Bottle labeling is something I wish I had more time to care about.  I think it is very professional and shows an amazing attention to detail when homemade syrups and such are contained in a clean well labeled bottle.  There are a number of options when looking to label a bottle permentely and one of the most common is etching the glass itself.  There are a few different ways to do this, all three are easily done at home, if you’re not married they are cheap, and can be as simple or complicated as you want to make it.
   Glass etching with chemicals is the easiest method of engraving glass as well as the cheapest.  I picked up a bottle of Armour Etch for ten dollars or so at a craft store.  The general idea is to cut a design in a vinyl stencil and then apply some of the chemical to the glass for a short period of time.  Wash the chemical off with water and then take the stencil off.  I wrote up and printed out something I thought was pretty simple.  I taped the paper to the vinyl and then used an exacto knife to cut the lettering out.  This sounds easier then is, on top of that, I have little artistic talent.  It turned out okay anyway but next time I will tape the vinyl to the bottle itself, I had a problem with the vinyl moving around a little bit, if it was stuck to the bottle I bet I could get a cleaner cut.  I would also use an easier to cut font as well as make the lettering a little bigger.  I bought the blank stencil sheet but you can use electrical tape or anything similar to vinyl.  One of the draw backs of using chemicals is that the etch is not as bright or strong as engraving and can also streak or blot, especially if you are doing anything bigger then a letter.
   Another way to etch on your bottles is an actual engraver.  It is similar to the dremal, but for about $30 you can buy an engraver and bits.  This is where I would end up spending way too much time.  You draw out what you want to cut down and then go at it with the engraver, freehand.  The perk with using this method is that you can make the engraving as deep or shallow as you want and of course get a lot more intricate then you ever could with the etching cream.  Of course one of the draw backs with this is you need some sort of artistic ability to freehand engrave. 
   Sand etching is very popular as well for engraving glass and there are a number of starter kits to get you going.  The basic idea here is you have a sand like propellant that attaches to a nozzle and is blasted at the glass you want to engrave.  You have to cover the entire project to avoid scratching any other part of the bottle.  Same as with the chemical etching, the project is only as good as your stencil cut!  If you take your time and make a nice stencil, both of these methods are great.  Sand etching can take you a little further though as you can layer and shade with practice.  Another plus to sand blasting is the way the finished product looks compared to the chemical etches as well as coloring options.  If you have the space to set up something like this, I would go down the route of sand etching.
   There are of course many other ways to label your bottles and I will follow up in the future, but for me this is a start and much better then taping paper labels to my bottles.  I would love to see any other custom labeled bottles out there if you have them, hope everyone had a Happy Independents Day, Cheers.

Article By: Mark Sexauer