American Single Malt Finally Gets Its Day In The Sun

The TTB has just announced proposed guidelines for American single malt. What happens now?

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After years of concentrated efforts, false starts, and anticipation, last week American single malt distillers received the long-awaited news. The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) released guidelines for the category, making it all but certain that American single malt will be an official part of the American whiskey lexicon before year-end.

Under the TTB’s proposed rule—this is technically just a notice to define and recognize American single malt whiskey and isn’t final quite yet—the whiskey must be distilled entirely at one U.S. distillery, and must be mashed, distilled, and aged in the U.S. It also has to be made from a fermented mash of 100% barley, stored in oak barrels no larger than 700 liters, and while it may not contain neutral spirits, additives like coloring, flavoring, and blending materials are allowed. As with all other whiskeys produced in the U.S., American single malt must be bottled at 40% ABV or higher as well. Over the next 60 days, the TTB will be taking commentary on these proposed guidelines; after this period, these new rules will likely go into effect.

So what exactly does this mean for American single malts? Well, for starters, it’s cause for celebration. “We’re ecstatic—it’s major validation, and it provides a framework so that when people buy a bottle of American single malt, the words on the label mean something,” says Matt Hofmann, managing director at Seattle’s Westland Distillery. “This is history in the making. How often does something like this happen? This is like when bourbon was created, or champagne was made official. This is that moment, and it’s incredibly exciting that we’re all living through it together.”

Seattle-based Westland Distillery is a pioneer of the American single malt movement, with a portfolio dedicated to the style.

Westland was one of the founding members of the American Single Malt Whiskey Commission (ASMWC), a group that got its start in 2016 and has been pushing for official recognition ever since. While the Commission initially comprised just nine producers, today it counts over 130 members, producing more than 200 unique whiskeys. For many of these distillers, the mission is to showcase a sense of terroir in their whiskey. Westland, for example, has extensively explored different varieties of local barley and oak casks to create terroir-driven single malt expressions. Its Outpost range in particular, featuring Garryana (oak), Colere (barley), and Solum (peat) whiskeys, pushes the boundaries of production and flavor through a Washington State lens.

In Denver, Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey head distiller Owen Martin is likewise energized by the recent news, noting just how historic this moment is for the whiskey community. “The last time there was a similar announcement at the government level was roughly three decades ago,” he says. “With American single malts now being officiated, they’ll start to compete with other established whiskey categories and gain better recognition and understanding.”

For the majority of American single malt distillers, these new regulations won’t change anything in their day-to-day doings. Instead, they’ll merely reinforce what they’ve already been doing, and, as Martin points out, shed much more light on the category for drinkers. To that end, one of the most notable changes that may take place over the next several months will be on retail shelves—your neighborhood liquor store may already have a dedicated American single malt section, but there are likely to be many more of them in the near future—just like for single malt scotch, bourbon, rye, and other styles.

Gareth Moore, CEO of Virginia Distillery Co. (also a founding member of the ASMWC), believes this move will be the catalyst for American single malt to join bourbon as being a uniquely American whiskey. “One of the ways I like to think about is, 20 years ago American whiskey was synonymous with bourbon, and if you said American whiskey, it was that or Jack Daniel’s,” he says. “But then, 10 years after that, there came the resurgence of rye, and suddenly there was bourbon, rye, and everything else. I hope American single malt is on that same trajectory, and joins that list ahead of ‘everything else.’”

St. George Spirits master distiller Lance Winters leans against what appear to be barrels of whiskey at the distillery's barrel warehouse in Alameda, California.

Not all distillers are equally ecstatic about the proposed guidelines; Lance Winters, master distiller at Alameda, California’s St. George Spirits, is excited that the category is getting recognition, but wants room for experimentation to stay wide open. (Photo by Matt Salvo)

With all the excitement swirling around this news, it’s hard to see any real drawbacks. But for some, the guidelines will force whiskeys they’ve long identified as American single malts into a more general categorization. “As a general concept, I think it’s great that this system for adopting new regulations is in place, and that a group of like-minded producers got together and said, ‘These are all regulations that we need to have adopted to protect this category and to protect the consumer,’” says Lance Winters, master distiller at St. George Spirits in Alameda, California. “The downside is that if you want to continue experimenting and call something American single malt, the door is closing on what exactly you can call American single malt.” Winters points to St. George’s single malt, a whiskey introduced in 2000—well before many of its cohorts. It includes malts that aren’t truly malted but instead are cooked, which would put it outside the realm of American single malt under the new guidelines.

