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In recent years the American whiskey industry has been on a huge upswing. Some of our greatest distilleries, ones that produce oceans of booze, are beginning to report that there will be shortages in coming years. That presents a huge problem seeing as how bourbon has to be aged for at least two years, with no short-term solution. Or is there one?
Whiskey gets most of its elegant flavor profile from spending time in oak barrels. The exposure of “white lightning” to wood can turn a harsh sauce into a nuanced masterpiece over time. The three main factors at play in the maturation of any spirit are time, climate, and the amount of oak that the spirit is exposed to.
As the Bourbon business has become more profitable, more people have jumped into the game. These new players face one large barrier to entry into the business: New producers won’t see a dime of return on their investment for at least four years, if they’re using traditional production methods. Investors don’t like that. The simplest solution is to use smaller barrels to increase the booze’s exposure to the oak in a fraction of the time.
It’s genius, right? I can’t believe that the multi-billion dollar bourbon industry that has been around for hundreds of years hasn’t clued in on this simple innovation. The thing is they have, and as a whole, have determined that aging their product in a standard 53 gallon barrel is the best practice. This hasn’t seemed to stop a number of new producers from eschewing tradition and releasing whiskeys that are exclusively matured in tiny barrels (some as small as five gallons).
Every time I’m presented with these small barrel products it peaks my suspicion. They’re always touted as “craft” products to consumers and are priced along the lines of fine scotch. They talk about how innovative they’ve been and how they’re blazing new trails. Their talking points make these companies sound like they’re simultaneously martyrs and pioneers. I always have two questions for these companies: If this simple change produces a product that is just as good, why wouldn’t companies that are a hundred times the size and produce the best bourbons on the planet change their practices? Also, if you’re asking me to pay, at times, in excess of $90 for a bottle of small barrel whiskey, is it better than the exceptional bottle of bourbon that’s half the price?
I have to say that most of these products are not worth the money. The shorter aging period doesn’t seem to allow for the amount of time it takes to make a whiskey that tastes like it has reached full maturity. A lot of times the end result is tannic, sharp, and grainy. I’m not trying to rag on every single small barrel whiskey maker. I’m sure some of them will come up with innovations that will change the whiskey industry. It’s just that this niche of the whiskey business hasn’t quite come around to the point of having the right amount of value. I look forward to seeing this part of the industry develop and improve, but for the time being I’m still reaching for a bottle of Blanton’s.
Great article! I completely agree.
2 Whole years, OMG! Personally, I wouldn’t even touch a whiskey that isn’t at least 6 years old. What we have here is a buncha fast buck clowns that clearly don’t give a crap about anything but getting your money. I’ll skip the trendy crap and stick with my Irish and Scotch.
Many outfits using small barrel aging were taking a short cut, and that meant they made sub-par stuff. That is best illustrated by the way some of the older micros are now phasing their small barrel whiskeys out.
On the other side of it, some take the small barrel thing very seriously, and IMO blanket labeling all small barrel whiskey as crap simply means one both hasn’t tried the stuff that is good AND is unaware of the Scotch distilleries that use small barrels and are proud of it.
What are you thoughts on the aging of whiskey on boats?