The Scotch Blog

Flying Dog's move

This in from Stephen Beaumont, Beer Guru extraordinaire:

Earlier this week, it was announced that Flying Dog (ed. - Brewery - Denver Colorado) would be moving all of its production to Maryland. (ed. - where 70% of all production is done already).

 This, of course, raises questions about Stranahan's, since their mash is produced at the brewery next door. I directed that question to Jess, and he replied thusly:

"All contingencies are in place. We will continue to make the best whiskey Colorado can produce. We will miss our friends at Flying Dog, but Colorado is an amazing location for producing craft beers and great whiskey mash. I will keep you informed of our progress. I am very excited about the new possibilities and opportunities this transition will present.

So it looks like production will continue apace.

Jess verified that things are on track. . .

Kevin,

We have had a strong response from the local craft beer community! I anticipate no interruption in our production. We are very excited about 2008 expecting to expand sales and solidify existing markets.

The Marketing of the Ultra-premium Whiskeys

Today's story comes from Foodie & blogger-extraodinaire, Kate Hopkins, the brains behind Accidental Hedonist.

Kate's been getting into our favorite beverage lately and has a great take on the 'surgence' (yeah, yeah, I know - that's not a word) of premium Bourbon.

There's the feeling out there that Scotch drinkers don't like Bourbon and that Bourbon drinkers don't go near Scotch. Speaking from my personal experience and the people that I meet, that's simply not true.

If you know a Scotch snob who looks down his nose at Bourbon, kick him in the nuts and find some new friends.

Coming in 2008 we'll devote a substantial chunk of time to Bourbon. And my annual whisky tasting this year will be focusing on non-Scotch whiskies (yes, like Bourbon), so look for that story. But to whet your appetite for the U.S's official liquor, here's Kate...

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The Marketing of the Ultra-premium Whiskeys
Accidental Hedonist, November 29, 2007
by Kate Hopkins

Eric Asimov, the drink writer at the New York Times, takes a look at bourbon and its increase in popularity.

The dive in sales forced bourbon producers to accept that the whiskey market had changed. They might not be able to compete with vodka, but to avoid permanent relegation to the dusty back shelves of liquor stores, bourbon producers would have to find a way to attract the budding connoisseur class.

For me, this evolution in the whiskey industry here in America is quite fascinating. For all of this talk of "tradition" and "history" in the Kentucky/Tennessee whiskey industries, the fact remains that these companies didn't really hit their stride until our own lifetime. Around the fifties and sixties, Canadian Whisky was the popular drink. Then Jack Daniels and Jim Beam hit their stride in the sixties and seventies, mostly from the fact that they had good financial backing, decent marketing, and the ability to get into markets that other distillers could not. No where on this list is the phrase "devoted to the quality of the product".

To 'e' or not to 'e'

Steve Ury (who writes Sku's Recent Eats) emailed to ask my opinion on a recent proposal by Charles Cowdery (author of Bourbon, Straight). To wit, the proposal is: when writers write about Whisk(e)y, they should ALWAYS use the spelling common to the country they live - meaning that Americans should write 'Scotch whiskey', while in the UK writers should feel free to use 'Bourbon whisky.' (read it here)

This is what I quite simply refer to as - a stupid idea.

If for no other reason than it shows a gross misunderstanding of the US regulations currently on the books - which use the "whisky" spelling. If I were to take Cowdery's argument to heart, I would logically have to insist that we forsake the (purely arbitrary) "whiskey" spelling and revert all US produced whiskies to the 'no-e' usage.

But I'm not saying that at all.

In the end I classify such discussions as Sound & Fury arguments - (this of course is taken from [appropriately enough] Shakespeare's "Scottish Play", Macbeth) in that arguments like this are:

A tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.

But, like an idiot's tale, sometimes they can be fun to listen to for a brief time...

ANY way, Steve and I traded a few emails, and he crafted a well thought out, and balanced view of both positions. Read for the sound and fury.

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Whisk(e)y Wednesday: To 'e' or Not to 'e'
Steve Ury
Recenteats.blogspot.com

As you may know, there are two alternative spellings of my favorite alcoholic beverage: whisky and whiskey. In Scotland, Canada and Japan, they drink whisky. In Ireland and (mostly) here in the US, we drink whiskey. Now, to the person whose only interest is in drinking the stuff, who the hell cares how you spell it? But to those of us who write about it, there is an issue. Should we spell the word according to the type of drink we are writing about or should we pick one spelling and stick to it? Recently, a suggestion to change the standard practice by Chuck Cowdery erupted into a controversy that may soon rock the whisk(e)y world.

