USA: American single malt finally recognised as an official whiskey category

After several years of deliberations, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) has issued its final rule establishing a new American Single Malt Whiskey category, Forbes reported on December 13.

The ruling will help protect and promote the growing category of American Single Malt (ASM) whiskey, according to the American Single Malt Commission (ASMWC) and the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS).“

Steve Hawley, the ASMWC President, an organization of several hundred ASM whiskey producers, hailed the landmark ruling from the TTB, noting that it “further cements our standing on the global stage in whiskey”

He added:

We applaud TTB for hearing the call from distillers, purveyors, and fans of American Single Malt and formalizing a definition that supports and protects our producers both here and abroad. It’s a momentous day for American Single Malt Whiskey, and this is just the beginning of a bright future for the category.

DISCUS President & CEO Chris Swonger thanked the TTB “for listening to the needs of U.S. distillers and working with the industry to provide an official standard for the American Single Malt Whiskey category.”

Swonger added:

This is great news for America’s distillers and spirits consumers. This formal definition will protect the integrity of American Single Malt Whiskey and drive experimentation, creativity, and innovation in this popular category.

Key provisions of the American Single Malt Whiskey Standard include:

(1) fermented mash of 100% malted barley produced in the United States; (Note that the barley doesn’t need to be produced in the US, just the mashing and subsequent production)

(2) distillation proof of 160 or less, distilled at the same distillery in the United States;

(3) stored in used, charred new, or uncharred new oak barrels with a 700-liter maximum capacity and only stored in the United States;

(4) no neutral spirits permitted; and

(5) no allowable coloring, flavoring, or blending materials are permitted except for caramel coloring disclosed on the label.

The final rule also adopted a standard for the Straight American Single Malt Whiskey, requiring that it be aged for a minimum of 2 years. The final rule is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on Wednesday, Dec. 18, and the effective date is Jan. 19, 2025.

ASMWC and DISCUS have worked in close partnership over the past several years to urge the TTB to finalize the standard. The new standards create several important point of differentiation between ASM and single malt whiskey/whisky produced in other countries, most notably Scotland.

As part of their lobbying efforts, earlier this year, the two groups spearheaded a grassroots effort powered by DISCUS’ Spirits United that generated more than 1,000 letters to TTB Administrator Mary Ryan urging immediate action to finalize the official standard for the American Single Malt Whiskey category. The campaign kicked off following a joint letter that DISCUS and the ASMWC sent to TTB on the issue.

DISCUS and ASMWC submitted official joint comments to TTB in September 2022 in support of establishing a standard of identity for American Single Malt Whiskey as part of the bureau’s 2022 notice of proposed rulemaking process and also in June 2019 as part of the bureau’s 2018 rulemaking to modernize the labeling and advertising regulations for distilled spirits, wine, and malt beverages.

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