The Malt Of America
The new big thing in the whiskey world is American single malt, the current darling of the burgeoning craft distilling movement. It’s not Bourbon or rye, for despite being American it doesn’t rely on corn and rye, which flourish in the United States. Instead, it turns to the oldest grain recipe of all—pure barley. American single malt is among the youngest of whiskey categories, but its roots date back a millennium. Some 200 small, domestic distillers have fashioned distinctive, flavorful whiskeys that mimic the Scotch single-malt standard, yet still reflect the spirit and geography of the United States.
From that one grain has come a startling panorama of flavors that evoke senses of place out of diverse locations from coast to coast. While all of these American single malts are made with the same ingredient, technique and terroir make each different in ways that belie their otherwise simple formulas. And, like a good Islay Scotch, some of them are kissed with smoke. Their diversity is also a boon to those looking for new possibilities in cigar pairing.
The only hitch is that the category—American single malt—doesn’t officially exist. At least, not yet. Sure, whiskey makers are free to craft a spirit using only barley, but to the U.S. government such spirits are classified as simply malt whiskey, lumped in with other examples that are made to the less exacting standards that allow use of that term for whiskeys made with as little as 51 percent malted barley. Some producers who craft American spirits solely from barley chafed at the lack of legal status for their quality-made spirits and formed the American Single Malt Whiskey Commission to propose their own designation.
They may soon get their wish. The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau last year announced it is proposing identity standards that would define American single-malt whiskey as being made purely of barley and distilled entirely at one U.S. plant with aging and malting in America as well—mirroring the rules for single-malt Scotch whisky, but applied to this country. If passed (no action had been taken at press time) it would be the first new spirits category in the country in decades.
No need to wait, however. Regardless of what the government decides to call it, the product is available now, variously offering flavors that range from sweet fruits, brandy notes, caramels, spices, cocoa, toasty oak and hints of beer.
First, the basics. In the world of Scotch, single malts are well known and embraced by collectors. By law, they must be distilled at a single distillery located in Scotland, made from malted barley and aged in that country in oak casks for a minimum of three years, although most are aged for far longer. The proposed American single-malt category mimics the Scottish standard. Such whiskeys would have to be the product of one American distillery, made entirely from barley and aged in oak. However, it doesn’t designate an age requirement, nor dictate that the wood be new or charred, which is the current standard for straight Bourbon and rye.
Flavor in any whiskey comes from a host of sources. Part of the flexibility of this new category comes from a broad definition of the French term terroir, the notion that environmental influences such as soil and weather create unique flavors. The idea originates in the wine world, but it is often applied to Scotch. Many of the new breed of American single-malt makers emphasize sourcing local ingredients to differentiate themselves from other whiskeys. The principle is that barley grown in Texas is different from that in the Pacific Northwest or the Rocky Mountains, which is in turn reflected in the spirit.
One way American whiskey makers are breaking from Scottish tradition is by experimentation with a wider variety of barley grain. The Scots tend to cleave to similar barleys to guarantee consistency. Furthermore, fewer Scotch brands place importance on using locally grown barley and often import the grain from other countries.
Matt Hofmann, of Westland Distillery in Washington State, says Westland works with 27 different types of barley. “Believe it or not, [Washington is] actually a better climate for growing barley than you have in Scotland,” he crows. “It’s actually hard to contain ourselves in many ways, because the possibilities are limitless.” Similarly, Jeff Baker, who owns Hillrock Estate in New York’s Hudson River Valley where he grows his grains, says that the area has an eminent history in barley growing, of which the label takes full advantage in a bucolic setting.
Not all embrace the locavore sentiment as closely when it comes to grain, however. Gareth Moore of Virginia Distillers, which makes Courage & Conviction, sources his barley from the Midwest, “because not everything grows everywhere, right? If malting barley grew in Virginia, there’d be no such thing as Bourbon.”
The wood used for aging is also another way these whiskeys are different, as not every distiller uses the same type of barrel. American single malts can be aged in previously used casks or those that once held other liquids. Westland has an expression that rests in casks made of the native Garryana oak, which imparts spicy and savory notes. Tom Mooney, founder of Westward Whiskey (located in Oregon, a completely separate company from Westland), uses casks that formerly held wine or stout. The choice reflects the many pinot noirs and craft beers created in that area. Many of the participants in the American single malt world also have backgrounds in brewing, which leads to further experimentation, as whiskey starts as a beer that is then distilled to concentrate alcohol. Lance Winters, of St. George Spirits in California, explains how different types of yeast produce varying beer flavors. One of the many factors that distinguishes St. George is the use of barley that is roasted to several different levels to elicit complexity.
In most parts of the Scotch world, one factor that almost invariably defines its whisky is the smoky flavor that comes from burning peat during the malting process. American malt distillers aren’t as universally enthusiastic about using that fuel source. And when they do, it is typically toned down, nothing like the peat bombs that come from Islay. For many of those who do use peat, it is seldom sourced in America as the decayed and dried vegetation may be imported. One exception is Westland, which recently salvaged peat from the bottom of a lake 60 miles from its distillery. In the terroir tradition, it yields smoke quite different than that of Scottish peat. Hofmann attributes that to how different the plants in lush Washington are compared to hardscrabble Scotland. Others in America have abandoned peat, but not smoke, opting to flavor their whiskeys with the smoke of local wood. Colkegan of New Mexico, for instance, uses mesquite, a fuel that is well known to lovers of succulent barbecue.
But even when your chosen brand of American single malt has no smoke at all, that is easy to rectify with the addition of a fine cigar. “I love pairing with rich, oily cigars, cigars with spicy wrappers that I can chew for the bulk of the day and then light them and smoke them when everyone is gone,” says Winters of St. George. “I have stacks and stacks of empty cigar boxes to show that that’s not a decision that I made lightly. It’s tried and true, my friend. Tried and true.”