Deep Background

The term whiskey is said to have evolved from the Gaelic uisge beatha, meaning "water of life." Of course, the term "water of life" has been used in many European cultures to refer to the local liquor: Aquvit in Sweden (derived from the Latin aqua vitae) and eau de vie in France refer to regional spirits in those nations.

Interestingly, the Oxford English Dictionary does not differentiate between whisky and whiskey, using a single entry for both terms. It does, however, list several alternative spellings which were used in the eighteenth century, including whiskie and whiskee. It appears that no consistent spelling was being used in the nineteenth century, with American and English writers using both spellings interchangeably. The standardization of the various spellings may not have occurred until the late nineteenth or early twentieth century.

The Current Practice

The current practice among malt writers in the US and UK is to change the spelling based on the type of drink being discussed. If it's Scotch, you call it whisky (e.g., Highland Park is a great whisky), if it's Irish, you call it whiskey (e.g., Bushmills is a fine whiskey)...etc. This is the usage in both of the major magazines covering the area: Whisky Magazine (British) and Malt Advocate (American).

When simultaneously referring to two whiskies with different spellings, Scotch and Irish for example, many writers use the term whisk(e)y.

                                                 

Excerpt from "The Business of Spirits" - America’s Confusing Three-Tier System

For the longest time, I've been meaning to do a story on the "3-Tier system" which affects the distribution of alcoholic beverages in the United States - and is the very reason that some tadty beverages are not available in your state - while they are available right across the state boundary.

Luckily enough, I was just sent a review copy of a new book by Noah Rothbaum called The Business of Spirits.  The book is a great introduction to the byzantine world of Spirits and how they are marketed in the U.S.

In the book, Noah talks to a number of notable folks in the industry and includes backgrounds on many of the personalities and iconic products.

In the first chapter, Noah has an excellent overview of the origin of our 3-tier system. This chapter immediately drew me in to the book. I thought: "Why not just get Noah to do an excerpt of the book for us?"

Below is the except from that first chapter of his book.

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America’s Confusing Three-Tier System and the Legacy of Prohibition.

An excerpt from the new book The Business of Spirits by Noah Rothbaum

To get to the storeroom of New York’s legendary ‘21’ Club, cross the dining room with its constellation of corporate and sports memorabilia,  slip through the bustling kitchen, and head down a flight of steep  stairs. There, in an unremarkable brick-lined hallway, is a  pencil-sized hole. Insert an 18-inch piece of wire into it, and like  something out of an Indiana Jones movie, a two-and-a-half-ton hidden  door swings open, revealing a fine spirits and wine collection. This  hidden storeroom was built during Prohibition and is actually below the  adjoining townhouse (19 West 52nd Street). It was constructed so the  owners could truthfully say that there wasn’t any alcohol on the  premises if the restaurant was raided.
 
But this quaint relic of Prohibition isn’t the only legacy of that era,  which still haunts the United States. Almost 75 years after Congress  overwhelmingly passed the 21st Amendment ending the 13-year period of  Prohibition, the U.S. is still trying to figure out how to regulate the  sale of alcohol. This is particularly troublesome given the fact that  the spirits industry is now booming and sales are increasing every year.
 
The problem stems from the fact that the 21st Amendment only repealed the 18th Amendment; it didn’t spell out exactly how alcohol sales would  be controlled. Congress left those decisions up to the individual  states. As a result, the United States has an almost incomprehensible  patchwork of alcohol-related laws that vary greatly from state to state  and sometimes county to county. No two states have exactly the same  laws regarding alcohol.

Rancio

I'm on a "non-whisky" related vacation. Camping in the desert with friends and no access to a compute or phone. So I thought I'd invite some people to fill in for me while I'm gone. While I am gone comments cannot be approved!

Enjoy these great pieces from guest writers:

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Today's story is from Gary Regan, bar-tender (mixologist?) extraordinaire. Gary, along with wife Mardee, write the Ardent Spirits website, as well as a number of books about the craft of bartending - all of which belong on your shelf.

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Rancio? Who is Rancio?  What is Rancio? 

