Choose Your Spirit
The spirit you choose shapes everything that follows: how it tastes, how long it takes to produce, what proof it's bottled at, and how you'll talk about it with your audience. These guides help you pick with confidence, even if you've never set foot in a distillery. Compare whiskey, gin, vodka, tequila, rum, and RTDs side by side. Then get into the details: aged or unaged, choosing a proof, developing a flavor profile with a producer, and how your bottle gets filled, closed, and labeled. Every HANDLED spirit ships in a 750ml bottle, and the bottle size guide explains why. Start with the overview of choosing your spirit, then open the guide for the category you have in mind. When you know what you want to make, start your bottle. Content for adults 21+.
Producing · Choosing your spirit
Choose Your Spirit: Whiskey, Vodka, Tequila, RTD
The first real decision of your drop isn't the label — it's the liquid. Here's how to match the spirit to the audience you already have.
Producing · Proof & ABV
What Proof Is Vodka and Gin? Choosing Your Spirit's Proof
A creator's guide to picking the proof of your own spirit — what the numbers mean, what they cost, and how to choose for your first drop.
Producing · Whiskey
Launch Your Own Whiskey: Style, Barrel, and Proof
To launch your own whiskey, pick a style (and whether TTB class/type can truthfully be bourbon), a barrel story, and a proof — then a licensed producer bottles it. You do not distill. 21+.
Producing · Tequila styles
Choose Your Tequila Style: Blanco, Reposado, Añejo
The difference between blanco, reposado, and añejo — and how to pick the right tequila style for your creator drop.
Producing · Vodka
Launch Your Own Vodka: Base, Filtration, and Flavor
Vodka is the most flexible spirit to launch as a creator — here's how to choose your base, filtration, and flavor without ever touching a still.
Producing · Rum
Launch Your Own Rum: Style, Aging, and Where to Start
Yes — you can launch a rum brand without owning a distillery. On a Handled drop, we purchase rum barrels and bottle them; you own the brand. Style and aging choices shape the label. 21+.
Producing · Gin
Launch Your Own Gin: Botanicals, Style, and Where to Start
A creator's guide to launching your own gin drop: choosing a style, picking botanicals, and getting it made without distilling a drop yourself.
Producing · RTDs
Launch Your Own RTD
What it takes to launch your own RTD (ready-to-drink cocktail) — the format, the flavor, the economics, and the timeline.
Producing · Barrel aging
Aged or Unaged: Does Your Spirit Need Time in a Barrel?
Whether your drop should be aged or unaged, what a barrel actually does, and why you don't have to wait years.
Producing · Recipe & flavor
Develop Your Spirit Flavor (Not a Distiller)
You don't distill anything yourself — here's how creators actually shape the taste, proof, and character of their own spirit.
Producing · Bottling
How Are Spirits Bottled? From Tank to Labeled Drop
Spirits get bottled when a licensed producer fills, seals, and labels approved glass under federal rules. On a Handled drop, that work sits with licensed partners — not the creator. 21+.
Producing · Bottle & closure
Choose Bottle Closure: Cork or Screw Cap?
Glass shape, weight, and cork vs. screw cap all shape how your spirit looks in a reveal and feels in hand. Here's how to choose.
Producing · Bottle size
Why Your Spirit Drop Uses a 750ml Bottle
Every Handled drop ships in the standard 750ml bottle. Here's why the full-size format works best for your label, your price, and your buyers.
FAQ
Which spirit is best for a first launch?
It depends on your audience and the timing you want. The choosing-your-spirit guide compares the categories.
Does my spirit have to be aged?
No. Vodka, gin, and blanco tequila are unaged. Whiskey and some rums and tequilas spend time in barrels. The aging guide explains the trade-offs.
What bottle size will my spirit come in?
Every HANDLED spirit is bottled in a 750ml bottle.
Do I need to be a distiller to develop the flavor?
No. You work with an experienced producer to shape the profile you want.