Compared to bourbon, rye, and malt whiskeys, though, which have stricter rules on what sort of barrels can be used, American single malt would remain relatively freewheeling—aside from a maximum barrel size, for instance, there are no stipulations on what sort of oak casks producers can use in the aging process, as there are for the others (which must be aged in new, charred oak casks). “The new American single malt definition is specific enough to regulate the category, while keeping its uniqueness as an American spirit,” says Stranahan’s Martin. “Scotch whisky regulations are overly restrictive and inhibit creativity, but the ASMWC’s proposed rules are intentionally fairly broad, allowing distillers to be freer in experimentation and brand building.”

On September 27, the TTB will close the commentary period on the proposed rule. Assuming all goes well, the guidelines should fall into place roughly a month later… and then, finally, American single malt distillers can stop holding their breath, and toast to making history.

6 Terrific American Single Malt Whiskeys To Try Now

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The Balvenie French Oak 16 year old, Glen Scotia Campbeltown Malts Festival 2022, & More [New Releases]

New releases also include Dry Fly Cask & Release Summer 2022, Slainté 18 year old, and Gordon & MacPhail Private Collection 72 year old 1949.

The post The Balvenie French Oak 16 year old, Glen Scotia Campbeltown Malts Festival 2022, & More [New Releases] appeared first on Whisky Advocate.

As much as we love whisky, sometimes it’s fun to seek out other spirits types. Those looking to go off the beaten path should consider gentian liqueur, made from its namesake plant and used for centuries as a bittering agent. While it’s found in classic cocktail ingredients like Aperol and Angostura bitters, in France—where it originated—gentian is enjoyed over ice with a squeeze of fresh lemon. Of course, it makes a delicious addition to whisky-based cocktails, too, and we’ve got recipe ideas for you right here, as well as four gentian labels to recommend.

But new whisky is the main news here, and this week’s crop will surely please single malt scotch fans, though there are also Irish and American releases. Gordon & MacPhail is releasing a rare 72 year old single malt from a Speyside distillery name that won’t be familiar to many whisky lovers, The Balvenie has added a 16 year old single malt to its Cask Finishes range, Glen Scotia is bringing the Campbeltown Malts Festival to you with an 8 year old peated PX cask finish, and Washington-based Dry Fly Distilling has debuted a series of finished wheat whiskeys within its Cask & Release collection. Read on for full details.

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The Lincoln County Process Gives Tennessee Whiskey Its Identity

Charcoal filtering is the cornerstone of Tennessee whiskey—without it, the whiskey would simply qualify as bourbon.

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If not for Lincoln County—a 571 square-mile rural area on the border of Alabama—Tennessee whiskey might be indistinguishable, at least by technical standards, from bourbon. Both whiskey types share the same basic rules: the mash needs to be at least 51% corn, distilled to a maximum of 80% ABV, aged in new charred American oak, have a barrel entry ABV maximum of 62.5%, and bottled at a minimum of 40%. Yet even with all those similarities, some tasters point to clear differences, with Tennessee whiskeys often considered softer and mellower in flavor. One reason is the Lincoln County Process, which is integral to Tennessee’s signature style.

This method first materialized (at least by name—its actual history goes back thousands of years) in Tennessee during the mid-1800s and was then known as charcoal leaching, when Nathan “Nearest” Green taught Jack Daniel how to make whiskey in none other than Lincoln County (which has since been rezoned and no longer includes Jack Daniel). Over the years, the process hasn’t changed much except for the name: Unaged whiskey is sent through vats filled with charcoal made from sugar maple trees, with the end goal of removing impurities and smoothing (or “mellowing”) the flavors.

Charcoal filtering first materialized in Tennessee during the mid-1800s, when it was known as charcoal leaching. (Photo by Kristina Krug)

At Cascade Hollow, George Dickel whiskeys are filtered through mammoth, 14-foot vats full of charcoal that are first filled to the brim with new make then chilled—the chilling part being a Dickel exclusive—before the whiskey trickles through. “We lean very heavily into the charcoal mellowing, using it as a major contributor to the final character of the spirit,” says Nicole Austin. “Everything at the distillery was built around the idea that charcoal mellowing was going to play a major part. Sometimes in more modern production, people might default to a more traditional Kentucky-style of production, and their distillery might not integrate the charcoal mellowing process nearly as much.”

All Tennessee distillers must use the Lincoln County Process if they wish to call their products Tennessee whiskeys, with the lone exception of Prichard’s—which ironically is one of just two Tennessee distillers located in Lincoln County. The distillery gained exemption from the rule after owner Phil Prichard argued that charcoal filtering is not a technique his ancestor, Benjamin Prichard, ever used. Benjamin Prichard couldn’t have used charcoal filtering, as he was making whiskey decades before the process was even invented.

Prichard’s was revived as a distillery by Phil Prichard in 1997; the first legal distillery in Tennessee in nearly 50 years. Its whiskey is made with white corn and Tennessee spring water, and is distilled through pot stills, as opposed to the column stills commonly used by many of its contemporaries. Nowadays, Prichard’s is more focused on rum, though Benjamin Prichard’s Tennessee whiskey remains integral to the range.

