A visit to Contract Bottlers, Glasgow

Following a slightly cryptic message from Stephen White, the founder of The Scottish Gin Society of something along the lines of – “I am not going to say much about this place, but you have to go as it is quite incredible.” So, my interest was piqued and I was introduced to one of the founders of Contract Bottlers Glasgow, Ron Young.

Ron Young and Adrian Louden, are two seasoned professionals from the food and drink industry and recently launched a state-of-the-art flexible bottling facility. 

This place is incredible, as it allows producers to use not only the bottling facility, but to tap into the wealth of knowledge and experience Ron and Adrian have – from bottle shapes to labelling and closures, and steps to overcome in terms of export. They have a track trace mechanism, so every bottled batch has traceability, which can be crucial in certain markets and sectors.

Ron Young said: “We have invested in the latest bottling, labelling and alcohol measurement technologies to ensure accuracy and traceability, which will fulfil all legislative requirements while allowing our clients to retain the integrity of their brands.

This is facility and service is so useful for smaller brands, who don’t have the money to invest in this technology, which as you can imagine is quite considerable.

By addressing the complex operational factors inherent in producing and bottling spirits, this allows the distillers to concentrate on their passion, and the ethos of the team is simple:

“Distilled with passion, bottles with love” 

This ethos is evident by the team, which have been there since day one, so are truly part of what Contract Bottlers Glasgow are trying to achieve. There is a real sense of camaraderie, which I think has a lot to do with Ron and Adrian rolling their sleeves up and being integral to the production process.

There are plans a-foot, so watch this space as Contract Bottlers Glasgow grow and evolve, just like the Scottish Gin industry.

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