FILL YOUR BOOTS

Blair Bowman takes stock of the surge in distilleries offering ‘bottle your own’ experiences and the whisky fanatics who are lining up to do it

Blair Bowman enjoys the latest whisky craze for filling your own bottle

Making the pilgrimage to far flung distilleries in the name of buying an exclusive bottling may seem a laborious task, but in the eyes of whisky enthusiasts it is one worth making. Those in search of a unique gift or an investment piece will travel many miles to secure a limited release.

However, getting your hands on one of these exclusive bottlings often requires sharpening up the elbows. In fact, in August 2018 when Macallan released a limited bottle to mark the opening of their new distillery, the hoards trying to snap up a bottle of Macallan Genesis were so immense that police were called in for crowd control. Around 300 bottles were available – and for a pretty penny – selling for £495 on a first come, first served basis. Queues mounted outside the distillery from 10pm the night before the release date, and by morning hundreds of cars were blocking the road entrance.

But not all those who scooped up one of the prized bottles went home to enjoy a dram; many bottles were ‘flipped’ – slapped with an even bigger price tag and sold on for profit. Just 12 days after its release, one bottle sold at auction for £4,650, seeing an incredible 800% increase in value. While flipping may not be a new phenomenon, it is proving increasingly difficult for brand owners to police.

Coughing up a few thousand for a rare dram isn’t always enough for the discerning whisky aficionado though. In recent years, a number of distilleries have ramped up the ‘exclusivity’ appeal by offering customers the chance to bottle their own whisky, label, sign and date it. Most of these bottles sell for a bare minimum of £100, depending on the age of the whisky and the estimated number of bottles that will be drawn from the cask, and for those handing over their hard earned cash for a personalised edition, it is a priceless addition to their drinks cabinet.

The ‘bottle your own’ craze has grown exponentially in popularity, particularly among those who have travelled from overseas to remote corners of Scotland. In visitor shops far and wide, limited casks can be seen raised up on platforms, designed with special taps and valve systems to draw in the punters.

The whole process of filling the bottle is startlingly simple, but enjoyable for those of us who like seeing the ins and outs of the whisky production process. Once you’ve been given an empty bottle, you turn a tap while holding the bottle underneath and the valve fills up, measuring out the perfect amount from the cask. After putting the cork top on and sealing it with wax, the true test of putting the label on straight awaits. Depending on the space you’re given on the label, you can sign and name the whisky. The distillery staff will make sure you have all the legal requirements on the label – including the alcohol strength and duty stamps – and you’re left with your very own, unique bottle of liquid gold.

You might happen across distilleries that offer this ‘bottle your own’ experience through use of a ‘valinch’ (picture a large copper pipette) instead of the tap and valve. Without meaning to spoil the illusion, whiskies bottled from the tap and valve systems are usually taken from metal-lined casks, meaning it is prevented from further maturation in the wood. This ensures the distilleries have more control over the whisky’s state of maturation when they select it as the next ‘fill your own’ cask.

There are plenty of distilleries on Islay that now offer this experience, and among the most sought after are bottlings from Bowmore and Bruichladdich. Almost as soon as their casks have been announced as a ‘bottle your own’, hoards of visitors flock to the distilleries – and there are even rumours that islanders are commissioned to fill bottles for whisky connoisseurs across the globe.

Among the best ‘bottle your own’ whiskies I’ve had the pleasure of trying lately is Glen Garioch’s 1984 sherry cask (£495) which you hand-fill using a valinch, meaning the whisky continues evolving in the wood until the cask is totally empty. Another stand out is the Aberfeldy Cask #5029 40-year-old (£2,500), from which only 400 bottles were drawn. Aberfeldy have already bottled 199 of these, and they are available on their website.

As far as I’m concerned, filling your own whisky bottle is far from a gimmick – it’s a chance to try a unique single cask whisky. If you’re anything like me, you won’t need an excuse to stop off at a distillery, but with the promise of a memorable experience and a fantastic tasting dram, it would be foolish to pass up on the opportunity.

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Coughing up a few thousand for a rare dram isn’t always enough for whisky aficionados