The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) and the American Single Malt Whiskey Commission (ASMWC) have urged the Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) to finalize the official requirements for an American single malt whiskey category. DISCUS and ASMWC together represent over 100 American single malt whiskey producers across the country.
Calls for an official standard came on the second anniversary of the TTB’s announcement of proposed rulemaking for the category. However, rules have yet to be set in stone.
In the letter, the coalition warns that a lack of standardization leaves the category open to “threats from brands with questionable or outright misleading labeling, as well as spurious and self-motivated claims that American Single Malt broadly is of suspect quality.”
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READ THE STORYSteve Hawley, President of the ASMWC, and Chris Swonger, President & CEO of DISCUS, put their signatures to the letter. They say:
DISCUS and ASMWC have also outlined what they believe should be the base standards for the category. The whiskey should, according to them:
- Be distilled from 100% malted barley
- Allow producers to create brands that are distilled from grains other than barley, as long as the grain is clearly noted on the label (i.e. American single malt rye whiskey)
- Have a 700-liter oak barrel limit
- Allow for the use of used and virgin barrels, both charred and uncharred
- Prohibit the use of additives such as flavoring, coloring, and blending materials
In addition to the letter, DISCUS and ASMWC have also launched a campaign through Spirits United, inviting people to add their voices to the discussion and urge the TTB to protect the single malt category. You can add your thoughts here.
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