American Single Malt Whiskey Is Officially Its Own Category (Finally)

By WineBottleMag
December 22, 2024
American Category Finally Malt Officially Single Whiskey
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In a move that the whiskey industry has eagerly awaited for almost a decade, on late Friday the United States government announced that American single-malt whiskey will be recognized as an official spirits category.

The Alcohol & Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau (TTB) will ratify the new standard of identity for American Single Malt (ASM) on December 18, 2024, and the final rule will be effective on January 19, 2025.

It’s been a long time coming. American single malt has been around for decades: The late distiller Steve McCarthy is credited with making the first-known ASM way back in 1996.

Like single malt Scotch, ASM is made from malted (germinated) barley, and no other grains, distilled at a single distillery. While Scotch must be distilled and aged in Scotland, for the past three decades, it has been implied that distillation and aging for ASM take place in America.

The category has grown steadily in recent years and the American Single Malt Whiskey Commission (ASMWC), formed in 2016, has actively lobbied for the official designation. It put forward a proposed definition of the category in 2022.

At present, more than 200 producers make at least one ASM, estimates Thomas Mooney, founder and CEO of Westward Whiskey, citing a private study of the market. Plenty of these producers make more than one; there currently are “more than 1,000” ASM bottlings on the market, Mooney says.

These include offerings from the nearly 100 members of the ASMWC and smaller craft producers. Also in the mix: Big distilleries like Jim Beam and Jack Daniel’s, which have recently rolled out their own bottlings. (We spotlighted some of the best ASMs in our deep dive into the category in the December issue, as well as the 2024 Top 100 Spirits list.)

But what does this latest development mean for the average whiskey consumer? And what does it mean for the future of American whiskey? Here are the big takeaways.

It’s historic that a new spirits category has been established.

“This doesn’t happen all the time,” Mooney notes. The last new American whiskey designation took place 60 years ago, when the U.S. Congress declared bourbon an official category in 1964. More recently, singani (Bolivian grape brandy) was recognized by the TTB in 2023.

The regulation sets specific parameters for what an American single malt can—and can’t—be.

Specifically, American single-malt whiskey is now officially defined as one that’s 1) mashed, distilled and aged in the U.S., 2) distilled entirely at one U.S. distillery, 3) distilled to a proof of 160 or less, 4) distilled from a fermented mash of 100% malted barley, 5) stored in oak barrels (used, uncharred new or charred new) with a maximum capacity of 700 liters, and 6) bottled at not less than 80 proof.

Some producers, however, are already chafing at the definition and claim it’s too restrictive. Brother Justus Whiskey, for example, takes issue with the 160-proof specification.

“Brother Justus can no longer be considered American single malt under this new ruling because after more than a decade of R&D, the proof of the whiskey that comes off of the still is slightly higher than the 160 cap,” the company told Wine Enthusiast.

But most distillers are sanguine about the definition, saying it provides sufficient room for innovation. For example, malt can be sourced outside of the U.S., and fancy cask finishes are fair game.

“You can still make whiskey other ways,” notes Adam Polonski, co-founder and head of whiskey sourcing for independent bottler Lost Lantern Whiskey. “You just can’t label it as American single malt.”

Expect to see American single-malt sections in liquor stores and on spirits menus.

One of the biggest roadblocks ASM has faced is that consumers often don’t notice them on liquor store shelves or spirits lists at bars or restaurants, where they’re frequently lumped in with other whiskey types.

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“A lot of people just don’t know what an American single malt is yet—even regular whiskey drinkers who love bourbon or Scotch,” Polonski laments. “Federal recognition will make it easier for them to find it. Retailers will have dedicated sections like they do with bourbon or rye. It makes it more likely to have sections on menus for American single malt. It goes from being an experimental category to something more established.”

He draws a parallel to Japanese whisky’s trajectory. It took time for American consumers to embrace the category, but now it includes some of the most sought-after bottles.

“We don’t think the designation will make it instantly explode into the next Japanese whisky,” he says. “It will take time.” But ultimately, it “will dramatically boost the category’s visibility with whiskey lovers around the world.”

Because more people will understand what American single malt is, it will be easier to market. In turn, there may be a greater selection of ASMs on the horizon.

If consumers are already familiar with the category, it frees producers to tell more complex stories about their products—an elusive goal for many.

“I’ve been doing this for seven years now, and I still have to explain what American single malt is,” says Julie Macklowe, founder of The Macklowe Whiskey, which makes two luxury ASM bottlings and plans to launch a third in 2025. She most often describes ASM as “like Scotch, but made in America,” or “like bourbon, but made with malted barley, not corn.”

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Macklowe also predicts the designation will lure bigger companies into the market—including those with resources to educate the public in an even broader way.

This improved understanding could be a game-changer for exporting American single malts beyond U.S. borders, to places where the word “whiskey” often defaults to Scotch.

“It’s easier to export when people know what they’re getting,” Polonski says.