Beverage Dynamics July-August 2020 | Page 16

PHOTO CREDIT : © SHAIITH - STOCK . ADOBE . COM

Woodford Reserve Master Distiller Chris Morris sees more blends of finishes as a newer trend in American whiskey .

that ’ s well worth bottling .

Among the newer producers leading this charge is Rabbit Hole . Owner / Founder Kaveh Zamanian says he never intended to release younger whiskey , but when tasting through early batches , he liked the results enough to bottle . Expertise and innovation came through in the end .

“ With over 200 years of combined industry experience , and several veterans of the industry involved in training of our team , there is no question in my mind that our distillation expertise is a factor in our success ,” says Zamanian . “ It ’ s one thing to produce a good batch of whiskey ; it ’ s another to do it with precision and consistency batch after batch ." Better production techniques created a better whiskey . “ Wholeheartedly , I believe that our proprietary cooking process coupled with the use of malted grains brings out more flavors and creates a much more interesting whiskey , which makes age less of a factor because the flavor really comes through in the glass ,” Zamanian adds . “ We also put the liquid in the barrel at 110 proof and never chill filter our products , both of which are choices that preserve more flavor . Last but not least , we have always used toasted and charred barrels . . . We don ’ t take shortcuts and definitely don ’ t sacrifice quality for bottom line . It ’ s the combination of all of these factors .”

Rabbit Hole is certainly not alone among top-level craft distilleries that have found flavors earlier through innovation and expertise . As the level of knowledge in the industry continues to expand , look for more brands to bottle quality products earlier .

“ I ’ ve never been too hung up about a whiskey ’ s age . It ’ s about maturity ,” says Wes Henderson , co-founder and CIO of Angel ’ s Envy . “ So what if it ’ s young ? If it ’ s young , and a distillery ’ s transparent about it , and the whiskey is good , then that ’ s great .”

Another factor that ’ s driving this trend is the continued popularity of high-rye mash bills like Bulleit , Four Roses and MGP . Because rye achieves flavor faster — 100 % ryes can reach maturity in two to three years — this has allowed high-rye bourbons to mature faster as well .

“ You can ’ t do that with a wheated bourbon , because they ’ re too soft ,” says John Little , CEO and master distiller at Smooth Ambler Spirits . “ People in this business are learning that products that have more rye can produce mature notes faster .”

As brands continue to innovate , look for more distillers to flex their creative muscles in employing oak .

Firestone & Robertson Distilling Co . recently began a program of aging in numerous kinds of oak : port , sherry , muscatel , cognac , tequila , rum and more . Beyond releasing oak-specific expressions in the future , this also provides their blender with a bounty of flavor options to piece together the best blended products .

In other words , unusual oak is no longer just for finishing .

“ I think brands across the spirits category will start to experiment with more unique types of wood in the initial aging and not just in the finishing process ,” says Henderson of Angel ’ s Envy . “ There are unlimited possibilities of what kind of woods can be used , and it ’ ll be interesting to see what brands are choosing to work with as innovation grows across the category .”

On a simple level , it comes down to the whiskey category already being saturated with barrel finishes that have become too familiar for today ’ s consumers .

“ True innovation in wood finishing is becoming more difficult to do since we first introduced varietal wine ( Chardonnay Finish 2006 ) and non-oak barrel ( Maplewood Finish 2009 ) finishes to the market ,” says Chris Morris , master distiller at Woodford

16 Beverage Dynamics • July / August 2020 www . beveragedynamics . com