American Single Malt Whiskey
American single malt does not officially exist (yet) as a legally defined category of whiskey in the United States, but producers generally adhere to the same regulations observed in Scotland. It is produced at a single, U.S. distillery from 100% malted barley, distilled to 160 proof, and bottled at no less than 80 proof. American single malt is often aged in used cooperage, like its counterparts overseas. On the other hand, “American straight malt” – which is a legally defined category – must be aged in new oak containers for a minimum of 2 years, echoing the rules for other categories of American whiskey. Today, American producers continue to experiment with barrel regimens for this emerging category.
Top American Single Malt Whiskey Posts:
A Visit to House Spirits in Portland, Oregon
Swift Single Malt Texas Whiskey Sauternes Finish
Lost Spirits Distillery Abomination “The Sayers of the Law”
Recently we featured Lost Spirits Seascape, a peated American single malt whiskey. Now we’re back with what may be the company’s flagship dram: Leviathan I. Leviathan is bottled as a single-barrel release of heavily-peated (110ppm phenol, or thereabouts) single malt whiskey, aged for under 4 years in casks formerly used for late-harvest Cabernet Sauvignon. The…
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Once in a while, American whiskeymakers do the smoke thing: Corsair (which operates distilleries in both Kentucky and Tennessee) is a small distillery that makes a variety of products. Triple Smoke is created by taking “three fractions of malted barley, each smoked by a different fuel – cherry wood, peat, and beechwood” which is then…
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It isn’t every day we get to write about a product before anyone else on the planet. Recently I was one of the first people to ever taste Lost Spirits’ inaugural whiskey release, poured from a bottle so fresh the label hadn’t even been printed for it. With only 170 or 180 bottles produced, Seascape…
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One sip — heck, one sniff — of McCarthy’s whiskey and you’d swear it was fresh off the boat from a foggy distillery on the shores of Islay instead of in Portland, Oregon. The only hint that you’re drinking something different is the pale gold color, a signal of a relatively short time in cask…
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I’m not gonna pull any punches here. Stranahan’s is the strangest whiskey I’ve ever experienced. It looks harmless enough, a bright, orange-hued spirit with a relatively mild nose — almost rye-like. Though 94 proof, the nose isn’t particularly hot. Looks promising. Then the tasting. Hmmm. Stranahan’s is a rarity among American whiskeys, distilled from 100…
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