Sourcing new make from another distillery

Why buy new make

New make is spirit straight off the still, before any maturation. Buying it from another distillery means you can start filling casks and building aged stock while you raise money for your own plant, or instead of building one at all. Whisky has always worked this way to some extent. Blenders have long traded spirit between distilleries.

The appeal for a craft brand is time. Every year of maturation you start early is a year sooner to release. The risk is that you do not control how the spirit is made, so your whisky's character depends on someone else's process.

Agree a specification, in writing

The spec is the most important document in the deal. It should cover at least:

• Raw material. Malted barley, a grain mix or another cereal, plus the peating level if any, expressed in phenol parts per million in the malt.
• Distillation. Pot or column, double or triple distillation.
• Strength. The ABV at which spirit is delivered, often around 63.5% if reduced for filling or near 70% if delivered straight from the spirit still.
• Fermentation length. Longer fermentations generally give a fruitier spirit. Our guide to fermentation length and its effect on new make explains why.
• Cut points. Where the heart is collected. This shapes the spirit more than almost anything else.
• Analytical limits. Methanol, higher alcohols and other congeners within agreed ranges, with limits set by the applicable food safety standards as a floor.

Sample before you sign and after

Ask for samples from several production runs, not one. A distillery's best run is not its average one. Nose the samples reduced to around 20% ABV with water, which is how most blenders assess new make. Look for fruit, cereal, sulphur and any feinty or soapy notes. Our guide to sulphur and feints off notes in whisky helps you name what you find.

After the contract starts, keep a retained sample from every delivery. Label it with the date, strength and batch reference. If something goes wrong years later, those samples are your evidence.

Moving spirit under excise control

New make is untaxed spirit. Moving it from one distillery to another, especially across state lines in India, needs excise permits and the right transport documents. It usually travels in bonded tankers or approved containers. Each state has its own procedure. Moving spirit between states can need permissions from both. Check the current rules with your licensing adviser before agreeing delivery terms.

You also need somewhere licensed to receive it. Spirit generally must go into a bonded warehouse that is approved for maturation.

Casks and filling

Decide who supplies the casks and who fills them. Some distilleries fill your casks at their site and store them for a fee. Others deliver in bulk and you fill at your own warehouse. If you fill, you need the gauging equipment to record volume and strength, temperature correction and the records the excise department expects.

Filling strength affects maturation. Many distillers fill around 63.5% ABV. Higher or lower strengths change how the spirit extracts from the wood, so agree it in advance.

What the contract should say

Beyond the spec, a good contract sets out volumes, delivery schedule, price basis per litre of pure alcohol, what happens when spirit is out of spec, ownership of the spirit at each stage, storage fees if the supplier keeps your casks and whether you may name the source distillery on your label. Many suppliers forbid it. Get the contract drawn up by a lawyer who knows the drinks trade.

Checking every delivery

Once spirit starts arriving, check each delivery against the spec. At a minimum, measure the strength with a hydrometer or density meter, correct it to 20 °C and calculate the litres of pure alcohol received. Compare that with the delivery documents. Small differences happen. Large ones need explaining before you sign for the load.

Nose a sample from every delivery at around 20% ABV and compare it with the approved reference sample. Note anything unusual. If you have access to a lab, an annual gas chromatography check on congeners shows whether the spirit is drifting from the spec over time.

Record all of this against the batch reference and cask numbers. Years from now, when you choose casks for a release, those records tell you which deliveries made the best whisky and why.

Your first step

Draft your own spec sheet before you approach any supplier: raw material, still type, strength, fermentation length, cut style and the flavour you want. If you find you cannot fill in the cut style or fermentation length with confidence, learn how those choices change the spirit first. That knowledge is what lets you buy new make that turns into the whisky you planned.

Common questions

What is new make spirit?

New make is spirit straight from the still, before any time in a cask. It must mature in oak before it can be sold as whisky.

What should a new make specification include?

Raw material, peating level, still type, delivery strength, fermentation length, cut points and analytical limits for congeners such as methanol.

Can I move new make between states in India?

It is possible but needs excise permits and transport documents, often from both states. Check the current procedure with a licensing adviser.