When it comes to the actual bottling of a cask there are two options.
An OFFICIAL BOTTLING (OB) is produced and marketed by the distillery where the malt was distilled (or by the company that owns it). An INDEPENDENT BOTTLING (IB, a.k.a. private bottling) is marketed by one of the many independent bottlers of single malt Scotch whisky. (Scroll down for a list of independent bottlers.)

So, how many bottles can be drawn from a cask?
The average 200 litre bourbon barrel that was filled with fresh
spirit at 63% will have some 175 litres of whisky left after 12 years.
Typically, the proof will have dropped to something like 55-60% by then.
Diluting the whisky to 40% or 43% and bottling would produce some 250 (70cl) bottles. This 'standard' size of 70 cl was introduced in the EU in 1993 to end the chaos of the multitude of bottle sizes that were used before. At a price of 40 Euro's a bottle the 'street value' of the cask would be something like 10,000 Euro's.

Often, a whisky is CHILL-FILTERED as well.
The only reason for this bump in the production process is that a single malt becomes a little hazy when it's refrigerated - something that could be misinterpreted by ignorant customers. Unfortunately, this filtering also means that the original taste and texture of the malt is damaged to some extent. More and more IB's are offered un-chillfiltered these days, which is a good thing if you ask me.

This 6th chapter on bottling concludes the part of the mAlmanac that deals with the transformation of air, water, earth and fire into the 'water of life' you can find at a liquorist near you.
The rest of the mAlmanac deals with more practical issues.

Sometimes there's a noticable trend upwards (Aberlour), sometimes there's a distinct trend downwards (Macallan) and sometimes there's just random fluctuations (Bowmore).

When the distillery or private bottler decides the malt has matured to an appropriate (and profitable) age, it is diluted to the correct strength (40% is the legal minimum) and then bottled.

Time for bottling? Well, that depends.
Different malt whiskies reach their peak at different ages. I've mentioned some of the factors that influence the maturation process of a single malt in the previous chapter but more 'economical' issues are important as well. First of all, the bottling costs and taxes usually more than double the price of a cask of maturing spirit. As long as the casks are in the warehouse they are 'in bond'. The taxes are paid only when the cask is bottled. After the malt has been bottled there are costs for distribution and marketing to be considered as well.

Even though most of the single malt whisky distilled in Scotland is
still sold 'by the cask' to the industry for blending purposes, a
growing number of casks are BOTTLED for human consumption.
In the old days of yore the Scots could just bring any old chemist
bottle to have it filled straight from the cask at the distillery.
Nowadays, most of them have to buy their bottles just like
the rest of us - which seems only fair, if you ask me...

Well, actually there's a third option - something I'd like to call a BASTARD BOTTLING (BB). Where OB's and IB's provide information about the distillery where they were produced, BB's have a more 'illegitimate' character. The distillery of birth remains unknown because they are marketed under fancyful names like 'Finlaggan' or 'Ileach' - not the names of distilleries.

Issues like shopping for instance.
Experienced maltsters have discovered their likes and dislikes over time but for the novice in maltland the number of available single malts can be a bit overwhelming. Single malts aren't cheap, so I thought I'd provide you with some (subjective) observations about the whiskies that offer the most 'bang' for my 'bucks'.

A growing number of independent bottlings are SINGLE CASK BOTTLINGS.
This means that the contents of one single cask of single malt whisky were used for that particular bottling. Often the type and number of that cask are indicated on the label, as well as the date of distillation, the date of bottling, the number of bottles drawn from the cask, etc. Of course, this increases the fun of every genuine malt maniac even further.

Well, that last part isn't completely true.
A growing number of CASK STRENGTH (CS) bottlings are put on the market, usually bottled at an alcohol percentage between 50% and 60%. 'Cask Strength' used to mean 'straight from the cask' but nowadays most CS bottlings - especially OB's - are diluted to some extent. The line between 'standard' bottlings and CS offerings is rather blurry. So-called CS malts like Glenfiddich 15yo Cask Strength coming in at 51% while the 'standard' bottlings of the OB's from Ben Nevis and Springbank are bottled at 46%.

Most official and bastard bottlings are VATTINGS - blends of more than one cask.
Even after 'perfect' distillation and maturation the contents of a cask can be ruined by blending it into the 'wrong' vatting. Especially OB's are like 'brands' and the distillery should try to blend the 'same' single malt year after year in order not to alienate loyal customers. That's no easy task, especially because every cask has its own character. That's why every OB is bound to show some sort of BATCH VARIATION over time.