Rancio is a highly desirable, and relatively rare, flavor normally found only in extra-aged fruit-based spirits: cognacs, calvados, and armagnac.  Best described as earthy, cheesey, and mushroomy (with a vague hint of soy sauce), rancio is one of those flavors that has to be encountered a few times before it becomes a close and friendly acquaintance.

Imagine my delight when, a few years ago, I thought I detected rancio in a $7,000 bottling of Bowmore 40-year-old single malt scotch.  My wonderment grew over time when I found it to be present in seven more malts.  But I needed proof.  Most of the French sneered at the thought, and many Scots weren’t accustomed to the flavor.

Alexandre Gabriel, of Gabriel and Andreu, a French spirits company that produces many fine brandies, recently hired scientists to pinpoint the chemical components responsible for the rancio flavor.  Voilà!  Two liquid organic compounds known as ketones were found to be the culprits, and both are said to be a result of advanced oxidization of alcohol.

The next step was to perform the same experiment on a single malt that I thought contained this mysterious flavor.  I chose The Balvenie Vintage Cask 1966 as the guinea pig.  Sure enough, both ketones were detected in this scotch.

Although no other bottlings of single malt have yet been tested, I think rancio can be found in The Glendronach Vintage 1968, Auchentoshan 31-year-old, Aberlour 21-year-old, Murray McDavid 1967 Springbank, Springbank Local Barley Single Cask, 1966, and The Stillman’s Dram:  Dalmore 30-year-old.  All are delectable spirits that wear kilts instead of berets and yet show signs of this baffling flavor.  Try them.  You’ll like them.

Upcoming article on St. George's Distillery

Not too long ago, I did a story on St. George Single Malt Whiskey from American distiller St. George Spirits.

As many of you know the St. George's Distillery is up and running in Norfolk, England.

The two are NOT related. It remains to be seen if there will be any problem with the importation of the English product into the US.

I asked St. Geroge's for a comment, but the response to my inquiry was from the Visitor Centre Manager, and was completely devoid of any useful information.

In the meantime, please enjoy this extract of an upcoming story from my friend David Wishart (author of  the fantastic book Whisky Classified). By the way, David tells me the new make spirit is excellent.

Extract from "St George and the Dragon", by David Wishart, Malt Advocate, vol 16 no. 4 (in press).

We arrive at St George’s Distillery to be greeted by an old friend, Iain Henderson, familiar throughout the Scottish whisky industry where he previously worked for over 40 years. “I’m the first Scot to make English whisky for more than a century”, he proudly boasts. The holder of a lifetime achievement award for services to Scotch whisky, Iain’s appointment as the first manager at St George’s has not been without controversy. Ian Hudghton, a Scottish National MEP, recently declared “There is only one Scotch whisky which uses centuries-old methods, and anything else is not the real McCoy. I’ll be sticking to Scotch, and I don’t think English whisky can provide any competition.”

But the plain fact is that, unlike wine, there is no terroir to whisky-making. Provided the production methods are correctly designed and operated, good quality whisky can be made almost anywhere in the world.  And Iain Henderson is uniquely qualified to prove this point in Norfolk. “It is a huge coup for us to have Iain on board”, said Andrew Norstrop, managing director of the English Whisky Company. “The spirit he is producing is excellent, and we are getting very positive responses from those who appreciate the fundamentals of the whisky business.”

Lyons goes to Speyside - Roll out the barrels

Will Lyons writes for Scotland on Sunday and has done some fantastic pieces on the Indian situation. Recently he paid a visit to Benromach Distillery and even put in a day's work.

Today's guest story was originally posted on Scotland on Sunday, but Will told me it would be fine to repost here.

As a complementary piece, check out my story on Benromach - though Will's is better.

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Roll out the barrels

Will Lyons

AT A TIME of day when most of us are just about managing to negotiate a bowl of cornflakes, Mike Ross, the stillman at Benromach distillery, is already at his post, pouring two tonnes of malted barley into a mash tun full of warm water.

"We have to be very careful not to get this wrong," he says, staring straight ahead at a small temperature gauge on the opposite wall.

Handing the controls over to me, he adds, "A slight miscalculation at this stage and we could end up with either not enough sugar or too much sugar." A strong smell of Horlicks fills the room as I tentatively spin the lever, careful to keep the temperature at 64.5ûC.

