Bottling & Labeling

[william-bailey]

Hi ADI members. New member and getting everything ready to submit plans to the TTB but I am doing my due diligence on other tasks involved in starting a distillery. Which U.S. based bottle supplier has the best customer service? We're not looking to get into mass production so relationships and service is important. We're based in SC. More than 80% of our product will be vodka and we're trying to be different with the bottle selection. Suggestions?

As we select our bottles, we're trying to be educated in labeling equipment too so that as we grow, we can streamline our process with a labeler. Any suggestions?

Thanks everyone! We've read a ton on these forums and you have taught us so much already!

William (& gang)

[BraedenB]

Hey William,

Good on you with the due diligence, seeing more and more distilleries coming on board without looking at the enormous capital you have to front-load into a distillery.

In terms of a bottle supplier, there are dozens of local glass suppliers all over the country. Most states have bulk container suppliers warehouse a ton of glass that isn't particularly unique but can get most products you want in stock. Best way to look at their customer service is to talk to other distilleries, wineries, breweries or food manufacturers and ask them whom they use and whom they like. Just a piece of advice through, most of these are middlemen and although they have better customer service than any of the large manufacturers (Bruni, OI, etc) they will charge you a premium for warehousing and transporting product. We purchased ours directly from the manufacturer and paid almost 40% less than what a middleman would charge. If you have the space for storage and the capital I would recommend buying a large order direct and storing it at your facility.

In terms of a labeler, going with a round bottle is definitely going to be the cheapest. From hand operated to fully automated, roll labelers are going to run you anywhere from 20-40% less than a tamp applicator for a square bottle. If you want a truly unique bottle that falls somewhere in between (ours we have lovingly called a sqround bottle) you will probably be hand labeling for a while. There are options out there for automating custom bottles but they are ridiculously expensive (100-120k). All depends on your marketing strategy and how much you want to spend on cost of goods sold.

[cphillips007]

Hey William,

Give me a call. I am based in NC and I work for All American Containers. We serve many distilleries in SC, NC, East Coast and have lots of glass with new molds being made as we speak, we have 5 coming out in May.

I will give you references. Cheers and Good Luck!

[clearwaterbrewer]

William - If you are buying a container load at a time, they are all great... if you are buying a pallet at a time, not so much...