Independent Bottlers Challenge 2007

[Matt2]

During Whisky Live Glasgow 2007 the results for the Independent Bottlers Challenge were announced.

Full details can be found here
http://www.whiskymag.com/features/ibc/

[K-Mile]

Interesting results. I only have 2 IB's at home, both SMWS, so I'm glad to see they rank up nicely...

What I'm curious about, how does the quality of the distillery affect this competition? For instance Highland Park shows up frequently in its competition, so aren't we voting for the best Highland Park IB there?

Obviously this doesn't work for every category, but it's interesting how some area's feature one clear winner (Coal Ila, HP), while others are much more mixed. Is this because of the fact that some distilleries make their spirit available to IB's more than others?

[Matt2]

Is this because of the fact that some distilleries make their spirit available to IB's more than others?

Hi K, I think this has alot to do with it. HP has been pushing alot of stock out to Indepedents while many other distilleries don't release anything. And of course if someone bottles a bad whisky they won't be winning here, so I guess some of it comes down to the bottlers selecting the best on offer.