What it means
To bottle it is classic British slang for losing your nerve right when it matters and backing out instead of following through. Someone talks big, gets to the edge of the moment, then the courage leaks straight out of them. You'd use it for anything from asking someone out to taking a penalty or speaking up when the room goes quiet.
Usage examples
"We dared him to jump in, but he bottled it at the edge."
"He was going to ask her out but bottled it at the last second."
"He was all set to ask for a raise and then bottled it the second he sat down."
"Don't bottle it now, you've rehearsed this speech a dozen times."
"You were proper up for confronting him all day, then you bottled it when he walked in."
Where it comes from
This comes from British slang bottle meaning courage or nerve, especially in the phrase lose your bottle. That sense is usually traced to rhyming slang, where bottle and glass stood for arse, then drifted into meaning boldness or nerve. So if you bottle it, your guts vanish at the worst possible time.
Other ways to say it
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