October is the Launch of Whisky Season!
Plus, American Single Malts get defined.
Why yes, it’s been a while, and I am truly sorry. This has been me:
What is Whisky Season?
In many parts of the world (or at least, especially here in Ontario), much of the whisky sales happen somewhere between October and December. That makes sense, right? Summer is for roses and gins and the winter months are for your complex red wines. Vodka is year-around. But whisky, it has a season, and that takes us into fall!
So this whisky season is going to be a little different from a few years ago, but it will definitely be better than last year’s whisky season where we were all huddled in our homes wondering what would happen next (your experience may vary depending on where you live).
For me, the end of whisky season ended with the annual heel party (where we take the last of our favorite pours—the heel of the bottle—and share them amongst friends). It’ll be another year I won’t be hosting the event, but I’m hopeful for 2022!
American Single Malts Get Defined
American whisky continues to be the most regulated whisky industry in the entirety of the world. It’s true. Pick a grain (corn!), and there’s a regulation on the various types of whisky one can make from it (regular bourbon, straight bourbon, corn whisky, and just general default whisky—I’m definitely missing a few).
Most of the definitions revolve around the 51% rule. So long as there’s 51% rye in the recipe, it’s considered a rye (same is true for corn for bourbons, and so on). This allows distilleries to play with the recipe. For Bourbon, this has created three distinct popular subcategories that are not legally defined: High-rye bourbon (where rye makes up 30% of the recipe), regular bourbon (rye is often 8% to 12% of the recipe) and wheated bourbons (producer uses wheat instead of rye).
When it comes to barley-based whiskies (malt whisky), tradition defines a malt whisky as made from 100% malted barley. This assumption is based on the regulations in Scotland, though it’s not intuitively obvious. Scotland defines the word single to mean of one distillery. Malt is defined as 100% malted barley. And Scotch is defined as being made in Scotland (though the grain can come from elsewhere). These are legal definitions protected by international trade law, but they only apply to Scotch whisky.
Most of the world, however, has adapted these rules for other single malts produced elsewhere in the world. It should be noted, though, that rarely are those definitions legal. Even Japan doesn’t have a strict legal definition of what a Japanese whisky is, leading to confusion.
However, because the US lives under the 51% rule for most of their whiskies, distilleries in the US can produce a single malt whisky and are only required to have 51% malted barley. This, of course, has people up-in-arms.
Change is coming:
According to the definition put forth by the ASMWC, American single malts must be made from 100% malted barley; distilled entirely at one distillery; mashed, distilled and matured in the US; matured in oak casks of no more than 700 litres; distilled to no more than 80% ABV; and bottled at 40% ABV or more.
From a craft distilling perspective, this is good news for many that are focused on making a true (as defined by Scotland) American single malt whisky. Making a just-barely-based whisky has its challenges, and this will be recognized.
In terms of the craft of making whisky, making a 100% malted-barely made whisky is something to be celebrated. This is a good change for many!
However, it does mean that distilleries that have been making <100% barley whiskies are going to be relegated to the just whisky category. This category is far more difficult to navigate for the consumer, because it opens up a lot of possibilities people don’t generally associate with whisky.
It doesn’t take much to be called a whisky in the US and you can use flavor additives (artificial flavors) to make that whisky (with some restrictions). Often, it means buying a whisky with an unknown heritage (you don’t know where it’s been made, whether or not it has flavoring, etc..) unless one trusts the distillery.
There are some great whiskies in the just whisky category that don’t add artificial flavouring (High West, for example, blends older bourbons and young ryes with great success) but one really needs to trust the distillery to buy just a whisky.
As with most regulations, there will be winners and losers. As a consumer, you’ll be more confident that when you buy an American single malt, it’ll be defined more similarly to the Scottish definition.
Okay, okay, whatever regulations, but how do American single malts taste?
Here’s the thing—I really don’t care about the recipe a whisky is made with, so long as it’s made with authenticity. I’m in Canada, and my exposure to American single malts is largely based on (often) blind tastings for whisky competitions.
Distilleries focused on making 100% malted barley can miss the boat on flavor, being stuck in the craft of making whisky. They get too focused on the recipe. Executing a good whisky is hard enough. And the challenge is, the big distilleries will outperform any craft distillery in any category. Being a craft distiller is tough enough without having to play by their rules.
Barley is a fantastic grain with plenty of complex flavors, especially when it’s fermented properly and aged in reused oak. New oak tends to overpower the benefits of the grain. American style single malts that use new oak do have a unique flavor profile, it’s just harder to get there while also appreciating the ingredient the distillery starts with. Single malts that do use reused barrels have a climate issue—will maturation get the right oak extraction within the climate the barrel is aged at?
There are no right or wrong answers so long as the whisky tastes great. The best distilleries, though, understand the climate and ingredients (including access to barrels) they’re working with and excel and producing flavorful product within those parameters.
From a distillery consultative perspective, it seems that distilleries that try to make a wheated bourbon or a single malt or whatever without understanding the factors above (climate, grain variety, barrel options) tend to learn the lesson the hard way. The ones that succeed often modify their whisky toward what’s best suited for them.
From a marketing perspective, craft distilleries are constantly trying to flex away from the big distilleries. The reality is, these categories will offer opportunities up until they become successful, and than the big distilleries will barge right in with their own products (or buy a distillery that already makes it). With single malts more strictly defined in the US, this is likely to happen if the category continues to increase in popularity.
As a consumer, be careful with what you buy, and focus on getting an authentic product that has the flavors you enjoy.
American whisky and/or bourbon the toughest category by far to explain to people. It wasn't mentioned in the statement from ASMWC, are there requirements for time spent in the cask? Or are we looking at again dumping it in swishing it around and dumping it out...single malt?