THIRST? What’s Fueling the US Whiskey Boom?

The craft beer movement is a major inspiration for the new wave of American whiskies. Sons of Liberty on Rhode Island make a whiskey using a dark toasty malt like you find in a stout. They’ve given it the none-more-American name of Uprising. Not to be outdone, Corsair make a Citra Double IPA whiskey that reeks of hops. It’s all about bringing out big flavors.

Whereas Scottish single malts tend to be aged for at least eight years (though legally only have to be aged for three) American whiskies age faster as the climate is hotter. Balcones Single Malt, winner of best American Single Malt at the World Whiskies Awards last year, is “yard-aged”- in other words left out in the baking heat of Texas where it matures extremely quickly.

One year in the heat of Texas equals about seven in rainy old Scotland. Quicker maturation time means American distillers can bring their products to market sooner therefore they are more responsive to trends.

Hot-aging feels almost like cheating, but I’m looking forward to sampling the results.