frequently asked questions

Why American Spirits?

There are many companies that are doing Independent Bottlings of whisky or spirits from other countries and releasing them in America. Some of them are even headquartered IN America. But we believe the new movement of American Independent Bottlers involves highlighting and releasing products specifically made in America. Many of our members release products from around the world, but all of them also have American made spirits in their portfolio.

What if a company also has a release that doesn’t disclose the distillery of origin?

It takes a lot to grow a company in the competitive environment of today’s spirits market. We want our members to have multiple ways to make money and grow their company without restriction on their creativity or opportunity. All we require from our members is that they have at least one distinct brand that includes all the standards of identity of Independent Bottling and that it be clearly marked apart from their other releases.

Why create a Guild?

There is a lot of confusion in the market over what makes an Independent Bottler. It’s more clear in the UK where they have a long history of this style of release. But America has a long history of anonymous distillers, vague origin stories, barrel picks, and white label branding. We want to help the consumer clearly distinguish between the various ways of releasing spirits in America.