Meet some craft distillers who dare to put their mainstream bourbons

Head
to
Head
Meet some craft distillers who dare
to put their mainstream bourbons
and ryes up against the big
producers' whiskeys.
e’ve heard a lot of craft distillers (we’ll use
“craft distiller” to mean small American distilleries established after 1980) say that taking on the big,
established distilleries like Beam, Heaven Hill, and BrownForman head-to-head by making bourbon or rye whiskey is
a fool’s errand. These big distilleries have been making
bourbon and rye since Repeal, with institutional experience
going back before that to the earliest years of the country.
They make great whiskey, their plants are well-established
(and either already paid for or expanding rapidly), and they
have the economies of scale on their side, buying huge
amounts of grain and glass, even water and power, and getting appropriate discounts for those purchases.
Faced with whiskeys as good, as mature, as Jim Beam
Black, Evan Williams, or Old Forester for prices well under
$30, how can they hope to compete with their younger,
more expenxive whiskeys? They decide to be different,
making innovative spirits using alternative grains, hybrids
of American and European styles, smoked grains, flavorings, or accelerated aging schemes, while avoiding putting
out a traditional “bourbon” or a “rye.” Why fight it?
Some craft distillers have a different reaction: why not?
Local Color
There are craft distillers who are making bourbon and rye,
focusing on that part of the market, taking on the challenge.
They may look like the craft brewers who took on the big
brewers in the 1990s...but there’s a major difference. The
by Lew Bryson
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WINTER 2015 whisky advocate
opposite, top right: todd trice
W
Clockwise from upper left: the works at Cedar
Ridge; Herman Mihalich and John Cooper
tasting at Dad’s Hat; waiting for whiskey at
Leopold Bros.; harvesting barley for Leopold
Bros.; racks of whiskey barrels at Dry Fly.
whisky advocate WINTER 2015
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Small Barrels: Size Matters
H
ow do you get ready-to-sell whiskey
faster? A lot of the small, new whiskey
makers tried barrels smaller than the
industry standard 53 gallons, some as small
as 5 gallons. The small barrels got a lot of
color and flavor into the spirit quickly, but
experienced whiskey drinkers quickly
began to note a distinctive “small barrel
character,” an intense and direct oak flavor.
Will the use of small barrels continue?
“We’ve made whiskeys that we hope can
help educate whiskey drinkers that good
whiskey can come from small barrels,” said
Ranger Creek’s Mark McDavid. “We also
agree that small barrel whiskey is different
than big barrel whiskey. For me, it’s
punchier, more grain forward, and has
more of the oak/wood presence. We use
primarily 5-gallon barrels and age them for
between 9 to 18 months, which is a pretty
long time here in Texas.”
“Small barrels make different whiskey
than big barrels,” agreed David Harries at
one) or have changed over to them. Finger
Lakes Distilling has changed. “We’ve used
some smaller barrels over the years,” said
co-founder Brian McKenzie. “You can get
the oak extraction faster with small barrels,
but the other part of aging—oxidation,
etc.—is harder to achieve. We think aging
with smaller barrels can be done successfully, but really prefer the whiskeys that
age longer in the standard size.”
Berkshire Mountain Distillers founder
Chris Weld is “not a huge fan of small
barrel whiskey,” but he’s still using them as
about 10 percent of stocks. “We do use
some small barrels that we blend into our
53s. The small barrels definitely add color
and wood, just not so much sweetness and
complexity.”
It’s not just a trade-off in time and
character, either: it simply costs more.
“There is not a whole lot of difference in
cost between a 5-gallon and a 53-gallon
barrel,” noted Tuthilltown Spirits distillery
founder Ralph Erenzo,
“but it takes roughly
Small-barrel bourbon
eleven 5-gallon barrels to
aging at Rock Town.
produce what a single 53
can produce, and with
less loss to evaporation.”
Rock Town distillery
(Little Rock, Ark.) founder
Phil Brandon is ready to
wrap the discussion. “I
think the small barrel
debate is over and we
should just judge whiskey
on its own merits,” he
said, then noted a great
reason to continue to use
small barrels. “The
demand for our whiskey
is such that we can’t just
switch, so now we have
small barrel-aged whiskey
Pittsburgh’s Wigle Whiskey. “The lactones,
and standard-size barrel whiskey, because
tannins, and vanillins all are more impactful
people want both.”
out of a small cask. You can’t leave a
Paul Hletko (Few Spirits) embraces the
whiskey in a small barrel for nearly as long
variety. “Small barrels have an undeserved
as a larger one without risking over-oaking
bad rap based on bad usage of them,” he
the whiskey. Small barrels are incredibly
said. “If a distiller uses their tools to get to
expensive on a per-bottle basis and so it’s
the product that they want, tasting the
largely unsustainable to rely on them for
way they want, I’m all for small barrels, big
our overall production.”
barrels, acacia barrels, any barrels. Make
A lot of small distillers were either aging
your whiskey the way you want to make
in 53s from the beginning (Dry Fly, for
it.” The difference makes the difference.
