Types of Sourced Whiskey

There are many different types of sourced whiskey. You’ve probably heard us say it over and over again: Lost Lantern is not a distillery and it never will be. We source all our whiskey, always have, and always will. Sourcing whiskey (i.e., buying it from others) is very common in the whiskey industry, and always has been. But the way we do it is very different from the way most companies in the United States have traditionally sourced whiskey. In fact, there are several different types of sourced whiskey companies, some of them very different from each other. Take a look at the chart above for a comparison of the different types!

Lost Lantern is one very particular type of sourced whiskey company: an independent bottler. This is an old and historic whisky tradition, with deep roots in Scotland, and nearly as old as Scotch whisky itself. This particular form of sourcing whiskey, however, has been very rare in the United States, where the dominant form of sourced whiskey company has been the non-distiller-producer. There is also a third type, existing in both Scotland and the U.S. (and in other places around the world), called the Blending House. All three ways of sourcing whiskey have different goals and focus areas, and we think it’s worth knowing the difference!

What Is An Independent Bottler?

The key differences between independent bottlers and other types of sourced whiskey companies are that independent bottlers work with numerous different distillery partners, are generally highly transparent about the source of their whiskey, and actively celebrate the distillery partners they work with. For independent bottlers, the fact that they didn’t distill their whiskey is basically the point: they want to help you discover great distilleries and great whiskies that you otherwise might not encounter. For us, that means focusing on newer American distilleries that many people don’t know about or can’t get their hands on. For traditional Scotch independent bottlers, it usually means releasing unique single malts from distilleries that sell the vast majority of their whiskey for use in blends. Independent bottlers usually have a large number of releases at any given time, many of them coming from single distilleries. Many independent bottlers, including us, also release whiskey blended from multiple distilleries, and usually with a fairly high degree of transparency and a focus on particular flavor profiles or whiskey regions.

Independent bottlers are very common in Scotland. Some of the best-known are Gordon & MacPhail, the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, Douglas Laing, Blackadder, and Cadenheads, but there are many dozens more, ranging from 100+ year old companies with massive warehouses filled with new make spirit to one or two-person operations that release the occasional special single cask that they purchased fully mature. In the United States, Lost Lantern is the first independent bottler to focus exclusively on American whiskey, and we have by far the largest range of distillery partners, but our friends at Single Cask Nation have long been operating as U.S.-based independent bottlers working with Scotch, world whiskey, and some American whiskies.

What Is A Blending House?

Blending houses are a little different. Like independent bottlers, they source from multiple distilleries, and they usually will happily tell you that they do so. But for a blending house, the focus is less on where that whiskey comes from than the art of the blend itself. Blending houses celebrate their ability to bring whiskies together into a harmonious whole. They are usually not as transparent about where the underlying whiskey comes from, and even if they are, it’s not usually a major emphasis. Instead, they showcase and celebrate how they can bring many different flavors together. They are also more likely to have core and consistent releases that have the same flavor profile from release to release, although many also regularly release special editions made with particularly unique whiskies.

In the Scotch world, Compass Box is a prime example of a blending house: they are as open as they are allowed to be about where their whiskey comes from, but even when they can tell you exactly where they got it from, the primary focus is on the blender’s art. Similarly, Barrell Craft Spirits in the U.S. has always been fully transparent that they source their whiskey from numerous distilleries. Their overall emphasis, however, is on the whiskey they can make by bringing those disparate sources together rather than the specifics of where the whiskey came from.

What Is A Non-Distiller-Producer (NDP)?

In the most literal terms, a non-distiller-producer is any whiskey company that doesn’t have its own distillery. But for our purposes, we mean something a little more specific. NDPs are companies that source all their whiskey and usually aren’t particularly transparent about it. Unlike blending houses and independent bottlers, they often source from only one distillery, or sometimes a small handful, and their sources are consistent over time… not just consistent as to distillery, but for age, mashbill, and general flavor profile as well. That’s because NDPs are not sourcing to highlight another distillery, or to celebrate the art of their blend, but to have a consistent whiskey for their own brand. They are the least transparent type of whiskey sourcing company, and some (but by no means all!) are actively or passively deceptive.

To be clear, there’s nothing wrong with being an NDP, as long as you’re transparent about sourcing your whiskey. Smoke Wagon is a great example in American whiskey: they put out great whiskies and it’s no secret that they didn’t distill them themselves, but the focus of their storytelling is primarily about Smoke Wagon itself rather than where the underlying whiskey comes from (or at least, that’s how we perceive it). This is an entirely valid and worthwhile way of building a whiskey brand: It’s just a different approach. The trouble arises because some companies are not nearly so open that they don’t have a distillery, or that their distillery is far too small to produce all the whiskey they need.

All three types of sourced whiskey companies have quite different approaches. Each one has its benefits, and each can result in wonderful whiskies well worth seeking out. Here at Lost Lantern, we are of course huge fans of the independent bottler model. After all, we are one, and we proudly adapted this historic business model from Scotland! And we hope this exploration of types of sourced whiskey companies helps enhance your understanding of the world of sourced whiskey.