After years of deliberation, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) delivered a final rule today that officially recognizes American single malt whisky as a spirits category. Before this decision, there was no firm definition of what “American single malt whisky” was, or who could use the term of the label. But effective January 19, spirits that boast this title will have to adhere to specific production requirements.
The TTB’s final rule states that American single malt whisky is a type of whisky that is mashed, distilled, and aged in the U.S. and distilled entirely at one distillery. It must be made from 100 percent malted barley, distilled to a proof of 160 or less, stored in oak barrels with a maximum capacity of 700 liters, and bottled at no less than 80 proof. The addition of neutral spirits, coloring, flavoring, or blending materials is prohibited, with the exception of caramel coloring. The TTB is also allowing the use of the designation “straight” for American single malt whisky that is aged for two years.
This is a momentous occasion for distillers across the U.S. that produce American single malt producers have been anxiously awaiting this decision after two long years of deliberation by the TTB. The American Single Malt Whiskey Commission (ASMWC), which was founded in 2016 by pioneering producers like Westland Distillery and Virginia Distillery Company, tirelessly lobbied for this designation, and now that it’s approved, producers have high hopes that this TTB ruling will propel the category forward on a global stage.
“This is a landmark ruling by TTB and validation for years’ worth of work by American distillers to define American single malt,” ASMWC president Steve Hawley said in a press release. “It has been over 52 years since a new type of whiskey was added to our federal regulations. We applaud TTB for formalizing the category which will signal to the world that not only do we believe in and support our own distilleries, but we also recognize that American Single Malt Whiskey is unique and deserves to be defined and protected as other American whiskey categories are. Most importantly, this new definition ensures that consumers worldwide can have every confidence that what they think is in a bottle of American Single Malt Whiskey actually is.”
For brands like Stranahan’s, which has been producing American single malt in Colorado for 20 years, the new ruling promises to be game-changing.
“As the category leader in American single malt whiskey, and one of its original pioneers, Stranahan’s applauds the TTB’s designation of American Single Malt whiskey as an official category,” Proximo Spirits’ senior vice president of marketing Lander Otegui said in a statement to VinePair. “Today marks a milestone, both domestically and internationally. It puts American Single Malt and Stranahan’s on a global stage like never before. As an official whiskey category — legally defined and protected by the U.S. government —American Single Malt has earned its place alongside bourbon, rye and other categories that today enjoy worldwide recognition.”
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