American single malts gain official recognition

American single malt whiskies have been recognised as an official category by US governing body the Alcohol & Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau (TTB).

Although American-made single malts have existed unofficially for the past few years, the new regulations, which come into effect from 19 January 2025, will officially codify and regulate the category.

Going forward, for an American whiskey to be called a single malt, that whiskey must meet the following criteria:

• Mashed, distilled and aged in the United States
• Distilled entirely at one US distillery
• Distilled to a proof of 160 or less
• Distilled from fermented mash of 100% malted barley
• Stored in oak barrels (used, un-charred new, or charred new) with a minimum capacity of 100 litres
• Bottled at not less than 80 proof

“This is a landmark ruling by TTB and validation for years’ worth of work by American distillers to define American single malt,” says Steve Hawley, president of the American Single Malt Whiskey Commission, a trade group formed in 2016.

Signal to the world

“It has been over 52 years since a new type of whiskey was added our federal regulations,” continues Hawley.

“We applaud TTB for formalising the category, which will signal to the world that not only do we believe in and support our own distilleries, but we also recognise that American single malt whiskey is unique and deserves to be defined and protected, as other American whiskey categories are.”

As American single malts have not been an officially defined category until now, exact sales figures are difficult to ascertain, but, according to Statista, overall US whiskey sales reached 4.6 million 9-litre cases in 2023.

“We have long thought that American single malt is one of the most exciting and exceptional styles of whiskey in the entire world, and this long-sought recognition will dramatically boost the category’s visibility with whiskey lovers all around the world,” says Adam Polonski, co-founder of Lost Lantern, a major independent bottler of American whiskey, which has released whiskey from more than 30 American distilleries.

“This monumental recognition not only honours the rich heritage and uniquely innovative character of American distilleries,” Polonski continues, “but also heralds a new era of innovation and excellence in whiskey-making.”

Self-identifying

Some American distillers have been self-identifying their whiskies as single malts since at least the 1990s, Hawley says, but the unofficial category has grown rapidly in recent years.

“Now that the category is formally defined,” Hawley says, “we’ll see current single malt producers expand production, many more of the nearly 3,000 distilleries in American adding single malt to their portfolios and more American single malt finding its way to shelves overseas.”

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