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WINTER 2015 whisky advocate
big distillers make great, interesting whiskey.
Craft distillers have had to shift the focus to
their strengths: difference and locality.
Ryan Burchett, co-founder of Mississippi
River Distilling (MRD) in LeClaire, Iowa
addressed the issue. “We don’t have the benefit of saying it’s all better quality; there’s great
juice being made by large producers,” he said.
“But the uniformity of product made by the
large producers...the small producer can make
something that’s familiar but different, a small
step out of the box to see what happens. Some
will be very successful, and be the Sam Adams
of craft distilling. Some of us will be like the
local brewery, and will find a place on the
table, and become your local flavor, your local
product, your local difference.”
Burchett uses locally-grown grains in
MRD’s Cody Road bourbon and rye, and that’s
also been the focus at Dry Fly Distilling in
Spokane. “Our model has always been to use
the wonderful grains that are grown here,”
said co-founder Kent Fleischmann. “That’s
what small batch distilling is about, to us. We
believe that where the grain is grown, the seed
varieties, and the farming techniques are all
important to the quality of the whiskey.”
Jeff Quint, at Cedar Ridge distillery in
Swisher, Iowa may be sitting in the middle of
corn country, but for him, “local” is about being
local, an advantage with consumers who know
where you’re from. “The advantage you have is
‘local,’” he said. “If you’re local, quality, and at
all interesting, you can command a small premium. We’re going head-on with the bigs, and
there’s plenty of room to differentiate. If you
set our bourbon next to Maker’s, the difference
will be obvious, and it’s up to you to choose.”
Youth Must Be Served
Local or not, the major difference for craft distillers has been (and still is, with a few small
exceptions) that all they had to offer was
young whiskey, often aged in small barrels.
(See more about small barrels in the sidebar.)
Craft distillers were forced into a corner
American whiskey hadn’t been in since the
1930s; their bourbons and ryes were all well
under 4 years old (leave aside unaged “white”
whiskey, that’s a whole other phenomenon).
Some embraced it, some tried wood finishes
to add depth, some bought some older stock
and blended in their own younger whiskeys,
and some tried accelerated aging experiments.
There were also, it must be said, some who
simply ignored the federal labeling requirements (or claimed ignorance) and didn’t put
required age statements—or youth statements—on their young whiskey.
In this era of super-aged wood worship, you
might think that was a path to failure. But
instead, we learned the truth of something
Anchor Distilling founder Fritz Maytag said
that was printed in these pages years ago: “But
I submit to you, especially because we have a
big shortage of rye whiskey, you are all going
to discover the beauty of young rye whiskey.”
That’s exactly what happened, and we learned
a few things about young bourbon as well.
Carefully made spirit, the right barrel, and
creative aging conditions can create good
whiskey in a surprisingly short time. One of
the best young bourbons I’ve had is Ranger
Creek’s .36 bourbon, in their “Small Caliber”
series (the .44 rye is good, too), a small barrel
whiskey aged only 8 months...in a metal ship-
Isn’t the praise
of young whiskey
merely an attempt
to make a virtue
of necessity?
ping container outside in the Texas sun. The
evaporative loss must have been fierce, but
there was plenty of vanilla and cinnamon on
the palate to keep the drying oak in check.
“We use local Texas corn and the Texas climate to produce a regionally distinct version of
traditional bourbon,” said Mark McDavid, cofounder of San Antonio’s Ranger Creek Brewing
and Distilling. “We keep our mash ABV down
pretty low, and we make really tight cuts; in
small barrels you have to be much more careful
about putting really good quality spirit in.” They
also decided to age their rye in used bourbon
barrels (in the same conditions, for the same
kind of short periods) to highlight the grain.
There are only small amounts of craft whiskeys on the market that are more than 2 years
old, and even smaller amounts of older bourbon and rye. The veteran Anchor Distilling, in
business since the early 1990s, doesn’t even
have a lot of older stock, given their not-sosurprising decision to stay with “the beauty of
young rye whiskey.” Isn’t the praise of young
whiskey, the celebration of its distinctiveness,
merely a Shakespearean attempt to make a
virtue of necessity?
Not when you back it up by continuing to
Todd Leopold
oversees the stills
at Leopold Brothers.
