Whisky Business

In a vast category, American single malts are now coming into their own

- MACKENZIE CHUNG FEGAN

YOU’RE STANDING in your local liquor store, scanning the whiskey section with clammy palms. Should you pick rye or bourbon? Japanese or Irish? What the heck is a sour mash, and are you going to like it?

Whiskey can be hard to parse, but legal categories help consumers pinpoint what it is they’re actually buying. In 1964, the US House of Representatives established rules defining what can and cannot be called a bourbon; the Parliament of the UK issued an act in 1988 that did the same for, well, you know. Now, America’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau TTB) is ushering in new standards of identity for a growing category: American single malt whisky.