How Does Trader Joe's Keep Its Scotch Prices So Low?

Walking into a Trader Joe's store, it feels like the grocery chain does everything. The grocer has its own line of, well, just about everything, with a constant rotation of exciting limited-time seasonal products to boot. If you're shopping in a state where grocery stores are allowed to sell liquor, you might even see Trader Joe's brand whisky on the shelves with a low price tag attached to it. So, how is it that a grocery chain can put proper, single-malt Scotch on the shelves for just $20 to $30 a bottle? The answer is similar to that of most of the deals you find in the store: A private label bottled by a non-distiller producer (NDP) in Scotland.

Alexander Murray & Company is the NDP responsible for a number of the Scotch offerings found at Trader Joe's. NDPs are defined as companies bottling whisky that are not distilling it. In some cases that work is contracted out, while in other cases the NDP is simply buying mature whisky from other distilleries. These whiskies are then sometimes blended or finished in specialty casks to produce a unique product. 

Don't find yourself scoffing at the idea of buying a bottle sold by a company that did not itself distill the whisky. There is an exceptional amount of skill that goes into blending whisky, and NDPs can produce some truly outstanding product. In fact, the bourbon voted best in the world at 2025's International Wine and Spirit Competition came from an NDP.

You shouldn't get your hopes too high with these Trader Joe's bottles. The grocery chain is likely not trying to win awards, so it isn't likely that the $20 bottle will be the best whisky you've ever tasted. Instead, what is likely happening is that Alexander Murray & Company is buying up small lots of Scotch whisky that other distilleries were for some reason unsatisfied with, and bottling it as a low-price product for Trader Joe's stores.

Because these bottlings are likely coming from small lots sold off by other distilleries, each bottling is going to be different. Unlike larger brands, which seek to maintain a very strict flavor profile for their flagship products, it appears that Trader Joe's is simply in the business of reselling whiskies from other producers. This does not, however, mean that you shouldn't buy yourself a bottle.

The price tag is an obvious primary draw for these bottles, and they generally get decent reviews, to their credit. Pulling one of these off the shelf may not knock your socks off — but what did you expect for $20? These bottles get the job done for a low price, aren't too bad on their own, and can serve as a great base for a variety of Scotch-based cocktails.