What if your boss asked you to work an unpaid shift on a Saturday? You’d probably have a few choice words.

But imagine that it’s your favorite distillery making the request. They aren’t offering a paycheck, but they’ll give you whiskey as wages instead. 

Believe it or not, these work-for-whiskey programs are hugely popular at some smaller distilleries. Some volunteers are regular customers, while others make it part of a whiskey vacation. Free volunteer labor is surprisingly easy to come by. There are often thousands of would-be volunteers vying for a spot on the bottling line. 

Would you work for free whiskey?

When I first heard about volunteer bottler programs, my memory harkened back to a Chick-fil-A in North Carolina. The franchise sparked considerable backlash a few years ago, when it tried to solicit volunteers to work the drive-thru for free chicken.

Like Chick-fil-A, distilleries are for-profit businesses. So why shouldn’t they pay people for their labor? 

It’s a bit different for a few reasons, starting with the fact that, unlike Chick-fil-A, the distilleries seeking volunteers probably don’t have billions of dollars in sales each year. In fact, you probably won’t find volunteer bottling programs in Kentucky, where bourbon is big business and most distilleries are owned by major corporations.

It’s craft distilleries that tend to rely on volunteer bottlers. Because they make small batches and may only have a few releases a year, hiring a bottling crew probably doesn’t make financial sense. Instead, they look to their loyal customers to get the job done.

Volunteers often get free whiskey, along with a meal. Plus, they get to learn about how that liquid gold gets made from the pros.

Distilleries with volunteer bottler programs

Here are three distilleries that rely on volunteers to get their whiskey from barrel to bottle. But because volunteer bottling programs are often immensely popular, some distilleries don’t advertise them. If you’re interested in trying your hand at bottling, get on your favorite distillery’s email list, or ask the staff if there’s a volunteer program. 

Garrison Brothers Distillery

Hye, Texas

Garrison Brothers bourbon bottles are wrapped in deerskin leather pull-tabs, hand-dipped in wax and sealed with a Texas star. But those bottles don’t hand-dip themselves. Garrison Brothers relies on the Redneck Maquiladora, its nickname for its crew of volunteer bottlers.

Volunteers gather for two-day shifts. They’re treated to breakfast and lunch, beers, seltzers and other beverages. Should you work a shift, be sure to pace yourself: Every half-hour, there are “quality control” bourbon shots, followed by toasts to those celebrating a special occasion.

Stranahan’s Whiskey Distillery

Denver, Colorado

Stranahan’s releases a new batch a few times a month. For each release, it seeks volunteers for two shifts of four hours each. Volunteers work side by side with distillers, helping with unloading glass, corking, labeling, capping, shrinking, tagging and boxing.

It’s a pretty coveted gig, considering that the Rocky Mountain distillery has roughly 25,000 volunteers on its roster. Names are drawn at random ahead of each bottling.

For compensation, you get to taste the whiskey you’re bottling while you work, plus you get free lunch or dinner. At the end of the shift, you’ll take home a free bottle for your efforts.

Whiskey Del Bac

Tucson, Arizona

Whiskey Del Bac has a growing army of volunteers who help with filling bottles, corking, sealing, labeling, boxing and overall quality control. Names are selected at random. If your name is drawn, you’ll be notified by email – but act quickly, because only the first people to respond get the job.

Bottling opportunities typically happen a few weekdays a month, but Whiskey Del Bac says the schedule isn’t predictable because “the whiskey tells us when it’s ready.” Volunteers take home a bottle at the end of their shifts.

Up for the job? A few more things to know

You don’t need any special skills to volunteer as a whiskey bottler, but there are a few things you should know about the gig:

• Leave the kids and grandkids at home. Pretty much every distillery requires volunteers to be at least 21.

• Wear close-toed shoes. Flip-flops aren’t a great choice for working with whiskey and glass bottles for obvious reasons.

• Be prepared for some physical work. This isn’t exactly back-breaking labor, but most distilleries say you should expect to be on your feet for several hours and be able to lift at least 20 to 25 pounds.

If you don’t have time to volunteer your services in exchange for free whiskey – or if you haven’t yet had the good fortune to be selected for duty – fear not. There are plenty of cheap whiskies and budget bourbons you can drink that won’t swallow up half your paycheck.