12 Great Tasting Tennessee Whiskeys to Try Right Now

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Nashville Distillers Are Reimagining Tennessee Whiskey

Nashville is the heart of Tennessee, both geographically and culturally, and a thriving whiskey scene is thrumming along.

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Tennessee’s capital city of Nashville boasts a lively craft whiskey scene, robustly supported by its acclaimed music, barbecue, and bar venues. At the edge of the city’s Watkins Park neighborhood is Nelson’s Green Brier, housed in the former Marathon Automobile factory. Here, past meets present: The Nelson’s Green Brier name first appeared back in 1870, when Charles Nelson began distilling whiskey in the town of Greenbrier, 25 miles north of Nashville. Nelson’s distillery shut down in 1909, and today his descendants Andy and Charlie are bringing back the family business, opening the modern iteration of Nelson’s Green Brier in 2009 and making whiskey in-house since 2014.

While waiting for its whiskey to age, the company has released sourced Indiana bourbon under the Belle Meade name. The revived Green Brier label, which debuted in 2017, blends 75% in-house pot still whiskey and 25% contracted column still whiskey, with the ultimate goal being of making Green Brier entirely in-house over the next several years. Whereas charcoal filtering is more intensely integrated at George and Jack, the Nelsons opt for a mellower approach. “We’re not too aggressive with the charcoal filtration, we put the whiskey through a barrel full of sugar maple charcoal that’s in decent-sized chunks—but we’re still experimenting with it, even if none of those experiments have hit [shelves] quite yet,” he says. Nelson adds that the distillery is playing around with different grains too, like heirloom varieties native to Tennessee.

Charlie and Andy Nelson of Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery. The brothers opened the modern iteration of their family business in 2009.

A few minutes’ walk from Nelson’s Green Brier is Corsair, the pioneering craft distiller that opened in 2010 and has since garnered a reputation for its idiosyncratic approach to whiskey making. Unlike many of its contemporaries, the distillery has steered clear of bourbon production to date, focusing instead on American single malt and malted rye. What’s a producer to do when it goes against the grain—literally? “We’re known for doing things a little differently, and of course our Triple Smoke is a single malt, which is pretty far from the standard corn-based Lincoln County Process Tennessee whiskey,” says Corsair COO Tyler Crowell. “But our owner Darek Bell is from Nashville, I’m from Nashville, and we’re proud of our home and we want to showcase that—that’s our focus, putting spins on tradition and expanding the notions of what [whiskey from Tennessee] can be.”

Closer to Nashville’s Music Row, barbecue legend Carey Bringle (pitmaster of award-winning restaurant Peg Leg Porker) is known among whiskey lovers for his Peg Leg Porker Tennessee bourbon, which launched in 2015 and has developed a fan following for his whiskeys, like the 12 year old straight bourbon (which scored 91 points with our tasting panel) and 8 year old straight bourbon (which scored 90). Peg Leg Porker uses sourced whiskey, but Pringle has put his own distinct touch on the charcoal mellowing process. “I burn down hickory charcoal, and after we de-barrel the bourbon, we run it through the hickory charcoal to filter and finish it at the tail end of production, giving the whiskey our signature flavor,” he explains.

Musician Bob Dylan’s Heaven’s Door whiskey hopes to call Nashville’s Sobro neighborhood home in the future. Plans to convert an old church into a distillery experience have been in the making, though master blender Ryan Perry notes that there’s not yet a specific opening date. Eventually, however, he expects the space will be a beacon for the local community, artists, and whiskey enthusiasts alike, where more of the brand’s experimental and innovative whiskeys can be showcased regularly. Heaven’s Door currently sources all of its whiskey, and while it will never be a solely Tennessee whiskey, Tennessee whiskeys made at the Nashville space will be a focal point in the future.

The Whisky Lover’s Nashville Travel Guide

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12 Terrific Tennessee Whiskeys to Try Right Now

Nowadays, Tennessee is home to a thriving whiskey scene that’s well worth exploring.

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There are some Tennessee whiskey brands you may well be familiar with—Jack Daniel’s and George Dickel sitting top of mind. But there’s a wide world of Tennessee whiskey to enjoy now, and even those aforementioned legacy labels are experimenting with releases that are redefining just what it means to be a whiskey from the state. Snag one (or more!) of these bottles to explore just what the Volunteer State has to offer.

Take a Sip of Tennessee With These Whiskeys

George Dickel 15 year old Single Barrel (No. L2029-5k-1010)
95 points, 52.3%, $60
Corn and maple candy. With water, orange peel and Luxardo cherry create an instant Old Fashioned.

Jack Daniel’s 10 year old
93 points, 48.5%, $70
Sweet cherry notes and wood spice swirl around the nose and palate, integrating with baking spice, brown sugar, and candied orange. No. 4 in our 2021 Top 20.

