What Is a 'Master Distiller'?

This headline topped a story in today's Louisville Courier-Journal (C-J): "Bourbon Leaders Debate Term 'Master Distiller.'" (The article may be protected by a pay wall.)

Although it looks like the 'debate' was contrived by the paper, the subject is of interest nonetheless and comes up from time to time. Ever since the micro-distillery boom began, the industry has been flooded with self-appointed master distillers. There are many different opinions about what the term should mean.

This is where the history lesson usually goes, medieval trade guilds and all that stuff. The principle established there is that new masters are properly declared only by existing masters.

In Kentucky, the history of the master distiller title is much more recent. "Things have really changed in the past 15 years," said Four Roses Master Distiller Jim Rutledge to the C-J reporter. "I was a distiller working in the distillery. I wasn't out in the media. If someone came around and wanted tours and I was available, I would give tours. Now most of my time is spent traveling, talking to groups of people."

Rutledge comes from a tradition at the now defunct Seagram Company where distillers were formally and rigorously trained. Today, aspiring distillers get their training and experience where and how they can. Major producers tend to hire chemists or chemical engineers and train them in the specifics of distilling. Brewers often transition well because fermentation science is important to both professions. Still makers and dealers, technical schools, and trade associations all offer distilling courses and workshops.

It seems to have been the Kentucky Bourbon Festival that popularized the term master distiller in Kentucky. The producers bestow it, using their own criteria. Mostly and increasingly, they view the master distiller as the best kind of brand ambassador, someone who knows enough of the art and science to keep the nerds happy. What they actually do back at the plant is incidental, as far as the bosses are concerned.

A truly frightening prospect reported by the C-J is that the Kentucky Distillers' Association (KDA) may get involved. Another power grab by that bunch is the last thing the business needs. "We've had discussions within the association about whether Kentucky needs to develop criteria for master distiller," said KDA president Eric Gregory to the C-J. Nice of him to speak for Kentucky since, despite its name, the KDA is an association of companies, not distillers, and it only represents its members, who do not represent all of Kentucky's whiskey makers.

It also represents one very big company, Diageo, that distills no whiskey in Kentucky.

There is no association of distillers themselves, in Kentucky or nationally, and if anyone is going to define master distiller it must be working distillers and no one else. Otherwise, leave it alone and let consumers decide, based on individual resumes and the liquid in the bottle, who the true masters are.

UPDATE (2/13/23): Since this was posted, Diageo has built and opened two whiskey distilleries in Kentucky.

Plaintiffs in 'Handmade' Cases Are Slapped by Florida Judge

As shown here, Maker's Mark Master Distiller Gregg Davis has hands.

The owners of Tito's Vodka, Templeton Rye, and other spirits producers facing false advertising accusations are breathing a little easier today after the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida on Monday ruled in favor of Maker’s Mark and parent company Beam Suntory in a class action lawsuit alleging misleading marketing in the labeling of Maker’s Mark as 'handmade.'

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Robert L. Hinkle dismissed the complaint of two Florida consumers 'with prejudice,' thereby ending the case. “In all events, the plaintiffs have not stated a claim on which relief can be granted,” the ruling concludes.

“We have asserted all along that the complaints in this case were frivolous and without merit, and we are very pleased the court agreed with our position so emphatically,” said Rob Samuels, chief operating officer of Maker’s Mark. “This ruling is very good news, and it should send a strong message to those who would seek to gain from similar baseless and irresponsible litigation,” added Kent Rose, senior vice president and general counsel of Beam Suntory.

The case is Dimitric Salters and A.G. Waseem, etc. v. Beam Suntory Inc. and Maker’s Mark Distillery, Inc., etc. The full text of the decision is here. Feel free to jump ahead to page four.

While Judge Hinkle's decision is only law in the Northern District of Florida, it will surely influence the judges in other cases. Not all of the facts are the same, of course. Judge Hinkle noted that Maker's Mark is made in batches of no more than 19 barrels. Plaintiffs didn't challenge that fact, though perhaps they should have. There are many ways to break down batch size. For Maker's, those 19 barrels represent the size of a dump tank, 1,000 gallons. That's a bottling batch. A distillation batch is much larger. These are all facts, but their significance is open to dispute.

Judge Hinkle further explains that no reasonable juror would believe Maker's Mark is made entirely by hand, a fact acknowledged by plaintiffs who "offered other possible meanings, including made from scratch or in small units. But the defendants say they make their bourbon from scratch and in small units. The plaintiffs have alleged no contrary facts."

"The plaintiffs suggest 'handmade' implies close attention by a human being, not a high-volume, untended process. But the defendants say their human beings pay close attention and that, while they produce a large volume of bourbon, they do it in small, carefully tended batches. Again, the plaintiffs have alleged no contrary facts."

