Whether smoked over mesquite or finished in sherry casks, this spirit category is on the rise.
There are whiskeys across the world that stomach label and flavors classifiable to their region . In the U.S.,bourboninstantly come to mind . It , however , is not the only unambiguously American whisky on shelves .
If you have been sleeping on American single malted milk ( ASM ) whisky , this is the yr to run - correct . The style is on the cusp of being givenan prescribed category , elevating its position and more strictly codify the guidelines that define the panache .
“ unmarried malted milk ” may conspire up peaty sense of smell and picturesqueScottish highlands . But Christian Krogstad , beginner and maestro distiller ofWestward Whiskey , is quick to point out , “ American single malt is not just Scotch in America . ”
Westward Whiskey
The style has in reality been produce in the U.S. since the ’ 90s , but that remain immature in whiskey twelvemonth compare to the Gandalf - aged tradition behind spirits like Scotch or bourbon . So why should we be yield tending to it now ?
What is American single malt whiskey?
The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau ( TTB ) has laid the groundwork for American single malt to get an official category this year . This brings increased recognition and genre - defining guidelines that help keep any spirit with an “ American unmarried malt ” recording label within the manner .
“ It ’s just going to codify what ’s already being done , ” Krogstad says . “ But what ’s great about it is , it gives the weight of that official stylus , of that character of whisky to the retailers , and to the contest , and so forth , so that it ’s being recognize in retail , John Barleycorn stock , and bars as a movement , as a matter . ”
The road map include , most significantly , that the mash is 100 % malted barley . It must also be distil and aged at a single distillery in the U.S. at a distillation proof of 160 or less and hive away in oak barrel at a maximum sizing of 700 liters , accord to the proposed TTB guideline .
Westward Whiskey
However , distiller have been fast to aim out that innovation is an all important basis of the style . “ It ’s really an industry , a crusade , that ’s come in out of American craft brewing . And , arguably , we have led the world in beer innovation for the last 40 years or so , ” Krogstad read .
American single malt is a all-embracing style in some deference than similar guidepost that govern Scotch or Nipponese single malts . “ A bunch of the innovation is happening around ferment , around dissimilar yeast varieties , sometimes make for around with hop , or just working with unlike malted milk salmagundi , ” Krogstad says . “ And just really opening up the expressive style , opening up the possibilities of what a exclusive malt can be , and not being as tradition - throttle as it is , say , in Scotland . ”
Most often , ASM whiskies are aged in young American oak barrels . “ As far as a major difference , generally American single malt producer are using new oak tree and in Japan and Scotland , they ’re using used oak tree , ” suppose Stephen Paul , Colorado - founder ofWhiskey Del Bac .
Photo courtesy of Whiskey Del Bac
Though , he notes , that is not written in stone . Some ASM whiskey are aged in used oak tree , and many are finished in portly barrels , bourbon barrels , sherry casks , and a whole lot more .
“ Whether that ’s using regional wine barrels to mature their whiskey , or fume it over mesquite , there ’s lots of room to put whatever your local mould is on it — be it barrels , wet wood type , still type , using specialty food grain , or using 100 % pale malt , ” says Owen Martin , head distiller at Colorado - basedStranahan’s“you may spell that grain from Scotland and still make an American single malt with imported grain . ”
What does American Single Malt taste like?
ASM whiskey does not have the peated flavor of Scotch , for starters . Rather , it does n’t have to . Most American single malts are not peated . Though , there are certainly some that are , likeMcCarthy ’s Oregon Single Malt Whiskey .
Distilleries have made ASMs that traverse many flavor profiles , but you lean to get fewer sweet note than , say , bourbon . Though , American individual malts forgo the big age statements you see on gamey - remainder Scotch and other whiskey . But , again , there ’s a mass of way for magnetic variation . It is punishing to throw a blanket over every verbalism of the trend .
With the all-encompassing variety of climates in the U.S. , regional style have take up to delimitate themselves , as well . Some distillery in the Southwest , like Whiskey Del Bac orColkegan , fume their malts with mesquite in a like agency to how Scottish distilleries apply peat .
Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey
What’s the difference between bourbon and American single malt?
Bourbon has carved out a stiff niche . American single malted milk is inevitably compare to the Kentucky classic since bourbon is the most recognizable American whiskey . Bourbon , however , carries a somewhat sweet profile due to having at least 51 % corn whisky in its mash . It is also aged in unexampled , charred oak barrels . American single malts often expend raw oak barrels , but that is not a guidepost .
Additionally , Bourbon dynasty is regionally saturated . Many Bourbon dynasty producer are see in and around Kentucky . ( Though , theydo nothaveto be made in Kentucky . ) American single malts are found all across the country , and that potential for regionality is part of what makes the style exciting .
“ There are likely eight or nine different kinds of climate eccentric [ in the U.S. ] , ” Paul says . Those pas seul can be tasted in the aging process , changing what the liquid goes through as it suppurate . “ So , that coupled with the kind of innovation and form of adventuresome nature of American single malted milk producer , and really , in the craft spirits world in general , that sense of regionality already is big in the American individual malt space . ”
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What are some of the best American Single Malt whiskies?
tenth Street Distillery ’s Distiller ’s Cut Peated Single MaltMaybe it ’d be unfair to say this is a good introduction to American single malted for Scotch lovers . That ’s a small simple-minded since it ’s peated . But at the same time , many American single malt liquor made with peated malted barley go easy on the peat . 10th Street does not . It has a pretty strong , lingering peaty finish and nose .
Cedar Ridge ’s QuintEssential AmericanIowa is n’t the whiskey capital of America , but The QuintEssential is a beautiful whiskey . It is aged in X - bourbon barrel before getting a mix of barrel finish . It pulls from the ragbag of cask — brandy , rummy , sherry , wine , port , and rye — to create a warming drink with notes of vanilla extract , dried fruit , and leather .
Few ’s Single Malt WhiskyAs the name implies , the Illinois distillery produces a limited identification number of bottles in each style . Its unmarried malt touts notes of caramel and burnt umber , as well as a unequaled taste gain from its cherrywood - smoked malted barley .
Stranahan ’s Blue PeakStranahan ’s is a great place to take up a journey through American single malts . It survive up to the recording label that hypes itself as “ rich and mellow . ” The spirit uses the Solera physical process , more familiar to sherry and winemakers . The matured whisky is put in oak foeders , which are never emptied , marrying it with younger whiskey .
Whiskey Del Bac ’s DoradoIt ’s a deep almost ruby color , yet it ’s surprisingly smooth . The Dorado is a mesquite single malt liquor . The unique malting method acting gives the whiskey a singular tone , particularly in the aftertaste . In some means , that smokey , malty flavor lingers a fleck like Scotch , but it ’s not overpowering . It ’s a great example of how American single malt whiskey in the Southwest have started to forge distinctive profile .
Bevridge ’s American Single Malt Tasting ExperienceThis tasting kitcomes with ten 50 - cubic centimetre tasting bottles from different distillery , leave a jot at the breadth of American individual malted usable . The outfit includes some of the freehanded names in the stylus , including Balcones , Westland , and Westward . Balcones is a Texas still with a clearly smoky aftertaste . Westland ’s flagship is a complex individual malt age in a variety of barrels that include X - bourbon barrels , oloroso sherry , and American oak . Notably , the outfit also features a trio of Westward ’s whisky that are deserving track down , include the much - make out Single Malt Stout Cask and the Single Malt Pinot Noir Cask .
