Packaging Considerations for Distilled Spirits
Note: Check with your canning/bottling line manufacturer to see if your line is capable of processing Straight spirits.
Canned spirits are allowed to be distributed at 355 ml, this is a good deal for the existing breweries with canning lines that want to expand their products without purchasing a completely separate packaging line. The cleaning process remains the same along with the chemicals used for CIP. Canned cocktails or Ready to Drink (RTD) beverages are a great alternative for distilleries to market their products. This provides the consumer with convenience and puts the money that the consumer would have spent on a mixer in the pocket of the distillery. The uphill battle is acquiring the label approval from the TTB as this is a relatively new category for them.
Canning straight spirits: Critics are on the fence about canning straight spirits. Cans cannot be closed after they have been opened, leading the consumer to think they have to finish the twelve ounces (about 8 Shots) in one sitting our let the rest go to waste. The argument being that 12 ounces of a high quality craft spirit in a non-resalable container is too much. Others believe it is more convenient for the consumer to take a six pack to the pool or tail gate party as opposed to whole bottle of scotch.
If this is the plan for a Brewstillery one main concern comes to mind: Is there any risk of fire or explosion? One thing to keep in mind is that all spirits have a flash point (The temperature at which a particular organic compound gives off sufficient vapor to ignite in air). Meaning that the spirit itself isn’t combustible but the vapor is. The best method to keep this from happening is to bottle/can the spirit at a cold temperature. By chilling the spirit this keeps the alcohol vaper from suspending and exploding during the packaging process.
TTB Bottle/Can regulations on spirits: The net contents of a distilled spirit container must be stated in units of metric measure. Distilled spirits must be bottled in sizes of 1.75 L, 1 L, 750 ml, 375 ml, 200 ml, 100 ml, or 50 ml, A can must be filled to 355 ml, 200 ml, 100 ml, or 50ml.
Labeling: Like beer, bottle labeling can be accomplished by way of several technical methods. Most common are Pressure sensitive, Shrink Sleeve, Roll Fed, and Laser Etching directly on each bottle.