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Left to right: Mississippi River’s Ryan Burchett fills barrels; Mississippi River’s exterior; Leopold Bros. fermenters; Ranger Creek’s windmill.
make young whiskey. At Mountain Laurel
Spirits in Bristol, Penn., where all they make is
their “Pennsylvania-style” Dad’s Hat rye whiskey (mostly rye, 15% malt, and a small amount
of rye malt; no corn), co-founder Herman
Mihalich is a firm believer in young rye; it’s
what they plan to make going forward. “Even
though we are preparing to launch a 3 year old
straight rye,” he said, “we don’t plan to put
away rye whiskey for really long aging (5-plus
years). We think that too much time in the
barrel takes the edges off of a sharp, spicy rye.”
Different Grains, Different Ages
Mihalich’s mention of releasing a 3 year old
Dad’s Hat bottling brings up another issue. Do
rye and bourbon whiskey age at different
rates? It seems that young rye is more likely to
be appealing than young bourbon. The distillers had different takes on that.
“Rye is simply a more complexly flavored
grain that leads to a better new make,” said
Todd Leopold, of Leopold Brothers in Denver.
“You haven’t lived if you haven’t had the first
few liters off of a rye mash coming off a pot
alternative grains
A
lternative grains have been somewhat
a staple of American craft distilling...
or, at least, of the stories about it. Triticale,
millet, spelt, oats, quinoa, buckwheat, wild
rice, emmer wheat, and more, they’ve all
been tried with various success. What do
these small bourbon and rye distillers think
about the chances of success?
“98 percent of American whiskey is
bourbon, and ultimately that kind of grain
hegemony makes for an uninteresting shelf
set for curious drinkers. Any additional
grains bring new flavors to a very stagnant
market,” said Meredith Meyer Grelli,
co-owner of Wigle Whiskey. “We make an
organic wheat whiskey. It delivers a
whiskey that is drier than bourbon but
much more accessible than spicy rye.”
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WINTER 2015 whisky advocate
“The use of unique grains is one of the
greatest things about the renaissance of
distilling in America,” said Bill Welter,
founder of Journeyman Distillers in Three
Oaks, Mich. “I think we are just scratching
the surface.”
“Alternative grains have a place in
whiskeys, but I doubt they’ll ever become
mainstream or favorites,” said Rock Town’s
Brandon. “If different grains can help to
produce something amazing, then they’ll
find their place. We’ve done some work
with locally-grown sorghum as the flavor
grain in bourbon. It’s definitely fun to
experiment with these grains, but only
time in the barrel will tell if they can
produce a worthwhile whiskey.”
Wait and see.
still. It tastes like you jammed a bouquet of
lavender flowers into the condenser. There’s
nothing like it.”
Phil Brandon at Rock Town disagreed. “I
tend to think that small barrel bourbon is
ready sooner than small barrel rye,” he said.
“The sweet corn notes from bourbon seem to
esterify sooner than grassy, spicy notes of rye.
At least, that’s been my experience thus far.”
Kent Fleischman thinks it’s more about process. “Our bourbon, as a young product, is not
less palatable than a young rye because of the
processes we take,” he said. “As important as
age is, other factors are important. The cuts
are very important; we take less in the cuts,
allowing the barrel to do its work.”
In any case, young whiskey is, should be,
different. “Regardless of grain, spirits that
aren’t destined for long-term aging must be
engineered and distilled differently,” said
David Harries, master distiller at Pittsburgh’s
Wigle Whiskey. “If something’s going to sit in
a [standard] barrel for 4 or 6 years, it can likely
[be] distilled to a lower proof than something
aging in a 5-gallon barrel for a shorter period
of time.”
Ready to Rumble
Interestingly, not every distiller who’s making
bourbon and rye, competing with the big distillers’ bourbon and rye, sees them as direct
competitors. At their level, some see more competition with sourced whiskeys. “There are
some companies out there that do a fantastic job
Young Bourbon and Rye to Try
Here are some of the best young
ryes and bourbons we’ve sampled
in the past few years.
90 Dad’s Hat Pennsylvania
Rye, 45%, $39
Rip-roaring rye nose: crushed grain, grass,
sweet spice, bitter herbal notes, repeated on
the palate. Light barrel character leads to an
integrated finish. Excellent young rye. Winter
2015; Lew Bryson
90 Rock Town 5th Anniversary
spice and vanilla, smooth but oaky, with
a light, flowing feel. Unique combination
of youth and maturity. Summer 2015;
Lew Bryson
88 Rock Town Arkansas Rye
Batch #1, 46%, $40
Medicinally minty rye and oaky vanilla in the
nose. Hot rye mixes with wood notes, pear
and berry, and a light grainy sweetness. The
finish is minty and grassy, wrapped in oak.