So, a different judge might find differently. Also, Templeton's case is more about false representation of origin than a strictly 'handmade' claim, and while 'handmade' is at the center of the Tito's case, a court could easily find that his product is not "made from scratch or in small units," thus using Salters against him.

So those other guys aren't out of the woods yet, but Maker's is.

Sinful Maybe, But Not How You Think

Sinfully Thinn is a new line of whiskey products from a micro-distillery in Ohio, near Lake Erie northeast of Cleveland. The sin? That there is nothing thin about it.

Don't you expect that a product called Sinfully Thinn Light Whiskey will be lower in calories than regular whiskey? Comb through the web site. They make no such claim. They can't. Ethanol is ethanol. It's all the same. There is no reduced calorie version.

It works like this. All of the calories in whiskey come from ethanol. They say their 1.5 ounce serving contains 100 calories. A 1.5 ounce serving of whiskey at 40% alcohol-by-volume (ABV) is 0.6 ounces of ethanol, which contains about 119 calories at the standard for ethanol of 7 calories per gram. They say 100. Have they reduced the calorie count by 16 percent? I doubt it. If they had, they would say so. They're just calculating it a little bit differently. There is no official standard for stating calories on beverage alcohol products, so there is no telling how that number was reached.

And don't forget, they don't claim to be reducing calories. It's all in the implication of the name.

What they do make a big deal about is their vacuum distillation process. In beverage production, vacuum distillation is most commonly used to make gin and other infusions. MGP of Indiana uses vacuum distillation to make Seagram's Gin. Vacuum distillation has no effect on calorie count.

Finally we come to this, the words 'light whiskey.' 'Light' means lower in calories, doesn't it? Not in the case of light whiskey. According to the Federal Government's Standards of Identity for Distilled Spirits, light whiskey is a high proof distillate from grain, distilled between 80% and 95% ABV, that has been aged in used or uncharred barrels. Made similar to Scottish grain whiskey, it was supposed to help American distillers compete better with scotch. It didn't. It failed miserably.

'Light,' as used, means lighter in flavor, not calories. Light whiskey became legal in 1968 and had pretty much bombed out by the early 1970s, right about the time Miller Brewing decided that 'light' (or in their case 'lite') would henceforth mean, not lighter in flavor, but lighter in calories, and that's how people think about it today.

So is Sinfully Thinn Light Whiskey a lower calorie whiskey? No, it's not. It contains the same number of calories as other whiskeys of the same proof.

But what about light beers? They claim to have fewer carbs and fewer calories, how do they do it? By containing less ethanol. Some of the lowest are 2% ABV or less.

There are three expressions of Sinfully Thinn Light Whiskey, one unflavored and two flavored, blueberry and cinnamon. The flavored versions contain fewer calories than the unflavored one because they contain less ethanol. Light whiskey must be bottled at at least 40% ABV, but flavored light whiskey may be bottled at 35% ABV. (That's about 104 calories per 1.5 ounce serving at 7 calories per gram.)

The maker of Sinfully Thinn is Seven Brothers Distilling Company in Painesville, Ohio.

Boyle County Gets a New Whiskey Warehouse

The picture above is of two recently-built whiskey aging warehouses in Kentucky. The one on top is Jim Beam's, on the old Chapeze Distillery property just north of Beam's Clermont distillery. The lower one is for Danville's Wilderness Trail Distillery, which is planning to move from Danville to this farm on Old Lebanon Road, just west of town.

They look pretty similar. Both were designed and built by Buzick Construction, which builds most of the warehouses and other buildings for distilleries in Kentucky and Tennessee. The difference is size. The Beam building will hold about 50,000 barrels, more than twice what a standard warehouse will hold. The Wilderness Trail one will hold about 2,100 barrels, about 10 percent of the standard size. It is the first aging warehouse Buzick has designed and built for a craft distillery, but it probably won't be the last. In fact, Wilderness Trail plans to build a second one very soon.

According to Shane Baker, one of the principals at Wilderness Trail, they worked with Tom Blincoe at Buzick on a design that would give them a combination of different rickhouse design advantages, such as maximum air flow, and a set up customized for their production flow. Their process is to grind, cook, ferment, distill and barrel all for one single batch that is destined for a single barrel release. "So we went after a new term, single batch single barrel," says Baker. "Uniquely with our experience level we are able to keep grind, cook, fermentation and distillation the same, so in essence the barrel will be the difference in the end."

The warehouse, also called a rickhouse, has two levels that are a traditional three high each. They are recording only a 12° to 15° temperature variance from the bottom to the top row, which was their goal for consistent aging. "There is a lot of engineering in that little warehouse," says Baker.

