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”
Now in its second year, the Virginia Spirits Expo is expanding to include four different events across the state. I attended the first of these in Charlottesville over the summer where more than two dozen Virginia distillers were on hand to share their labors of love. It was unseasonably warm at Ix Art Park that…
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The American Single Malt category is booming. And though the movement was largely spearheaded by craft producers, major distillers — including the bourbon world’s biggest producers — are hopping on the train. Actually, it’s more accurate to say they did so years ago, because that distillate has now come of age. A prime example is…
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I probably don’t need to tell you who David Perkins is, but here goes. A true craft whiskey pioneer, he founded High West Distillery in Park City, Utah way back in 2006, practically an eternity ago in the craft distilling world. Over the course of ten years, he built High West into one of the…
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Lost Lantern has quickly built a reputation as an American independent bottler not afraid to take big swings and put bold flavors front and center. The Vermont-based founding team has thus far released an American vatted malt and dozens of single cask expressions. One of their new and ongoing initiatives is the single distillery series.…
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When we last checked in on Single Cask Nation, the indie bottlers had just released an impressive American single malt from Virginia Distillery Co. From the looks of it, they’ve gone much further afield for their recent releases, sourcing a wide variety of unique expressions from whisky-makers all over the world. As a reminder, these…
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Everyone’s getting into the single malt game now that the official TTB rules have been proposed — Jesus, even Jack Daniel’s has a single malt — so it’s only natural that Yellowstone would drop one sooner or later. Like most of Yellowstone’s production, this one’s also sourced — this one from Indiana, which is proof…
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Portland, Oregon’s Westward Whiskey recently unveiled its first whiskey for 2023 for its Whiskey Club members, an expression of its single malt which has been finished for 14 months in French Sauternes dessert wine casks. This limited edition won’t be widely available, but at press time it’s still showing up on Westward’s website — so…
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Last summer Monica brought us coverage of the first edition of a curious combo from Colorado’s single malt purveyor Stranahan’s, a Distillery Exclusive bottling finished for 2 1/2 years in extra anejo tequila barrels. Now this expression is back and bottled as a second batch under the annually released Diamond Peak line — though it…
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Wisconsin’s Tattersall Distilling continues to push into the whiskey world, with the launch of its first American single malt. Inspired by (and named after) the first interstate park in the nation — crossing between Minnesota and Wisconsin — it’s a four year old whiskey that ages in virgin oak barrels. Let’s crack it open. American…
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Only a few months back we sampled Old Line Spirits’ American single malts in two finishes: Port cask and Madeira cask. Now it’s time for a third rendition, which is returning to production after a brief hiatus. This 100% malted barley whiskey is aged for five years in #4 charred new American white oak and…
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