Benjamin Prichard’s
92 points, 40%, $45
The nose reflects bright aromas including caramel, cinnamon, and oak, with sweet caramel corn, soft cinnamon, and black pepper on the palate.

Corsair Dark Rye American Rye Malt
90 points, 42.5%, $42
Silky-smooth with a light sweetness of crème brûlée, yellow birthday cake, burnt walnuts, and a touch of earthiness.

Peg Leg Porker 8 year old Bourbon
90 points, 46.35%, $85
A candied nose of saltwater taffy and bubble gum, followed by peanut butter, vanilla cake, and spicy oak. Blueberry pie, coconut, and chocolate on the palate.

Sweetens Cove Blended Bourbon (2021 Release)
90 points, 56.85%, $200
Milk chocolate, toffee, and hints of banana bread on the nose, complemented by brown sugar, maple syrup, and bitter espresso on the palate.

Heaven’s Door Double Barrel Blended Whiskey
90 points, 50%, $50
Dry, toasty charred oak, before cherry cough drop, cedar, clove, eucalyptus, toasted nuts, spice, and tobacco leaf.

Blue Note Crossroads Straight Bourbon
89 points, 50%, $45
Dried herbs, grape candies, marshamallow, and toasted caramel lead to vanilla wafer, cooked dark fruits, and spiced dark chocolate.

Chattanooga 111 Proof Bourbon
89 points, 55%, $45
Loads of spice, black tea, and a subtle earthiness, with a finish of chile-pepper heat, bitter chocolate, burnt walnut, and cooked cherries.

Roaming Man Tennessee Straight Rye (Batch 3)
88 points, 60.5%, $50/375 ml
With water, aromas of butterscotch, orange, brown sugar, and toffee are followed by a palate of cinnamon, cloves, orange, iced tea, cedar oil, and oak.

Nelson’s Green Brier Sour Mash
88 points, 45.5%, $30
New leather, mint, dusty warehouse floor, gingerbread, caramel, and dark fruit on the nose with flavors of cinnamon, brown sugar, chocolate, raspberry, vanilla wafers, allspice, and black pepper.

Uncle Nearest 1884 Small Batch
88 points, 46.5%, $50
Aromas of blossom honey, cherries, banana cream pie, and licorice lead to a creamy palate of vanilla frosting, orange, peanuts, marshmallow, and light pepper.

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Tennessee Steps Into the Whiskey-Making Limelight

Emerging from the shadow of Kentucky, Tennessee is now a full-tilt whiskey destination.

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Less than a decade ago, a tour of Tennessee’s whiskey distilleries would have taken you to Jack Daniel, George Dickel (now Cascade Hollow), and family-owned Prichard’s, and that would have been it. Tennessee distilling remained within this small circle of three until the mid-2000s—despite the state being home to the world’s biggest-selling American whiskey, Jack Daniel’s, and laying claim to distilling roots dating back to 1771.

The reason for this oddity can be summed up in one word: temperance. Just prior to the Civil War, Tennessee was producing enough whiskey for the Confederate government to place a wartime ban on production in order to maintain grain supplies. In the post-war years, the temperance movement gathered steam, and by the time Prohibition was enacted in 1920, some 33 states already were enforcing their own alcohol bans. Tennessee was one of them, placing bans on consumption and production as early as 1838, but really ramping up efforts by the early 1900s. National Repeal came in 1933, but Tennessee stayed dry until 1937. Even then, distilling was allowed in just three counties: Moore, Coffee, and Lincoln. It wasn’t until 2009 that the state legislature expanded legal distilling to 41 additional counties, touching off today’s Tennessee whiskey renaissance.

New Beginnings

Cascade Hollow Distilling Co. is perched upon a lush, green expanse of land in Tullahoma, little more than an hour’s drive south of Nashville. Here general manager and distiller Nicole Austin is keen to honor a prolific legacy, and has been succeeding in that mission since her arrival in 2018. The Dickel name has shot to center stage during Austin’s tenure, with the distillery producing a number of hotly anticipated new releases each year, and clinching the top spot on Whisky Advocate’s 2019 Top 20 list with its 13 year old bottled in bond Tennessee whiskey.

New expressions have been released, like a recent collaboration with Leopold Bros. of Denver—a marriage of Leopold Bros. Three Chamber rye and the never-before-released Dickel traditional column still rye—that have offered Austin a chance to build upon the Dickel name. She has also taken Tennessee whiskey down a path even more uniquely hers with Cascade Moon, launched in 2020. “Cascade Moon is my search for something not so heavy—Dickel’s an incredible brand with a ton of heritage, which is extremely exciting, but you have to be respectful of that heritage, too, which is both blessing and burden,” she says. “With Cascade Moon, I can push the boundaries and explore a little more with whiskey and what whiskey can be. What might the next 150 years of whiskey be about?”

