whisky should be enjoyable, approachable and fun.
The whisky tailors: Berry Bros & Rudd
Berry Bros & Rudd, or simply ‘Berrys’, has traded from the same shop at 3 St James’s Street since 1698. With a royal warrant to its name, it has supplied the royal family with libations since 1760. Today, the business is run by Lizzy Rudd, who – as the surname indicates – is part of this merchant dynasty. ‘It was in our second century that we really went into the wine and spirits trade, importing Cognacs and rums, ageing and bottling them in the UK. This was very much the Berry family legacy,’ says Rudd.
The business has records of brandy being sold from the shop as early as 1795, and by the early 1800s there were plenty of casks of various spirits being stored in the cellars under St James’s. When the Single Bottle Act was introduced in 1861, wine and spirits merchants were able to sell individual bottles, and this is when Berrys started to sell its own-label spirit, making the company the world’s oldest independent bottler of spirits still in existence.
In 1923, Berry Bros saw an opportunity in the Prohibition-hit United States, where the demand for illicit Scotch whisky had rocketed. To quench the thirst that had developed during that ‘great social experiment’, the company came up with a new concept, a light and drinkable blended Scotch: Cutty Sark. The Cutty Sark label allowed Berrys to establish special relationships across Scotland, building up stocks of Scotch of its own and really accelerating its independent bottle offerings.
‘What sets our bottlings apart is the wide range of distilleries we work with: from Old World Scotch, to New World whiskies and new-wave Scotch distillers,’ says Berrys’ spirits curator Felix Dear. ‘Our long-standing relationships with distillers allow us to collaborate at different levels, whether it’s exclusive bottlings for the shop or single casks under our own label.’
Showing its commitment to spirits, Berrys has recently opened a dedicated spirits space. This gives a bricks-and-mortar home to its whisky releases, which come either in themed batches (a Nordic Cask selection recently dropped) or on a seasonal basis for its more traditional offerings of single-malt Scotch and bottlings from other more established distillers. That includes a recent Coasts & Shores collection, which comprises distilleries based by the sea, and covers both Scotch and Swedish malt whiskies.
Through its Own Selection spirits offering, Berrys finds itself in the same bracket as the tailors on Savile Row, across Mayfair: though they don’t make the cloth, they cut and style it with extreme care, knowledge and expertise, delivering something that is peerless in its class.
The Italian stallion: Samaroli
Mention the name Samaroli to any whisky fan, and they’ll immediately smile. Founded in 1968, this Italian company is one of the world’s most prestigious and influential independent whisky bottlers. Known for its pioneering approach to whisky curation and maturation, Samaroli’s work has left a lasting impact on the whisky industry.
An Italian whisky enthusiast, Silvano Samaroli was one of the first individuals outside of the UK to delve deeply into the Scotch whisky industry. In the 1960s, at a time when single-malt whisky was still a relatively niche market, he built relationships across Scotland, developing a market in his home country that has today become one of the most important markets in the world for Scotch whisky.
‘Most people don’t understand the link between Scotch whisky and Italy,’ explains Daniele Liberati, Samaroli’s global brand manager. ‘After World War II, foreign items became desirable. People started to replace grappa with exotic spirits, and Scotch fulfilled that role. Mr Samaroli started to select whiskies and casks he liked from Scotland, for his customers.’
Samaroli set about visiting Scotland on a regular basis – ‘six times a year, which was kind of unheard of back then’, says Liberati – initially as an importer of spirits, purchasing casks from distilleries across the country. He then took a highly personalised approach to selecting casks for maturation, often re-casking spirits into different types of oak to enhance and refine their flavours.
Samaroli’s lasting reputation has been built on the work done in the 1970s and 80s, when Silvano was able to acquire casks from some of Scotland’s most renowned distilleries, including The Macallan, Bowmore, Glen Grant and Ardbeg. Many of these casks were bottled as single-cask expressions, with Samaroli carefully choosing whiskies that had distinctive characteristics and that could benefit from his innovative maturation techniques. These bottles are highly collectable today, having helped highlight the brands as the desirable single malts we know and love.
Samaroli also prides itself on its distinctive labels, which often feature minimalist designs and beautiful artwork. These labels add to the appeal of Samaroli whiskies among collectors and whisky enthusiasts.
Today, Samaroli’s older releases continue to fetch significant prices on the secondary market thanks to their rarity and exceptional quality. ‘We are always looking at whisky that evokes emotion. We are Italian, after all,’ notes Liberati. Ultimately, it is this Italian approach that sets Samaroli apart. Think Ferrari and Gucci, over Bentley and Burberry.
The new kids on the block: The Heart Cut
The Heart Cut is a new independent whisky bottler that started life in 2023 with the release of world whiskies chosen by founders (and wife-and-husband team) Georgie Bell and Fabrizio Leoni. Bell, formerly a global brand ambassador for the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, understands what it means to find great whiskies and bring them to a new audience though the indie-bottling scene. ‘In my 15 years in the industry, I’ve seen whisky growing around the world,’ Bell says. ‘Whisky really is made everywhere, and there is such a vibrant plethora of flavours with whisky that we can reach out to and discover.’
The Heart Cut’s first set of releases covers nine single casks, from Stauning in Denmark, Kyrö in Finland, England’s Cotswolds and East London Liquor Company, Milk & Honey from Israel, and America’s Westward, Few and St George, with two releases from the latter.
In March 2024, just six months into its journey, The Heart Cut picked up its first trophy, winning Independent Bottler of the Year at the Icons of Whisky awards. This is likely thanks to its focus on accessibility, collaboration and education: each bottling features a QR code that, when scanned, allows greater information to be accessed on each release. Every bottling is also a partnership with the distillery, and the labels are designed in two halves to showcase the handshake between each distillery and The Heart Cut team.
The whisky space can still be quite intimidating. I’ve spent my career working in advocacy, and what I love about the independent-bottling landscape is that it gives you the freedom to shine the spotlight on the distilleries you love, in the hope that others will discover them and add them to their repertoire,’ says Bell. ‘The Heart Cut has been developed to inspire a more explorative drinking experience.’
With two further releases coming in 2024 – one from an Irish whiskey bonder, the other from England’s highly acclaimed Wire Works – The Heart Cut is planning to widen its net. The company has pushed hard in a short space of time to deliver a number of exceptional whiskies that succeed in highlighting the unique character of an individual distillery.