Wilderness Trail has been making bourbon for about two years but probably won't bring any of it to market for another two years, at least.

Wilderness Trail Distillery is an outgrowth of Ferm Solutions, the Danville company of which Baker is President and CEO. As the name suggests, their business is the development and management of yeasts for the beverage alcohol and fuel ethanol industries, and related products. Wilderness Trail is currently sharing space with Ferm Solutions and both companies are growing fast, so the distillery is moving.

Wilderness Trail is one of two Kentucky craft distilleries started by fermentation scientists. The other is Town Branch Distillery in Lexington, a spin-off of Alltech.

Mint Julep, Your One-Day-a-Year Is Saturday

If ever there was a special occasion drink, it is the mint julep, so closely is it associated with the Kentucky Derby, which is this Saturday, May 2, at Churchill Downs in Louisville.

Many people misunderstand the mint julep. It is not a cocktail in the ordinary sense. It is more of a shooter. A mint julep should be made quickly, served immediately and consumed promptly, before the ice starts to melt and turn the drink watery.

It's hot. Take refreshment. Repeat. That's the code of the mint julep.

The julep is at its peak of flavor the instant it is completed. Every moment that passes thereafter diminishes its quality. There should be just enough liquid in the glass for one or two good swallows.

Taken appropriately in a suitable context the mint julep is delightful. Its sensuality can be nearly overpowering.

As for a recipe, here is the simplest one I know that is authentic, tasty, and easy. First, muddle some fresh mint leaves with one tablespoon of powdered sugar and a like amount of water. There are some specialized tools for doing this, but a spoon works fine.

How much mint? If you have plenty, use it liberally. It's hard to use too much.

“Muddle” just means work everything together until the mint leaves have been crushed and the sugar is dissolved, forming a kind of paste. Fill the glass with crushed ice, then with bourbon. Stir vigorously for a few seconds. Garnish with more fresh mint leaves. Serve and drink immediately.

To make multiple juleps at the same time, have your ice and bourbon ready. Then in a bowl make enough muddle (the mint, sugar, water mixture) for one round. Place some of the muddle mixture into the bottom of each glass. Fill each glass with ice, bourbon and mint leaf garnish, stir, and serve.

Although there are various ways to get mint flavor into a drink, the use of fresh mint is essential for an authentic mint julep experience. The fresher the better. Just-picked is best. The stuff is easy to grow.

As for glassware, a sterling silver julep cup is the traditional container. They hold between 9 and 12 ounces and cost several hundred dollars each. Silverplate and pewter are also common. A metal glass has some obvious advantages.

The julep in general and the mint julep in particular are both very old, much older even than the 141-year-old Kentucky Derby. John Milton mentions the “cordial Julep” in a poem from 1673. It or similar words occur in many languages. It first appears in English in 1400 and means a syrup of water and sugar.

The mint julep is specifically American and was originally intended as an 'eye opener' to start the day. In an era when most distilled spirits were unaged and nasty, concoctions like the mint julep were invented to make the green whiskey more palatable by overpowering it with sweetness and masking it with aromatic mint.

In Kentucky, the julep is always made with bourbon whiskey but in the Old Dominion (Virginia), rye whiskey is preferred.

If you'd like to take your julep uptown, here's a good recipe using Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon and Cynar which, like Wild Turkey, is a Campari product.

Ingredients:

1 ½ oz. Cynar

¾ oz. Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon

½ oz. Simple Syrup

½ oz. Fresh Lemon Juice

½ oz. Fresh Grapefruit Juice

12 Mint Leaves

2 oz. Soda Water

2 Dashes Fee Brother’s Grapefruit Bitters

 

Directions:

In a Julep cup or rocks glass add mint and all ingredients except soda water and bitters. Gently muddle, add ice then soda and top with bitters.

Ole Smoky Addresses Proposed Tennessee Moonshine Law with Clever Smokescreen

What follows is a press release from Ole Smoky Tennessee Moonshine about the new proposed Tennessee law that will require all products identified as 'Tennessee Moonshine' to be distilled in Tennessee. As you read it, see if you can find the words "All Ole Smoky Tennessee Moonshine products are distilled entirely in Tennessee."
______________

Gatlinburg, TN (April 22, 2015) – Ole Smoky Tennessee Moonshine, the leading distiller of premium moonshine in the U.S., welcomes the news of the Tennessee General Assembly’s efforts to protect the integrity of its moonshine heritage by creating guidelines on what can bear the name “Tennessee Moonshine.” The great history of making smooth spirits is what makes Tennessee Moonshine widely loved in the South, around the country and now the world.