12 Tennessee Whiskeys To Try Right Now

Austin hopes that Cascade Moon will further the conversation about aging in Tennessee, and what makes Dickel’s rickhouses unique, allowing for extremely slow, tempered maturation. The latest Cascade Moon expression, Edition 3, is a rye, made at MGP in 2003. Austin argues that maturation in Tennessee has made a difference in its flavor—that will very much be in the eye (or the palate) of the beholder. She also sees more rye whiskeys from Cascade Hollow in the future.

At Jack Daniel, master distiller Chris Fletcher has been busy creating new expressions.

Just 18 miles down the road from Cascade Hollow is Tennessee’s star player, Jack Daniel Distillery—which is so large that 40,000-gallon fermenters are the norm, producing the formidable Old No. 7, of which some 12.3 million cases are made each year. But master distiller Chris Fletcher has also been busy lately with a host of new creations. Last year saw the introduction of Jack Daniel’s 10 year old, the distillery’s first age-stated bottling in more than a century, and Fletcher hints at more to come. “I’m not making any promises, but I do think it’s going to be incredibly interesting to continue pushing the limit on what we think we can do with aging our whiskey here,” he says.

The 10 year old didn’t just rest in its barrels for a decade; after 8 years of aging on the top floor of a rickhouse, the casks were moved to the bottom floor to slow the angel’s share extraction and soften the flavors. Some of Jack’s other recent releases, notably its Tennessee Tasters line, which is sold mainly at the distillery, include a variety of interesting wood-finished expressions, as well as ryes, including Barrel Reunion No.-1, finished in red wine barrels; Hickory Smoked, finished on charred hickory staves; and Barrel Proof rye.

The Lincoln County Process Gives Tennessee Whiskey Its Identity

A 30-minute drive from Lynchburg is Shelbyville and the former Sand Creek Farms—of Tennessee Walking Horse fame—which is now the home of Uncle Nearest whiskey. The 323-acre property is in the midst of a four-phase, $50 million build-out. A visitor center is up and running, surrounded by the sprawling farm’s scenic pasture land and sleek, gaiting horses. While at the visitor center guests can get a crash course on the history of Tennessee whiskey, enjoy Tennessee-centric snacks, like Moon Pies and cotton candy, at the concession stand, and visit the alcohol-free speakeasy designed to educate guests on Tennessee’s role in both the temperance and women’s suffrage movements. Elsewhere, a barbecue restaurant, tasting room, and master blender’s house make the Uncle Nearest campus a bona-fide whiskey playground.

For now, Uncle Nearest sources its whiskey—mainly from Tennessee Distilling Group in Columbia, though it does have a single still in Shelbyville for small batch production and last year, the Nearest Green Still House opened its doors, meaning production will ramp up in meaningful way. Humble Baron—an entertainment venue that’s home to the world’s longest bar and a restaurant is also on-site.

Set right on the Tennessee River in Chattanooga, Chattanooga Whiskey makes bourbon, not Tennessee whiskey.

Every Corner of the State

The area just south of Nashville around Jack Daniel and Cascade Hollow still represents the heart of Tennessee whiskey country, but distilleries are also popping up across the state. Chattanooga, in the southernmost tip of the state near the Georgia and Alabama border, is set along the winding Tennessee River and surrounded by forests. Chattanooga Whiskey offers up a scenic setting for cask-strength and experimental releases at its two riverfront distilleries (one is purely for experimental releases and is open for visitors, while the flagship distillery is primarily responsible for production of Chattanooga’s high-malt bourbon and is closed to the public). Bourbon is the name of the game here, not Tennessee whiskey, given that the distillery eschews the Lincoln County Process.

A few hours northeast of Chattanooga is Gatlinburg, a town on the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park that’s home to not only Dollywood, but Sugarlands Distilling as well. Sugarlands is known for its moonshines, but the distillery also has a single whiskey in its stable: Roaming Man rye. Bottled at cask strength and aged for just over 2 years, Roaming Man is produced in finite batches that consistently sell out, and it’s unique from its peers just by virtue of its mashbill—Tennessee rye is on the cusp of coming into its own.

While Sugarland Distilling in Gatlinburg is known for its moonshines, the distillery also makes Roaming Man rye, a cask strength whiskey aged for just over two years that consistently sells out.

And there’s more in the works: Company Distilling is the brainchild of Jeff Arnett, who worked at Jack Daniel for some 20 years before departing in 2020. Together with Heath Clark of H Clark Distillery, Company is on track to have three separate distilleries over the next few years, and the venture has already debuted its first whiskey—a wheated bourbon aged in maplewood barrels, currently exclusive to Tennessee. “One thing that separates Tennessee whiskey from bourbon is the use of maplewood, and that’s typically introduced as a charcoal, but we had the chance to honor the use of maplewood by just using it for finishing purposes, not on the front end but at the back end [of production],” says Arnett. This means Company’s wheated bourbon doesn’t qualify as a Tennessee whiskey, but that’s a boundary many of the state’s distillers are willing to stretch as they strive to push the limits of creativity.

