You Gotta Fight For Your Right To Whisky
Part One: Whiskey Bless America?
BY EVAN ECKERSLEY
The whisky world hasn’t always been a peaceful one and at times it’s created some pretty tumultuous roller coaster rides. Evan brings us a tale of making and maybe bending laws.
Plus, it makes discovering all the more subtle nuances that make each Bourbon different all the more exciting.
Would you believe that 90 years ago one word in a United States of America document helped create and shape much of the whisky we drink today? One. Single. Word. That word - New. Back in 1935, after America was finally done with that whole Prohibition idea, the Federal Alcohol Administration Act was signed into law. It not only formed the basis for making, distributing, and selling alcohol within the USA but also legally defined how whiskey were to be aged. Specifically: the act stated that Bourbon and other types of whiskey needed to be “stored in charred NEW oak barrels”. This idea of using charred new oak casks wasn’t new. The law just ensured that it was the ONLY type of cask that could be used to mature Bourbon. The exact reason it specified that ‘New Oak casks’ is still debated and may be lost to history. The Great Depression was in its heyday and the USA was desperate to create and protect jobs. There is a long- standing conspiracy theory that lumber industry lobbyists were involved, though no direct evidence has been found showing that was the case. There is no need to delve more into that for our purposes (he said, waving his hand in a these-are-not-the-droids-you- are-looking-for-like gesture). Regardless of the why, the ‘New Oak cask’ mandate helped change the global whisky industry into what it is today, causing long-lasting effects well beyond just Bourbon. Being able to use these casks only once quickly
created a secondary cask market. Care to guess who loves used and refill casks for whisky maturation? Pretty much every other whisky-producing country in the world. Scotland, Ireland, Canada, Japan, and more grew to rely heavily on ex- Bourbon casks for a good portion of their whisky maturation. It doesn’t just stop at whisky either. Mexico uses them for Tequila and Mezcal. Rum-producing nations use them for aging their spirits. Heck, these casks are even used in the making and aging of Tobasco sauce - though the company behind that brand does strip the casks of any remaining whisky influence first. Charred American new oak casks can be a boon to maturing young whisk(e)y. They are brash and aggressive but yet help smooth the rough edges of raw spirit, quickly exchanging off- putting chemical notes for smooth vanilla, toasted oak, and a pleasant creaminess on the palate. This is also why American Whiskey and specifically Bourbon often get slagged as being more simple and one-dimensional when compared to Scotch Whisky. Exclusively using new charred casks across an entire whiskey category means it’s all going to have that bold wood influence. Is that really a problem though? I don’t think so and my palate agrees with me. Bourbon is delicious and maintains a consistent quality level thanks to always using the same type of cask. I can blindly grab pretty much any Bourbon bottle and be confident in what I am getting myself into style-wise.
Nowadays we are seeing a lot more distilleries outside of America utilize charred new oak casks for special release bottlings or as part of their regular cask program - especially young craft distilleries. For good reason too: when all you have is a young spirit and whisky to sell, you need casks that will impart a lot of influence in a short period. Putting your new-make entirely in refill and second-fill casks pretty much guarantees that you will have to wait much longer for the wood to do “its thing”. And let’s be honest, making gin while waiting for your whisky to age will only get you so far!
Canadian Bourbon? Or: If you can’t break the rules, bend them.
Bottles such as Okanagan Spirit’s BRBN, Stillhead Distillery’s B-Word, and Bridgeland Distillery’s Taber Corn Berbon all showcase a crafty way of making an American spirit in a Canadian fashion using Corn, charred new oak containers, and, of course, bastardized spelling to avoid an international incident.
Bourbon became further defined and protected as a unique whiskey style in 1964 when Congress designated it a distinctive product that can only be made in the USA which means it’s afforded the same protection and guarantee of authenticity as Champagne, Tequila, and Scotch Whisky. However, there are a few Canadian Craft distilleries that have found creative ways to make and market their version of this American Whiskey style. Whether they are simply paying homage to the popular whisky type or poking fun at American rules in the most smart-assed and Canadian way possible, I applaud the creativity.
So let’s bless the good ole US of A as we whisky lovers continue to benefit from its by-product the world over.
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the whisky explorer magazine
the whisky explorer magazine
SUMMER 2024
SUMMER 2024
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