One of Scotland’s newest independent bottlers is eyeing future growth in China after exporting several thousand bottles in its first large-scale white-label project.

Sonny Charles, who founded Whisky Craft in 2025, told Scotland China Brief that the business is “on the lookout for future opportunities” after the success of the one-off project earlier this year.

“We view ourselves as a ‘whisky house’ and offer a turnkey solution covering everything from sourcing the whisky and developing the product to bottling, compliance and managing international delivery,” he said.

Breaking into a new market is challenging, even for established brands – but Charles said Whisky Craft has the advantage of not trying “to replicate what the biggest brands do”.

He explained: “What we offer is more limited. We have to respond quickly to our customer’s needs and are creative with the products we bring to market.

“It’s like the oil tanker analogy – we’re a speed boat, so can be quick and nimble.”

“Our approach incorporates a variety of cask finishes alongside quality Scotch whisky. Anything we release goes through our assessment panel, and we regularly re-rack whisky into new and interesting wood to build a road map for future producsts which may not be released for years into the future.

“As the market becomes more familiar with the brand, my hope is that there will be more demand for us in China.”

The trading landscape between Scotland and China has seen recent shifts, notably the reduction of China’s tariffs on whisky from 10% to 5%. While Charles welcomed the change, he added that for a smaller enterprise, the immediate commercial effects have yet to fully materialise.

He also shared that whilst Whisky Craft maintains strong commercial connections in China, “the market has already been through a significant growth curve”.

“That growth has slowed, and recovery is taking time. We view exports as a major driver of the business moving forward and will ultimately target the geographies where the strongest opportunities lie,” Charles said.

He continued: “India is certainly interesting right now. We are receiving a lot of inbound enquiries, and it represents an enormous longer-term opportunity, particularly with whisky tariffs dropping from 150% to 40%.”

Interestingly, as Scotland exports its liquid gold, China is rapidly developing its own domestic whisky industry. Charles recognises this shift, noting that Chinese distillation projects are becoming “increasingly credible and technically ambitious”, attracting the direct involvement of Scottish industry experts.

However, when asked if Whisky Craft might one day bottle Chinese whisky for the UK market, he remains resolute in his brand’s Scottish identity.

“When I launched Whisky Craft, I deliberately chose to use the Scottish spelling of ‘whisky’ in the brand. I am proud of the country and want to take customers on a journey across Scotland’s whisky regions,” Charles said.

“With that in mind, I cannot see us bottling any non-Scotch products in the near future.”