Nashville Distillers Are Reimagining Tennessee Whiskey

All the way at the very opposite corner of the state, blues and barbecue hub Memphis has a burgeoning distillery scene of its own, bolstered by Old Dominick Distillery downtown and B.R. Distilling Co. at the city’s northern edge. When it comes to whiskey, Old Dominick is known for its Huling Station range, which includes a wheat whiskey, a blend of straight whiskeys, and a straight bourbon, all of which are made in accordance with an old family recipe—the distillery’s namesake, Domenico Canale, was bottling whiskey under his name in the late 1800s. Though these whiskeys are sourced from MGP, a Tennessee whiskey made at the distillery and aged for 4 years is set to debut in the fall, pending ongoing supply chain issues. B.R., meanwhile, lays claim to being the oldest licensed distillery in the city (though that’s not saying too much, given that they opened in 2013), and offers up straight bourbon and rye whiskeys, both made and aged on-site.

Another of Tennessee’s new whiskey stars is Sweetens Cove, which debuted in 2020 and is owned by retired NFL star Peyton Manning and tennis legend Andy Roddick, among other partners. It’s named for a picturesque local golf course along the Tennessee River about 30 miles west of Chattanooga. While Sweetens Cove’s bourbon is currently sourced and confined to small batch and limited editions, its master blender Marianne Eaves sees some leeway. “Bourbon is the strongest initial play out of the gate for Tennessee, because people are desiring unique bourbons, but there’s so much growth in rye, and I see major opportunity there,” she says. “Tennessee rye is still pretty new, and I’ll be looking to see if the state comes together and creates its own standards for rye,” says Eaves.

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6 World Whiskies To Try Now

Take a whisky journey around the globe.

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There’s plenty to explore when it comes to world whiskies. Japan has certainly carved out a distinguished place in whisky lovers’ hearts, but smaller players are also proving their whisky chops. Our Summer 2022 Buying Guide highlights a handful of creations from around the world, each of which tells a story in the glass about where it’s from—places that include Australia, Japan, Iceland, India, and Wales. Take a walk on the worldly side with any one of these top-tier options.

Explore The World With These Whiskies

Amrut Spectrum 004 (India)
92 points, 50%, $195

Licensed to thrill, Amrut finished this single malt in ingenious custom four-wood barrels. It has a deep ruby color with a nose of pomegranate, damson, sloes, black grape, baked apple, and mild spices suggestive of PX influence. It’s time to taste: More rounded than the inaugural Spectrum, this boasts bramble with chocolate, fruit skins, and an intense surge of slightly burnt spices, then semi-sweet chocolate, black currant, and oak.—Jonny McCormick

Penderyn Icons of Wales No. 7 Rhiannon (Wales)
92 points, 46%, $95

This smooth after-dinner dram has a nose that promises black currant mousse, red cherry, malt loaf, bread-and-butter pudding, and marzipan fruits, with just a frisson of baking spices. Executing a fine balance between fruitiness and spice, the palate negotiates a rollercoaster of red berries, fig, clove, cinnamon, black coffee, dark toffee, and milk chocolate, sliding to a halt with pepper-dusted chocolate-dipped berries.—Jonny McCormick

Apogee Pure Malt 12 year (Japan)
90 points, 46.3%, $100

Bimber combines the art of blending with further maturation in their single malt casks for this ongoing batched release. The nose has Kit Kat, maltiness, pecan pie, rich gingerbread, and baked apple, with the ginger complemented by roasted spices. The flavors of baked orange, ginger, pepper, red apple, and red chile build to a climax, ebbing away to a sweet finish of vanilla, apple peel, and residual spiciness.—Jonny McCormick

Myrká 12 year old (Iceland)
90 points, 40%, $50

This delicious blended malt is composed of sourced whiskies blended and bottled in Reykjavik and cut with Icelandic water. The nose is distinctive, with aromas of toffee, malt, chocolate, dried vine fruit, toasted oak, roasted chestnuts, treacle, fig, leather, cinnamon sticks, and peppercorn. Flavors match the nose, with milk chocolate, Nutella, pain au chocolat, chewed leather, treacle loaf, licorice, and chocolate muffin, leading to a lengthy chocolaty finish.—Jonny McCormick

Hye-Land 15 year (Armenia)
87 points, 43%, $50

Fresh-baked bread rises from the glass, warm and inviting, with dried apricots, orange scone, and toasted almonds following closely behind. Tobacco and sun-dappled leather can eventually be coaxed out, making for a softly complex nose. On the palate, vanilla frosting, Honey Nut Cheerios, and cinnamon stick are up first, accompanied by soft oak. The lengthy finish brings back more warm leathery notes, which are welcome.—Jonny McCormick

