Dominic Roskrow World Whisky

Tomorrow’s World

IT’S NEVER BEEN EASY TO ACCURATELY PREDICT WHAT’S LIKELY TO HAPPEN IN THE WORLD OF WHISKY, BUT, AS DOMINIC ROSKROW REPORTS, IT ALL JUST GOT A LOT HARDER

“If one more person talks about ‘a new normal,’ I think I’m going to hit them.”

Who can’t empathise with this exclamation of frustration from one anonymous social media pundit? For in our increasingly dumbed down world of sound bites and slogans (thank you, Mr Trump), ‘a new normal’ is particularly dumbed down and meaningless.

There will be no ‘new normal.’ in the short and medium terms certainly, there will be no new world order. The pandemic hasn’t just cost the world hundreds of thousands of lives, it has tipped economies across the world on their heads, emptied their contents and strewn them far and wide, and left us all to try and pick up the pieces.

And around the world that’s what we’re now starting to do. Trouble is, different countries are tidying up at different rates, and where once the world economy worked in some form of harmony, the teutonic plates more or less shifting in the same direction, now it’s shattered and scattered, and it’s every person for themselves in a market free for all. Frankly, the view from the bar in Melbourne right now is a million miles away from the view from the bar in Manchester.

It may well be that never again will a global brand ambassador fly business class from Glasgow to Sydney, stay in a top hotel, and host three or four dinners/tasting events for 20 or 30 bar managers, bloggers and opinion formers. Instead local brand ambassadors will host events simultaneously in cities across Australia and New Zealand and the global brand ambassador will link through Zoom from one of his or her distilleries. In this way he or she can take his viewers in to the still rooms and warehouses, show them the rugged shoreline of Loch Indaal or the dramatic slopes of Benrinnes, adding a truly local flavour to proceedings.

There are two other areas that I think will flourish in the months going forward.

Firstly, for some time now the big companies have acknowledged that whiskies from around the world are attracting new drinkers, and that such whiskies are not attempting to emulate the wonderful flavours of Scotland and Ireland. More than that, they have accepted that the people making whisky in Sweden, Denmark and Australia know more about local wood and peat, and what appeals to the domestic palate than they do.

Diageo is so committed to the concept that it is funding Distill Ventures, a company set up to seek out at the best new distillery businesses and to guide and mentor them while allowing them to control their

businesses, and the products they make. Beneficiaries so far include Melbournebased Starward and Danish distillery Stauning.

Expect to see more of this - and for whiskies from around the world to find their way to our cities and bars, as new players benefit from big company muscle and expansive distribution chains.

The other trend to watch for is the development of new malt based spirits drinks which aren’t strictly whiskies but have much to recommend them. In America particularly the new micro distilleries are playing foot loose and fancy free with the rules governing whisk(e)y but are producing some very tasty spirits indeed.

The biggest new distilleries aren’t afraid of fronting up to the big bourbon boys, either. In Louisville, the main city of Kentucky, three distilleries are making whiskey under the very noses of their peers.

The first, just off Whiskey Row in the heart of Louisville, is appropriately called Kentucky Peerless, and is making high end rye and bourbon. But it’s breaking with conventional wisdom by eschewing the sour mash process, when the final spend grains are added in to the new mash of the next batch. The distillery also fills its barrels with white dog spirit at a temperature significantly lower than accepted industry wisdom. The whiskeys aren’t cheap ei-ther.

Not far away Angel’s Envy, owned by the sons and grandsons of former Woodford Reserve master distiller Lincoln Henderson, makes superb whiskey, but having made a world class bourbon and rye, they finish them to great effect in ruby port and rums casks respectively. Nothing wrong with that at all. But calling the whiskey ‘Port Barrel finished Bourbon’ certainly is - if it’s been in a port cask, it isn’t a bourbon by definition.

A new category of Single Malt Whiskey or American Whiskey is also bringing a whole new range of flavour to the world of whisky. In the case of the former, single malt from America is often matured in virgin oak white oak casks in the same way as bourbon. The resulting whiskey can be phenomenal. Experiments with wood types beyond oak, flavour additives, and the use of unusual drying material during the malting process are adding a whole host of new flavours.

The mainstay of American Whiskeys, including Bourbons, have also stepped up to the plate. Woodford Reserve has just released its Baccarat Edition: a limited release, super-premium Kentucky bourbon whiskey finished in XO Cognac oak, encased in a striking Baccarat crystal glass decanter. It retails for a cool A$3,000 a bottle. And the ubiquitous Jack Daniel’s with the premium Gentleman Jack tribute to Mr JD himself, and the higher abv Single Barrel offering - all adding interest into this highly competitive market.

So as nations around the world peak out from behind the barriers, the most daring innovators will be desperate to kick on. It might be chaos out there, but it certainly won’t be boring. Expect to be surprised - and delighted.

Westward Whiskey, Portland USA

Premium American Whiskey

JACK DANIEL’S TENNESSEE RYE

With the bold spice of rye and the smooth character of Jack, this presents a new way to drink Jack Daniel’s. The second aged rye from Jack Daniel’s, following on from Single Barrel Rye, this has been produced from a mash bill of 70% rye, 18% corn and 12% malted barley, and is aged in new barrels handcrafted by Jack Daniel’s themselves.

Aroma: An enticing blend full of sweet, soft fruit layered with an underlying rye spice and oak

Taste: Sweet caramel and dry baking spice, followed by a peppery rye character finish

GENTLEMAN JACK

Introduced in 1988 as a tribute Mr Jack Daniel himself, Gentleman Jack is known as “the smoother side of Jack”. Gentleman Jack is charcoal mellowed not once, but twice for ultimate smoothness. Our hand-crafted barrels are matured exclusively on the lower floors of the barrel house where the climate is less intense for a softer, lighter flavour.

Aroma: Softer vanilla, citrus and floral notes

Taste: Sweet vanilla, fruit and light spice with a crisp clean finish

JACK DANIEL’S SINGLE BARREL

Its distinct and unique taste comes from refining “mellowing” the freshly distilled whiskey drop by drop through 10 feet of sugar maple charcoal. The distilled whiskey is then matured in American Oak barrels hand-made by Jack Daniel’s for a minimum of four plus years and is bottled one barrel at a time as a single individual expression. Bottled at 45% abv (90 Proof), each single barrel expression can vary in flavour profile from soft spice to full bodied and robust.

Aroma: Robust and complex with rich caramel, toasted oak and subtle fruit

Taste: Rich, toasted oak with complex barrel spices, leading to a warm lingering finish

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