How Much Should Proofing/Bottling Cost?

[FinishedRye]

We have whiskey distillate in barrels and are seeking 3rd party help with proofing and bottling/labeling. 

How much should we budget per bottle or per 52 gallon barrel for these types of services? Assuming barrel proofing. 

Bottling into standard 750ml glass.

 

All thoughts/comments immensely helpful and appreciated!

[whiskeytango]

How much will it cost you to do it?  Thats about the number to go with.  

[indyspirits]

Do you mean you're looking for someone to do or to teach you to do?

 

 

[FinishedRye]

2 hours ago, indyspirits said:

Do you mean you're looking for someone to do or to teach you to do?

 

 

We are looking to outsource these steps for our first initial product runs, so the scope of this question would be assuming someone else does these steps for us. 

[Michaelangelo]

Assuming that you are providing all of the consumables (bottles, labels, corks, tamper seal, cartons, etc.) I have seen this anywhere from .50 to 1.00 per bottle depending on the quantity just for the labor. Then you have to add in the cost of the labor to dump, proof, and transport. Just curious as to why you would want to outsource this when you could do it yourself?

[JustAndy]

Perhaps they don't have a DSP, and have contract whiskey being stored at a rickhouse that doesn't have a bottling plant. It depends on the label details and frippery, but I've seen about $1/bottle for bottling/labeling, with a setup fee for changing over to your product and some times additional one-time fees if the bottling line needs different jigs to accommodate the bottle. 

[FinishedRye]

Ok, so it seems bottling/labeling is pretty low cost, at somewhere between $0.50 to $1.00. 

 

Bottle shape is very standard, so no retooling of equipment. 

How much should one pay a distiller to proof down 10 barrels? And how labor intensive is this process at the end of the day and does it really require much skill?

Thanks everyone so far for the comments, this is helpful, and I am a neophyte on this aspect of things. Thanks for being patient. 

[Blackheart]

There are a few contract bottlers on this page. 

By the sound of the somewhat limited info, you may want to reach out to a few and see what it costs to get in glass.  

To answer your question about skill: Yes.  Plus, filtering will be necessary if the product is fresh from barrels.  

[Julius]

4 hours ago, FinishedRye said:

Ok, so it seems bottling/labeling is pretty low cost, at somewhere between $0.50 to $1.00. 

 

Bottle shape is very standard, so no retooling of equipment. 

How much should one pay a distiller to proof down 10 barrels? And how labor intensive is this process at the end of the day and does it really require much skill?

Thanks everyone so far for the comments, this is helpful, and I am a neophyte on this aspect of things. Thanks for being patient. 

 

What state are you located in?

[MGL]

Id like to meet a small bottler who charges a buck or less for each bottle to proof, bottle, label and case. We charge closer to 2 dollars a for a pallet or two.  At a buck I don't think its worth the head ache or liability.

[CalwiseSpirits]

I could do it for around $1.50 a bottle.