Independent bottler

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It has been common practice in the whisky industry for more than a century for distilleries to sell barrels of whisky to blenders and independent bottlers as a means of making additional income.^[1][2][3][4] In fact, some distilleries exist solely to serve independent bottlers, and do not market any brands themselves.^[5][6]

Famous independent bottlers include Milroy's of Soho, who began their trade in 1964 and continue to release interesting old and rare expressions.

In the United States, the first whiskey brand that was sold exclusively in glass bottles was Old Forester – introduced in the 1870s by an independent bottler. The brand was promoted with the idea that by buying whisky sold in a sealed bottle, the customer could be assured that the whisky met the quality standard of the brand and had not been adulterated.

Distilleries also pass on barrels of whisky to ensure consistency. When blending whisky, they ensure consistency by using barrels with similar flavours. If a particular flavour is notably different, it may be deemed uncharacteristic of the distillery and as such cannot be used in "official" product bottlings. Whiskies bottled by independent bottlers may or may not be labelled with the distillery of origin, but tend not to use the distillery's trademarks such as logos, fonts and images as they may not have the authorization to do so.