The Gospel Straight Rye (Australia)
85 points, 45%, $50

Made using 100% Australian-grown unmalted rye. Play-Doh, burlap sack, orange slices, vanilla pudding, seaweed salad, and wax paper on a very grain-forward nose. There is a green quality to the palate, which while well-proofed suggests some youthfulness. Good length on the finish with notes of Andes mints. A new addition to the growing world rye movement that is certainly of a style and place.—Ted Simmons

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Russell’s Reserve 13 year old, Booker’s 2022-01 “Ronnie’s Batch”, & More [New Releases]

Plus, the latest Laphroaig Càirdeas, a 25 year old Balvenie gets added to its Rare Marriage range, Batch 10 of GlenDronach Cask Strength, and more.

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When is a whisky not a whisky? It’s a topic we’ve explored before when discussing whisky specialties, liqueurs, and flavored whisky, with most containing additives or failing to meet the minimum 40% ABV requirement. The latest Cascade Moon release technically isn’t a whiskey either, as it clocks in at 39.9% ABV, but general manager and distiller Nicole Austin found the barrels—all aged a minimum of 15 years—too interesting to blend away. We spoke with Austin earlier this week about the low-proof spirit and how she approaches the Cascade Moon line differently than George Dickel.

As for legally recognized whiskies, there are plenty of new ones out this week. Wild Turkey brings back its exceptionally popular Russell’s Reserve 13 year old, Jim Beam drops the first Booker’s of the year, Laphroaig unveils its annual Càirdeas release, and Balvenie adds a 25 year old to its Rare Marriages range. Read on for full details.

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Big Smoke Meets WhiskyFest Rocks Again In Florida

Whisky and cigar lovers gather to enjoy sips and smokes in Florida.

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This past Memorial Day Weekend, Cigar Aficionado’s Big Smoke partnered with WhiskyFest for an event that combined superlative cigars and great whiskies at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.

The day started with a series of cigar-focused seminars, highlighting speakers like Rocky Patel of Rocky Patel Premium Cigars, Rafael Nodal of Tabacalera USA (behind the Montecristo cigar brand, among others), Pete Johnson of Tatuaje, and more. A whisky and cigar pairing closed out the morning, as Jorge Padrón of Padrón Cigars was joined by Cigar Aficionado executive editor David Savona for a taste of Padrón 1964 Anniversary Series Torpedo—Cigar Aficionado’s 2021 Cigar of the Year—and Lagavulin 11 year old Offerman Edition: Guinness Cask Finish, Whisky Advocate’s 2021 Whisky of the Year.

Following an afternoon break, the event resumed in the evening in the hotel’s sprawling ballroom. There, hundreds of whiskies were poured, accompanied by a selection of cigars from some 27 makers. A VIP hour opened the night’s grand tasting event, where whiskies like Bardstown Bourbon Co.’s Founders KBS collaboration, Calumet Farm’s 15 year old and 16 year old bourbons, Parker’s Heritage Collection Wheat, and Glendalough Mizunara 7 year old Irish single malt were on offer.

Father-and-son duo Daryl and Jerrell attended Big Smoke Meets WhiskyFest for the first time; while both love whisky, Jerrell is also a burgeoning cigar lover. “The Widow Jane Lucky 13 year old bourbon was amazing, and we’re looking forward to trying everything,” said Jerrell. For his part, Daryl was looking forward to tasting the many scotch whiskies on hand, among them Benriach Original Twelve, Tamdhu 15 year old, Talisker Storm, Glen Moray Elgin Classic, and Mortlach 20 year old.

Hundreds of whiskies were poured throughout the course of the evening.

Matt Lenser, who was attending his fourth WhiskyFest, was likewise keen on the scotches, particularly the Mortlach 20 and 16 year olds. Prior to tasting, he had developed a plan for his palate. “I love how many rare or expensive whiskies there are here, and I enjoyed getting to try them, particularly the good, sherried scotch,” he said. “My strategy was to drink whisky first, then smoke later.”

Over at the Tabacalera cigar booth, head of product capability Rafael Nodal was excited to be back on the floor once more, and offered up a pairing suggestion of his own. “This Aging Room Maduro cigar is special, as it has tobacco from all four regions of Nicaragua,” he explained. “I’d pair it with a bourbon; tobacco very well-aged needs a bourbon that’s very complex, with a lot of flavor.” Plenty of aged bourbons were available on the floor, including Blade and Bow 22 year old, Widow Jane Decadence, and Heaven Hill 7 year old bottled in bond.

