What bottles do you use

[Scratm3]

Just that. Where do you get your bottles what do you use. Does anyone make their own labels. Beer and wine bottles can be found anywhere but good looking alcohol bottles seem to be pricy or hard to find.

[harold01]

Same with women

[subbrew]

I get bottles from friends or empty them myself but I have also ordered some from https://www.tricorbraun.com

[NZChris]

I reuse spirit bottles. I don't need many because I only draw off enough for my foreseeable needs, leaving most of it on the wood for aging.

You'll have a hard time stocking your cellar with well aged product if you are constantly bottling it and giving it away years before it's really worth drinking.

[MooseMan]

Same with women

Absolutely!
And glass bottles also, need to be handled with a great deal of care and attention, otherwise sooner or later something will happen and you will become unhappy.

[MooseMan]

Just that. Where do you get your bottles what do you use. Does anyone make their own labels. Beer and wine bottles can be found anywhere but good looking alcohol bottles seem to be pricy or hard to find.

If you're not too proud scrat, you can place a box in front of the bottle bank with a label saying "Please may I have your spirit bottles" or whatever it is you want.
You'd be very surprised what you'll get.
Just go after dark to collect.

[harold01]

I tried that and ended up with three Jeannie's

[tader]

What I did was to friend a local bartender. They throw away empty bottles every day. Ask them to save the empties you like. Then stop by every day to pick them up. Leave a decent tip. In a month I got more bottles than I can ever use. We have a vodka here called "Blue Ice" that is popular. The bottles are perfect 750 ml and the labels soak off really easy in an oxy clean solution.

[JustinNZ]

I have a friend who only drinks Absolut Vodka and those 1L clear bottles are beautiful. In my opinion. I put my rum and best whisky in them with wide blue masking tape labels. My daily corn whisky goes in Jim Beam bottles to keep life simple. Speaking of, I aged my last batch on med toasted French oak and it’s coming along fine.

[harold01]

I just ask mates that buy their drink to save the bottles and you can take your pick which ones you use for what and relabel if you don't have the right bottle

[Dougmatt]

Agree with all the advice above about collecting and reusing as well as not bottling so it can keep aging on oak. That said, here are some thoughts about “buying” bottles at a low cost.

This is really hard as the bottle is often more than the spirit especially after shipping. If you have a home brew store near you, I find that’s the best place to buy bulk bottles at the lowest price as you avoid the shipping fees on Amazon or other locations.

As for what bottles, I case of clear 12 x 750 ml wine bottles seems to work best and you can usually in the US get them for around $1 - $2.25 per bottle (home brew store versus Amazon). You can cork them if you have a corker, or bottle cap them if you have that equipment. You can also order screw tops and cap them but there is some pvc in that cap so you would have to deal with that to stay in compliance with site rules. Here’s an example of the screw caps on Amazon:


Same case is $15 at my HBS.

For liquor specific bottles check out:

https://www.specialtybottle.com/glass-b ... eYQAvD_BwE

These aren’t bad for 375’s: ($3.75 per bottle delivered)


Hope this helps.

[Bushman]

Here is a link to making your own labels
viewtopic.php?t=69804&hilit=Bottles

Here is a thread sourcing bottles
viewtopic.php?p=7613409&hilit=Where+to+ ... s#p7613409

[IMALOSERSCUMBAG]

I collect bottles from people I know and use them. If it's glass, it can be re-used. I don't use labels as I don't want my name on the bottles. I had write in sharpie the name and proof. I age in 5 gallon barrels so when I bottle I only bottle what I have for empty bottles. The rest goes into a 5 gallon carboy.

[jonnys_spirit]

I might pick up a case of 200ml likker bottles for sampler gifts - those are way better gifts than 750's IMO.

For home use I have several decanters in the bar plus some generic whiskey bottles. I also make wine and have about 300 or so wine bottles which work well for 750's and I use wine corks with those when I bottle.

Mostly I take samples directly from the aging vessel though and all my decanters are empty lol..

Cheers,
jonny

[MooseMan]

I tried that and ended up with three Jeannie's

What are those Harold?
I'm in the UK remember

[harold01]

Everyone grew up watching i dream of Jeannie

[Dougmatt]

[Demy]

I reuse commercial bottles and in many cases glass bottles that contained mineral water. I often use a nicer bottle that is filled from glass jars as other members have written.

[NormandieStill]

Round these parts we have no bars, at least not ones that regularly get through bottles. And I'm no fan of Pastis! But we do get through a fairly impressive amount of a certain brand of balsamic vinegar which comes in really nice square bottles. They're 50cl which is a little on the small side, but I'm not a heavy drinker and it's a nice size for offering (although a 25cl would be better).



The glass is clear, and the labels are relatively easily removed.

For larger bottles we get cordial for the kids in 1l clear bottles which have some really ugly embossing on the side, but for our private use it's not an issue.

[zach]

Wine bottles with the right cork seem to work well when I run out of old liquor bottles.

I also make wine so am continuously having friends that save wine bottles and interesting liquor bottles. I have a 200+ empties.

I also save champagne bottles for beer. It's a nice size to take homebrew to a party. If you get the right size a standard bottle cap will seal it.