Beyond the industrial sound of rushing water, the distillery manager Keith Cruickshank paces down the floor. "How we doing?" he asks. "Make a mess of this and you'll throw the whole operation out."

Welcome to Speyside - the engine room of the Scotch malt whisky industry. As the three of us peer nervously into a churning mash tun, around us the region hums with the noise of hundreds of distilleries, many of them working 24 hours a day, seven days a week, sweating it out to meet the growing demand for Scotland's golden spirit. These are good times for Scotch whisky.

Last year exports of Scotch generated a record £2.5 billion, with nearly 90 million cases exported worldwide. To put that into context, for every second in the day the equivalent of 33 bottles are shipped overseas, earning the industry £78 - or £6,739,200 a day. Laid end to end, those bottles would stretch from Perth, Scotland, to Perth, Australia.

Industry analysts say this could be the beginning of something even greater. On the horizon lie India and China, two of the biggest spirits markets in the world. In just ten years, growth in China has risen from 0.7 million litres to 5.7 million litres, fuelled by a burgeoning middle class which has acquired a taste for whisky. In India the potential is even greater. While the Chinese still predominantly drink beer, India is largely a brown-spirit-drinking culture. Attend a dinner party in Mumbai and you are more likely to be served a glass of whisky than wine or beer. The prize is massive.

To China and India can be added renewed demand from South America, eastern Europe, Russia and, of course, the United States. Suddenly, owning a distillery doesn't look such a bad investment.

All Sweetness and Light

Mark Reynier of Bruichladdich has a different take on the recently approved EU regulations and points out a contradiction he finds amusing.

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New European regulations may force Whisky distillers to include E numbers on labels, as a result of new rules on production and labeling agreed in Brussels.

The European Parliament has approved an updated legal definition of whisky, designed to prevent abuse, both at home and overseas, in the production of Scotland’s spirit. The Scotch Whisky Association welcomed the new definitions saying that it reflects traditional practice, making it explicit that ‘whisky cannot be flavoured or sweetened.’

Article (d) of the new definition states clearly that “Whisky or whiskey shall not be sweetened or flavoured, nor contain any additives other than plain caramel colouring.”

Plain caramel colouring is referred to as E150 - this permissible additive has been in use for decades as a method of standardising the colour and flavour of big brand whiskies and other drinks.But the colouring, from dark brown to black hue, is made “ by controlled heat treatment of sugar beet or sugar cane (with or without the presence of alkalis or acids)”.

In an apparent contradiction, under the new regulations, sweetnings that are not allowable in whisky appear to share the same production methods as the allowable E150.

What's the deal with Blackwood?

There are questions in the whisky community about Blackwood Distillers. The Scotch Whisky Review just released their own humorous take on the lack of actual distillation taking place at the company, and Ian Buxton, frequent TSB contributor has his own thoughts on the subject.

He asks the questions that a lot of people have been banging around - "What the hell is the deal with Blackwood Distillers?

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Is no one else bothered by the activities of Blackwood Distillers?

Quite remarkably this company is still promoting themselves as “Blackwood Distillers of Shetland” with the claim “From the remotest region of Scotland, come pure natural spirits…”

That must be darkest Airdrie (some 15 arduous and remote miles from Glasgow city centre) where, under a private label contract, InverHouse Distillers make most of Blackwood’s white spirits.  (For those unfamiliar with the geography of Scotland, Shetland is a group of islands in the far North, nearly 400 miles from Airdrie and involving a 12 hour sea crossing.)

Sherry IS wine, dumbass.

Today's story comes from the inimitable Mark Reynier of Bruichladdich. This is a response to purists who decry the use of wine casks for additional maturation.

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There is a school of opinion that objects to the use of wine casks for single malt whisky. This raises several controversial issues. True, wine casks have indeed been exploited by some bottlers for outright marketing reasons but I argue that this subject is a much more complex one than just marketing.

Firstly I confess, guilty as charged, that at Bruichladdich we have been using wine casks er…since 1881. Wine casks for whisky are not new - sherry, after all, is a wine.

“I have noticed, in the forty-five years since I began to study whisky, that the general style of most if not all kinds has changed…The older whiskies were darker in colour, from being kept in golden Sherry or Madeira casks, rather sweeter in taste, and rather heavier in texture; the newer are lighter in both the first and the last aspect, and much drier in taste.” This was the introduction of Bourbon casks (made from Quercus Alba, or white oak) and was written in 1920.