THE MALT of AMERICA

Creative whiskey makers in the United States are carving out a new category for a spirit with a long history: American single malts

- JACK BETTRIDGE

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.