Since the earliest days of American whiskey, many distilleries have provided liquid for brands other than their own. Known as contract distillation, the arrangement benefits both parties: The distillery owner gets immediate cash for services, while the contract client receives high-quality spirit, often made to their specifications, without having to assume any of the risk or upfront investment that comes with owning the means of production. And consumers benefit from more variety.
Contract whiskey has ebbed and flowed with the overall industry, but in the last decade, the practice has been bolstered by the boom in bourbon. Both existing and new distilleries are expanding their contract services at large scale. The outcome of this expansion won’t be just more bottles of whiskey for sale, but a wider array of flavors and styles — although, to be sure, there’s about to be a whole lot more whiskey, too. But is this a good thing or a bad thing for the industry?
“Sourcing Is Not a Crime”
Despite being a long-established part of American whiskey, contract production has gotten a bad rap during this century. As bourbon began its revival 15 or so years ago, many consumers didn’t understand that the majority of bottles on the shelf came from just a handful of distilleries, most of them using dba (“doing business as”) names to create the appearance that each brand had its own facility. (Anyone who’s ever tried to visit “Knob Creek Distillery” has likely realized that no such place exists; the
