July 28, 2022 – American single malt whisky distillers are finally getting the recognition they’ve sought from the U.S. government for the last six years. Tomorrow, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) will publish its proposed standards for American single malts in the Federal Register and open a 60-day public comment period. The proposed standard comes nearly 5 years after Seattle’s Westland Distillery and other members of the American Single Malt Whisky Commission filed petitions with the TTB to create a “standard of identity,” or official definition of American single malts. Westland co-founder Matt Hofmann told WhiskyCast the Read More »
July 28, 2022 – American single malt whisky distillers are finally getting the recognition they’ve sought from the U.S. government for the last six years. Tomorrow, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) will publish its proposed standards for American single malts in the Federal Register and open a 60-day public comment period.
The proposed standard comes nearly 5 years after Seattle’s Westland Distillery and other members of the American Single Malt Whisky Commission filed petitions with the TTB to create a “standard of identity,” or official definition of American single malts. Westland co-founder Matt Hofmann told WhiskyCast the proposed definition is exactly what the Commission came up with. “For me, that is the first really big win,” he said in a telephone interview. “The second big thing is that it looks like there’s an accelerated public comment period…so it seems like we’ve got everything ready to go for the final act, and hopefully, we could have this thing done by the end of the year.”
The proposed definition reads:
“American Single Malt Whisky is whisky that is mashed, matured and distilled at a single United States distillery, is so distilled to a proof not exceeding 160° proof from a fermented mash of 100% malted barley, is stored in oak containers not exceeding a capacity of 700 liters, and is bottled at not less than 80° proof.”
That gives distillers the flexibility to use either used or new oak barrels to mature their whiskies, instead of the new charred oak barrels required for most other forms of American whiskies. It essentially mirrors the requirements Scotch Whisky distillers are held to under Scottish law, and would put American single malts on an equal footing. “To be able to use both used oak and new oak is consistent with what everybody expects of the single malt category at a global level,” Hofmann said. “What we wanted out of this definition was to have the structure of American Single Malts, for those words to have meaning that they should but still allow people to innovate, to be able to use both new oak and used oak, and actually non-oak casks as long as it goes into oak at some point…all of that stuff is doable,” he said.
The proposed American definition differs from the Scottish standard in one key fashion. While Scottish law decrees that single malts must be distilled in pot stills, the TTB’s proposal appears to give American Single Malt distillers the choice of using either pot or column stills. It should be noted that the proposed standard would not have any regulatory effect on single malts produced in Scotland or other countries.
Even without an official standard of identity, more than 100 distilleries have been producing American Single Malt whiskies, with many using the existing standards for “malt whisky.” That standard only requires the use of 50% malted barley in a mashbill, along with requiring the use of new barrels. The creation of an official standard is expected to lead to even more distilleries jumping into the segment, including some of the nation’s largest distillers.
“The formal establishment of standards of identity for American Single Malt Whisky is a clear recognition that this rapidly growing category is unique and deserves to be defined and protected as a distinctive product of the United States. Consumer fascination with American Single Malt Whisky is at an all‐time high and establishing a clear definition will drive innovation and help maintain the integrity of this category as more products enter the market,” Distilled Spirits Council CEO Chris Swonger said in a statement.
The public comment period will end on September 27, 2022, and agency officials are not bound by a timeline in issuing a final regulation.
This is a developing story, and will be updated with additional information.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated.
Links: Tax and Trade Bureau | American Single Malt Whiskey Commission
