USA: Whiskey producers anticipate new government guidelines

The recent decision by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) to set specific identity regulations for ‘American single malt whiskey’ will come into effect on Monday 19 January, Harpers Wine & Spirit reported on January 16.

The decision sees the regulator set a number of criteria for producers to define American single malts, including that the product must be mashed, distilled and aged in the US, that it must be distilled to a proof of 160 or less, that it must distilled from a fermented mash of 100% malted barley, among a slew of other stipulations.

The regulation also sees the establishment of a five-year transition period for US whiskey labelled with the designation of either 'American single malt whiskey' or 'straight American single malt whiskey' on spirits bottled before January 19 2030, as long as the whiskey conforms to the regulation that had been in place prior to the incoming 2025 regulatory changes.

New identity regulations can be a challenge for producers, but it has been a welcome one for Kentucky based Limestone Branch Distillery. Its master distiller, Stephen Beam is heartened by the decision: “American Single Malt Whiskey being recognised as a category will accelerate innovation and quality standards. The TTB’s official provisions provide a positive framework for raising benchmarks and the ruling signals a new era for growing the category’s popularity in well-established single malt whisky markets such as the UK, Germany, Italy and France.”

Ahead of the decision Limestone Branch have increaed their exports to the UK and Europe by 22%. Luxco, which part-owns Limestone Branch Distillery, is similarly excited about what the changes could bring for the sector, as Luxco’s MD of International Business, Greg Mefford, outlines.

He said: “The TTB ruling is a golden moment for American Single Malt. It’s grabbed the attention of whisky enthusiasts around the world and is driving curiosity. We’ve already seen a surge in interest of Yellowstone American Single Malt Whiskey since news of the ruling broke last month and expect awareness to grow as knowledge builds around the new category’s official standards.”

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