It’s been just about half a year since the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) ratified American Single Malt as an official category of whiskey. The recognition of the category resulted from years of organization by independent craft spirit producers. Ratification allows for local distillers like ourselves to distinguish our spirits in an ever-growing landscape of whiskeys.
American Single Malt refers to a spirit that is distilled wholly from malted barley. In order to be considered American Single Malt, the spirit must be mashed, distilled, and matured in the USA. The distillation process must occur at one distillery. The spirit must be matured in oak casks in a capacity not exceeding 700 liters. Then the final spirit must be bottled at 80 proof or more.
As the spirit category becomes more popular the need for quality malt rises also. Craft malt houses much like craft distillers have had their work cut out for them in building a sustainable industry. We work with a few different maltsters: Sugar Creek Malt in Lebanon, IN and Briess Malt, Mantiwoc, WI for applewood smoked malt; and Rahr Shakopee, MN. We support craft malt houses because they prioritize quality, product diversity, and innovative practices. Our craft malt houses are focusing on unique methods of specialty roasting, gluten free grains, heirloom varieties of barley, floor malting, and much more. Sugar Creek Malt contracts out acreage to regional farmers to farm malt quality barley. This creates an economically sustainable system that is representative of the regional community from farm to glass.
During the malting process, barley is steeped in water for 2-3 days then spread out over a well-ventilated surface called a ‘malting floor.’ Here it begins to germinate. Germination allows for the production of the enzymes that naturally break down the kernel’s starches into sugars. These sugars are exactly what we need to extract from the grain when mashing to pave way for fermentation. Finally, the barley is dried in a kiln to halt the growing process and heated one last time to develop and reiterate the flavors.
As it stands, Judson & Moore Single Malt, is a blend of applewood smoked malt distillate and unsmoked malt distillate that matures in new oak. We intentionally distill and age the smoked and unsmoked distillates separately. This enables us to dial in the smokiness of the final spirit after maturation. The result of all these considerations is a lusciously balanced smoke driven profile that sits on the palette like campfire smoke lingers on clothes. The smoke is present but not overpowering. And the unsmoked malt adds depth and roundness to the overall blend. The ratification of ASM made it such that the spirit can now go into used barrels. This opens up a world of possibility for longer aging and a more delicate flavor profile. We are excited to explore new methods with our single malt now that the category has been named.
The ratification of American Single Malt is the product of an effort to shift craft spirits back into the hands of the people making them! In due time American Single Malt will be known consistently and distinctly, as more craft distillers align with the ultimate goal of creating the best spirit possible. Our very own production team can be seen at an American Craft Spirits Association party in 2022 in anticipation of ratification. Little did we all know, it wouldn’t come for another 3 years!