Spring 2014; Lew Bryson
Arkansas Straight Bourbon, 50%, $50
87 Coppersea Raw Rye, 45%, $50
Bottled in bond. Nose spotlights cinnamon,
oak, and black pepper. Palate of caramel
corn, cinnamon, and oak. Long and slightly
dry finish caps off a craft whiskey done
right. Fall 2015; Geoffrey Kleinman
Unaged spirit, highly aromatic: hay, sunny
meadow, hints of lavender and tansy,
honeydew melon. Flavors of sweet grass,
white pepper, lemon balm, and a long-lingering sweet heat. Summer 2014; Lew Bryson
89 Few Rye, 46.5%, $60
85 Cedar Ridge Malted Rye, 43%, $38
Straightforward rye nose; dry grain, sweet
grass, light anise over light barrel character.
Mouth is spicy-medicinal: rye, light tarragon,
oak, and a warm wrap-up finish. Clean and
interesting. Fall 2013; Lew Bryson
Sharp edge and some stemmy grass. Sweet,
chewy grain with a nice touch of oily rye
bitterness, hot oak that quirks the tongue,
then a finish that melts into creaminess.
Winter 2015; Lew Bryson
89 Hillrock Double Cask Rye
Barrel 19, 45%, $90
85 Leopold Brothers Maryland
Style Rye, 43%, $44
Rye spice on the nose, and cinnamon-spiked
hard candy. Oily, bitter rye on the tongue
with caramel and vanilla. Rye shines from
first to last, and the wood deftly sweetens
and soothes. Winter 2014; Lew Bryson
Dry-grass spice of rye, a hint of cocoa
powder, and a bit of funk with hints of fruit.
Light and clean on the palate; some
sweetness that rapidly dries out in a grassy,
herbal wave. Winter 2013; Lew Bryson
88 Ranger Creek .36 Single Barrel
85 Ranger Creek .44 Rye,
bourbon (barrel #503), 48%, $79
47%, $35/375 ml
Aroma: at 3 years, 8 months, like a 12
year old: oak spice, corn sweet. Not hot,
Nose: rye dough, mint candies, rye oil and
crushed grass. Punchy and perky on the
Aroma of dry hay, dried fruit, and burlap. On
the tongue: peppery rye, some soft fruit, that
fresh burlap, and a not unwelcome heat.
Maybe a little overdone on the fruit, but
well-done overall. Summer 2014; Lew Bryson
blending and bottling,” said Fleischman. “It’s the
story they tell, and how much truth there is in it.”
Few Spirits (Evanston, Ill.) founder Paul
Hletko put his finger on the real issue with
that. “Inauthentic sourced brands harm us all
by causing drinkers to tar all [craft] brands as
liars,” he said. “That hurts the category.”
Quint, a former accountant, saw a bigger picture. “There are tiers of competition,” he said.
“Locally, it’s the guy down the road. One step
up, it’s the sourced guys; then the big guys; then
vodka and gin; then it’s beer and wine. You have
to look at them together, and individually.”
Todd Leopold looked at the challenge of
selling, and saw craft beer’s educational success as competition. “When you look at beer
fans, they can name six or seven hop varieties,
and know what things like lactobacillus is,” he
said. “This is an astonishingly knowledgeable
group of people. I want that for distilling.”
Then he said something that put the whole
idea of going head-to-head with the big distillers into a different perspective. “I don’t like
the word ‘craft,’ and I don’t like the distinctions that some make between large and small
producers,” he said. “I once got into an argu-
ment with a bartender who wanted to put me
up on a pedestal as a ‘craft’ producer. I pointed
out that Wild Turkey and Buffalo Trace and
Beam did the same doggone things I did with
yeast and grain and barrels. So how can I be
craft while they are not? He didn’t have an
answer. It’s a silly distinction.”
At some point, it’s all whiskey. For whatever
reasons, we buy it, we take it home, we pour it
in a glass, and all the talk is hushed by the
spirit. Who made it, how big they are, how old
it is becomes less important than whether or
not we like it. n
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WINTER 2015 whisky advocate
tongue, spicy young rye with black pepper
slicing through a sweet body; quite
dynamic. Summer 2014; Lew Bryson
85 Wyoming Single Barrel Bourbon
(#1056), 44%, $49
Minty, grassy, meadow-varied plants; a bit of
cedar and old clothes. Mouth balances corn
sweetness with sweet citrus, rye punchiness,
and cedar. Finish is long and smooth. Spring
2015; Lew Bryson
84 McKenzie Rye, 45.5%, $40