Scotland’s First Independent Bottlers’ Festival to Launch New Docuseries

Written By Norrie Newsdesk

Leith, Scotland — October 15, 2024 — Whisky lovers mark your calendars as the long anticipated four-part docuseries Independent Spirits will make its world debut on March 15, 2025, as part of Scotland’s inaugural Independent Spirits Festival, an event exclusively celebrating independent whisky bottlers.

 

The Water of Life Presents: Independent Spirits - A Whisky Series

Created by the visionary team behind The Water of Life - A Whisky Film, this new series shines a light on a lesser-known yet highly influential sector of the whisky world: Independent Bottlers. 

Initially planned as a companion piece to The Water of Life, Independent Spirits evolved into a comprehensive four-part series, capturing the creativity, passion, and craftsmanship that drive this sector of the industry. The series is co-directed by Greg Swartz and Guy Satchwell, and produced by Blacksmith & Jones, the production company that Swartz co-owns with producer Trevor Jones.

Swartz shared insights into the making of the series: “One of the greatest challenges—and joys—was telling the story – in an accessible way – of exactly what it is that indie bottlers do, and why they are such an important part of whisky’s story.” 

Satchwell and Swartz have spoken with more than 50 prominent figures in the whisky industry, from giants like Gordon & MacPhail, Cadenheads, and Elixir; to innovative, smaller bottlers such as the Thompson Brothers and Single Cask Nation.

Independent Spirits - The Festival

A conversation between Swartz and whisky YouTuber Aqvavitae (aka Roy Duff) led to something of a shared light-bulb moment: Scotland lacked a dedicated festival for independent bottlers. 

Along with whisky writer David Stirk, they created the first-ever Independent Spirits Festival, a unique event designed to showcase this thriving segment of the whisky industry. 

Both the festival and the docuseries are true celebrations—not only of the bottlers themselves, but of whisky as an art form in Scotland and across the globe.

Roy mentions: “Anyone in love with whisky only needs to glance at their shelf to realise how much we’ve come to rely upon the independent bottlers and distillers that exist today. As festivals struggle to accommodate the sheer numbers of brands in the space, it made sense to put together a festival that could cater not only for the launch of the film series, but also the like-minded bottlers that are its focus and their curious fans. It’s an exciting project indeed; roll on March 2025!” 

David Stirk added: “A festival dedicated to independent bottlers is the perfect way to bring together the companies and fans of this unique sector of the whisky industry. The combined premiere and gathering of the best-known independent bottlers will allow a spotlight on the most passionate fans, aficionados and advocates for whisky in all its guises. I am thrilled to be a part of the team bringing this together in Leith, a city with a long and important history, especially for Scotch whisky and independent bottling.”

“With The Water of Life we were forced by the pandemic to be innovative with our distribution, the traditional models were gone. With Independent Spirits, we're taking what we learned and building on it; releasing this series while simultaneously launching a festival is something that  has never been done. We aim to continue with these live, extrasensory, experiential screenings throughout our distribution. An Independent Spirits event will always be a whisky experience, not just a screening,” said Jones. 

The one-day festival will take place at the Leith Theatre and the adjoining Thomas Morton Hall.

 
 

Premiere & Festival Details

- **Premiere Screening** All four episodes of Independent Spirits will be shown from 12-3pm at Morton Hall, located adjacent to the Leith Theatre.

- **Independent Spirits Festival** The festival will run from 4-8pm at the adjacent Leith Theatre, bringing together more than 400 attendees, including some of the most influential figures in whisky.

There will be two ticket prices: 

£45 which gets you access to the noon showing and the festival (total 220 tickets).

£40 for access just to the whisky festival. 4-8pm (Note: All tickets will come with an included at-home streaming rental of the entire series). 

All exhibitors and attendees will receive a download code to access the film series for future viewing.

This event promises to be a landmark occasion for whisky lovers and industry professionals, offering an intimate look into the artistry of independent bottlers, as well as a chance to network and explore the future of whisky innovation.

 
 
Norrie Newsdesk

Norrie, our vaguely vigilant news desk fella, scans the horizon for whisky news. He rarely writes anything, but he’s a dab hand with Copy & Paste.

To be clear: unless it states otherwise - unlike our reviews and features - this is NOT Dramface content.

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