Read the sidebar for ways to pair American malts with cigars (below).
Singular Sensations - Pairing American Single Malts With Cigars
American malt whiskey may be a relatively new spirit category, but it has had no trouble establishing itself as a partner for cigars. We happily paired nine different malts with two outstanding smokes: the Oliva Serie V Melanio Figurado (95 points, June 2023) and the Warped Nicotina (91 points, April 2023). The former is a rich sweet, nutty, smoke of medium to full body. The latter, which is slightly stronger, shows creamy citrus notes and hints of coffee.
Balcones Classic Edition (106 proof • $75)
Distilled in Waco, Texas, in pot stills using homegrown barley and aged in both new and used casks for about two years (depending on the batch), Balcones deftly combines caramel, brandy and fruit notes. With the Oliva it lost some fruitiness, but imparted sweetness to the cigar. The toast from both played well together. The Warped found Bourbon notes in the whiskey, which rooted out tangerine and banana notes in the cigar.
Clermont Steep (94 proof • $60)
Jim Beam, renowned for Bourbon, recently jumped into the malt fray with a permanent addition called Clermont Steep, named for the Kentucky town in which it’s distilled. Created by Freddie Noe (Beam’s great-great grandson), the five-year-old spirit is made in a column still and aged entirely in new, lightly charred oak. It has apricot and orange notes with hints of tea, honey and cola. The Oliva showed a fruity and floral side and the Steep took on savory notes of nuts and caramel. They combined for a butterscotch finish. The nutty Warped added toffee to the whiskey.
Colkegan (92 proof • $60)
Founded by namesake Colin Keegan, a British transplant to New Mexico, Colkegan ages at an arid altitude of 7,000 feet in a combination of new oak and refill Bourbon barrels in a three-year maturation. Mesquite wood—not peat—provides its smoke. The result is a barbecue of apples, spice and cream. The Oliva sweetens up the whiskey, which underscores the nuts and toast of the cigar. At first puff, the Colkegan’s smoke subsided against the Oliva, which drew out the apple notes. With the Warped, it built to a lengthy finish with spice and mesquite.
Courage & Conviction Sherry Cask (92 proof • $85)
Courage & Conviction comes from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, a state with a storied whiskey heritage. Distilled in hand-hammered, copper pots, this expression is exclusively matured in Sherry casks. The results are the expected wine notes as well as juicy fruits, toffee and spice. With the Oliva, the C&C’s spice turned to caramel and licorice. The Warped had a similar effect and adds nougat notes to the mix.
Hillrock High Meadow 2016 (96.4 proof • $115)
Hillrock Estate Distillery revives the distilling tradition of New York’s Hudson Valley with a field-to-glass ethic that includes its own barley fields, floor malting, drying with smoke from local peat, copper-pot distilling and aging and bottling on site. This batch was aged for five-and-a-half years. Cinnamon explodes on the palate with a warming peat that develops into caramel and pimento. The nuts of the Oliva melded nicely for a cinnamon toast taste with increased peat. The Warped showed off its creamy notes with toffee.
St. George 40th Anniversary Edition (96 proof • $500)
Hard to believe it’s been four decades since this early entrant in the modern craft-distilling movement started making eau de vie in California. What sets this very limited edition apart is the use of Cognac, apple brandy, and umeshu barrels as well as Port and sherry in the aging. It’s loaded with licorice, pineapple, apple, cocoa and orange notes. The Oliva sweetened up quite a bit and the shared cocoa notes collaborate to dominate. The whiskey immediately found citrus on the Warped, which gave back a long brandy and butterscotch finish.
Stranahan’s (94 proof • $45)
The first of the Colorado craft movement, Stranahan’s has strong beer roots dating to the turn of the century when the founder of Flying Dog Brewery joined forces with a volunteer fireman to create the whiskey. Based on local water and grains, the spirit is aged for four years in new oak. Honey, licorice, cinnamon and maple candy engage with caramel. With the Oliva, cocoa popped up on the whiskey and the cigar became candied. The Warped tamped down the whiskey’s cinnamon in favor of orange notes. The cigar became fruity.
Westland Solum (100 proof • $150)
Since its 2010 founding in Washington State, Westland has dedicated itself to making whiskeys based on the area’s terroir, especially through its use of a mix of locally grown barley. Now, with this newest addition to its Outpost range, Westland achieves the goal of sourcing peat in Washington, using special engineering to burn the peat as a powder instead of in the usual bricks. The peat is earthy and floral on a whiskey that contains pears, vanilla, cinnamon and licorice notes. In our cigar pairing, the whiskey’s body matched perfectly with that of the Oliva. The spice faded a bit while fruit and caramel melded with the cigar’s nuts and toast. A slight clash with the Warped quickly mellowed to showcase the whiskey’s vanilla as the peat found a savory partner with the cigar.
Westward Stout Cask (92 proof • $90)
A bit of confusion arises from the similarity of this malt’s name with the previous whiskey, especially since Westward is made in the neighboring state of Oregon. Tasting this expression should clear things up. With its brewing roots, Westward utilizes yeast used in ale for its fermentation. This Stout Cask release takes the connection a step further by aging in casks formerly used to make heavy beer. The yeasty stout note that informs it is to be expected, but then comes cocoa, toffee, roasted nuts and sugar. With the Oliva, the stout notes became less funky, replaced by a heartiness. The cigar resonated with toffee and nuts. Cream from the Warped smoothed the whiskey’s stout notes, while receiving bursts of spice in the bargain.