While there were plenty of big-name whiskies throughout the ballroom, craft distillers were also well represented at the evening’s festivities. From Ohio, Middle West Spirits poured five whiskeys from its portfolio, including a slew of limited releases; Chicago’s FEW Spirits was also there, as were Virginia Distillery Co., Indiana’s Hard Truth Distilling, and Texas-based Belfour Spirits. The latter is newer to WhiskyFest, and master distiller Dayn Belfour was thrilled at the chance to share his whiskeys with the crowd at the distillery’s first WhiskyFest. “Everyone is very curious about who we are, and who my family is,” he said. “They’re loving how dessert-like, velvety, and easy to drink the whiskey is. These are all brand new whiskeys, and once people try them, they’re drinking them right up.” Belfour was pouring its Pecan Finished bourbon, as well as a Small Batch bourbon and a rye.

WhiskyFest will resume in the fall, when it returns to San Francisco and New York, and also adds Las Vegas as a new venue. Tickets are available here.

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WhiskyFest Chicago Brings Fans Together Again

A night filled with great pours and fun times at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago.

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A spirited crowd of whisky lovers gathered on May 13th at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago for the first WhiskyFest of 2022—a night that delivered hundreds of delectable drams as well seminars from Heaven Hill, Bardstown Bourbon Co., FEW Spirits, and Ardbeg and Glenmorangie.

As the clock struck 5:30 P.M., a jam-packed VIP hour kicked off, and attendees were treated to host of great whiskies including Balblair 25 year old, Old Pulteney 25 year old, anCnoc 24 year old, Glenmorangie Extremely Rare 18 year old, Glenmorangie Signet, Gordon & MacPhail Glenlivet 1976 Private Collection 1; Indian single malt Mithuna by Paul John; and Nikka Yoichi non-peated and Miyagikyo peated single malt whiskies from Japan.

A number of Whisky Advocate Top 20 honorees from the 2021 list were on offer, including Nikka Taketsuru Pure Malt (No. 15), Peerless Small Batch Double Oak bourbon (No. 8), and Jack Daniel’s 10 year old Tennessee whiskey (No. 4). Past Whisky of the Year honorees were also poured, namely Larceny Barrel Proof, George Dickel Bottled in Bond, Nikka From The Barrel, and Elijah Craig Barrel Proof.

Aside from getting a chance to taste some of the more well-known pours, attendee Mike Woods was excited about a brand new whisky on the floor. “Fuji whisky is a brand new Japanese whisky that I got to try tonight—it’s like 1,000 butterflies dancing on your tongue, just amazing,” he said. “This is its debut in the States, and it’s so cool that a festival like this can be a great showcase for a fantastic new brand.” For its WhiskyFest debut, Fuji poured its original whisky, a single grain expression, and its 30 year old single grain, the latter available during VIP hour only.

WhiskyFest Chicago brought top-tier whisky directly to fans.

Fadi Najjar, who attended the VIP hour, also agreed that Fuji was a standout of the evening. “That 30 year old was unbelievable,” he said. “This was my first WhiskyFest, and that one alone made it well worth it.” A collector, Najjar favors Islay scotch, Japanese whiskies, and bourbon.

Of course, hundreds of other whiskies were available beyond the VIP pours. The American contingent was represented by prized brands like Balcones, Blanton’s, Sazerac, WhistlePig, New Riff, and Blade and Bow. At the Blade and Bow table, where the flagship whiskey and a 22 year old bourbon were available, repeat tasters became the norm for the evening. “We’ve had a great night here, with people telling us candidly how much they love the whisky,” said traveling ambassador Tim DeLonjay. “We’ve had repeats, and several people who aren’t bourbon drinkers told us they love it.”

From across the pond, plenty of Irish brands were also on hand, with Powers pouring as well as Limavady, Roe & Co., Knappogue Castle, and Bushmills. Scotch, too, was available aplenty—with top expressions from Ardbeg, Mossburn, Caisteal Chamuis, Mortlach, Tamdhu, Talisker, to name just a few.

Seminars punctuated the evening, providing attendees with a chance to engage with brands even more closely. Bardstown Bourbon Co.’s vice president of development Dan Callaway led a seminar on the company’s Discovery Series #7, tasting attendees through the individual whiskeys in the final blend and explaining the creation process. From FEW Spirits, founder and master distiller Paul Hletko was joined by director of advocacy Kyle McHugh for a talk on all-things Chicago-style whiskey. Later, Heaven Hill master distiller Conor O’Driscoll sampled guests through the distillery’s Heritage Collection, while also offering some glimpse of future plans. Ardbeg and Glenmorangie concluded the night’s seminars with a joint discussion of both whiskies.

WhiskyFest teams up with Cigar Aficionado’s Big Smoke event for cigars and whisky at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel in Hollywood, Florida on May 28. The year’s remaining WhiskyFest events in San Francisco, New York, and Las Vegas are slated for the fall. Purchase your tickets here.

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