I had an amazing time at the 12th Annual Whiskies of the World event on Saturday night. I only wish that I had more time, I didn’t even make it to the 3rd level to try Bulleit, High West, Four Roses, Amrut and Kuchan! Between seminars, tastings and getting a quick bite to eat, there’s a lot to do in 3-4 hours. It’s a tough balancing act. Next time I’ll probably pay for a VIP ticket (gets you in an hour earlier) or only attend 1 seminar. All in all, it was an unbelievable experience. I won’t bore you with my tasting notes, but here are my two big take-ways from the event:
Golden Age of Innovation. It’s mind-boggling to me that bourbon, rye whiskey and of course Scotch and Irish whisky have been around for a lot more than 100 years, yet the industry seems to be barreling forward into a brave new world of experimentation. Most of the innovation seems to be focused on two area: the type of grain and the aging process. You have Phil Pritchard from Pritchard’s Distillery in Tennessee talking about aging his whiskey in 15 gallon barrels (vs. 50 gallon barrels), which ages it exponentially faster. The faster the aging, the better the product development.
There was Rick Waslund from Copper Fox in Virginia, who is doing a couple of mad-scientist experiments. First, he’s using fruit wood smoke instead of peat smoke to impart a smokiness to his whiskey. Second, he’s actually taking toasted applewood and cherrywood chips, tying them up in softball-size tea bags, cutting little trapdoors in his barrels, and dropping them into his whiskey to impart fantastic natural flavors. These fruitwood chips are kept and used for multiple generations.
Chip Tate from Balcones Distillery actually smokes his whiskey directly (he wouldn’t tell us how he accomplishes this…only offering that it needs to be done “very carefully”)! I mean…that makes my head hurt just thinking about it. Chip also talked about how all of these craft distillers are just now starting to get to know each other and share some of their secrets, and that’s really going to up the ante in many regards. They still need to view each other as competition, but in the end they all share the same passion, and when they collaborate and share ideas, everyone wins, especially the consumers.
Even the big players, like Maker’s Mark, are getting in on the act, releasing their first new product in 52 years, Maker’s 46. They’re taking traditional Maker’s Mark whiskey, and then inserting seared French Oak staves and aging it for an extra 2-3 months, which brings out more caramel, spice and vanilla flavors. While the big boys in the industry would have tried new things at their own pace, the craft distillers are definitely pushing innovation forward at a blazing pace and forcing the bigger players to push the envelope as well.
Rubbing Shoulders. What a great opportunity for someone like me to get to know people in the industry. At the Craft Distillers seminar, I sat across from Dottie and Chloe, who help organize the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, the biggest spirits competition in the world. Next to me was the wife and parents of Chip Tate, from Balcones Distillery. I also spent time with Bobby Eidson from The Bourbon Review, who invited me to contribute content for their website. There are definitely names that I’m hearing over and over again, and I’m getting a better grasp on who’s important in the industry.
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