The first and last stages of a bottling line involve pallets. At the one end pallets of empty bottles arrive from the manufacturer and at the other cases of finished product are stacked onto pallets to be distributed. Between is usually an automated and high-tech operation.

First the bottles are de-palletised either by hand or using robotics to lift bottles onto conveyers a layer at a time. The bottles will then usually be rinsed with the product itself and/or a burst of carbon dioxide or air. The rinsed bottle is then filled to very high levels of accuracy. Modern lines tend to gravity feed product rather than using pumps which have inherent disadvantages. A small amount of inert gas (CO2 or nitrogen) is sometimes injected on top of the spirit or liqueur to disperse oxygen (this is normal practice when bottling wines).

The bottle then proceeds to a machine which applies the screwcap, stopper or other closure. What is termed a negative pressure headspace may be created using a vacuum pump to remove air from the neck of the bottle prior to the closure being applied. This is useful if a stopper is used as this partial vacuum prevents pressure caused by the thermal expansion of the vodka pushing the stopper from the bottle.

After filling and sealing, a plastic capsule or tamper evident seal is usually applied to the neck of the bottle and the label is applied. A lot number allowing traceability will usually be printed on the bottle.

Lastly the product is then packed into boxes which are in turn palletised.