Independent Blenders are a horse of a different drummer.

It used to be rare, but this category is growing and getting more interesting by the day. It’s what happens when a talented and passionate whiskey human wants to create their own blends but they may not have or want their own licensed facility. It also happens when a distillery that primarily releases its own spirits starts to explore collaborations, creating unique, one-off releases in partnership with their peers.

It may seem like getting lost in the weeds, but this approach to blending can truly be a different animal than Independent Bottlers AND Blending Houses.

These blenders work with the distilleries that make the whiskey and often a third party to bottle the final product. They may never bottle at the same distillery twice. It may come out under their own brand, or under the distillery’s, or as something else entirely.

But their work to blend and create unique releases is the same art form as blending houses producing their own product.

Think of them as Itinerant Whiskey Preachers. Moving from place to place, sharing the spirits with the True Whiskey Believers.

Often that independence gives them more freedom to change their approach from release to release, and that freedom can result in truly amazing whiskey blends.