“For many generations our families have distilled moonshine in the hills of East Tennessee, and Ole Smoky is proud to use those same techniques and recipes in the products we share with our customers today,” said Joe Baker, co-founder of Ole Smoky Moonshine. “This is a significant move toward preserving the historic value of Tennessee Moonshine, and as the state’s first legal moonshine distillery, we know how important it is to maintain authenticity in this fast-growing category."

Ole Smoky launched in 2010, after the state of Tennessee changed its distilling laws and a group of local families saw an opportunity to showcase authentic, high-quality, mountain-made moonshine. Originally sold only to visitors at its distillery, known as The Holler, Ole Smoky is now the most widely distributed moonshine brand in the world. Fueled by rising consumer interest in Americana, the broader un-aged whiskey category and craft spirits, Ole Smoky is now available in all 50 states and every continent except Antarctica.

"We’re proud to share our products with folks around the world. Tennessee enjoys a special place in the lore and history of making moonshine and we applaud our state legislators for working hard to protect one of our state’s most famous exports,” said Baker. “Tennessee is part of our brand name. You can make spirits anywhere, but Tennessee Moonshine only comes from the Volunteer State.”

About Ole Smoky® Tennessee Moonshine:

Currently, Ole Smoky Tennessee Moonshine nationally retails twelve flavors of moonshine made using authentic East Tennessee recipes. Folks from around the world come and experience the moonshining process at the company’s famed Gatlinburg distillery, The Holler (America’s most visited distillery) and new location, the Ole Smoky Barn at The Island in Pigeon Forge. Original Moonshine (100 proof), White Lightnin’ (100 proof), Moonshine Cherries (jarred at 100 proof), Lightnin’ Line (80 proof): Strawberry Lightnin’, Lemon Drop Lightnin’ and Hunch Punch Lightnin‘, the 40 proof line including, Peach Moonshine, Apple Pie Moonshine, Blackberry Moonshine, Pineapple Moonshine, Sweet Tea Moonshine and the most recently added, Harley Davidson’s Road House Customs Charred Moonshine (103 proof) are available selectively in all 50 states and Canada.
______________

Did you find the magic words "All Ole Smoky Tennessee Moonshine products are distilled in Tennessee"? No? That's because they aren't there. Nor does the release express the proposed law's very simple requirement that 'Tennessee Moonshine' must be distilled in Tennessee. Instead it uses words like "authentic East Tennessee recipes." Perhaps they hope to have the law gutted before it passes. You can read more about Ole Smoky here.

Moonshine is not now and nor has it ever been a type of distilled spirit. It is simply any distilled spirit made illegally. Obviously, Ole Smoky and the other modern moonshiners operate legally, so what's in that jar? In most cases it is grain neutral spirit (GNS), i.e., vodka, which is typically made from corn. In a few it is corn whiskey. Most authentic are the ones distilled from a sugar mash -- technically making them rum -- which are usually classified as a 'Distilled Spirits Specialty,' a regulatory catch-all term. Many sugar shines are half sugar and half GNS.

Most of the Ole Smoky products are either GNS or corn whiskey. It has long been an open secret that Ole Smoky makes only a fraction of the products it sells and very likely makes no GNS. If Ole Smoky does or plans to make GNS, it won't be in those cute copper pot stills. It will be in a big, modern column still which they surely won't show to the tourists.

They could produce their own GNS but it's much more profitable to just buy it from a big GNS producer such as ADM, GPC, or MGPI, like everybody else does. Unfortunately, none of those companies have a distillery in Tennessee.

So what's the difference between Ole Smoky's cherry-flavored GNS and any of a dozen cherry-flavored vodkas? Maybe that's where those 'East Tennessee recipes' come in, or maybe it's just a clever image, 'blowing smoke' as it were. The Ole Smoky products aren't much more expensive than most flavored vodkas, so if you like your flavored vodka from a mason jar, Ole Smoky is right there for you.

In addition to Ole Smoky, the 'moonshine' from Junior Johnson, Popcorn Sutton, and Full Throttle Saloon is GNS as well. There is, furthermore, no commercial GNS producer in Tennessee, although one expects there will be by the time this new law takes effect.

Sazerac Plans 'Farm-to-Table' Experience at Buffalo Trace

Last fall, following the lead of several craft distilleries, Sazerac announced plans to farm corn, rye, and barley on land adjacent to its Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky. At that time, Sazerac announced the acquisition of 233 acres for that purpose. Yesterday, it announced that another 49 acres have been purchased.

Buffalo Trace plans to use the new acreage to create a farm-to-table "Single Estate" experience by growing its own grain to make its own bourbon.

The new farm-to-table bourbon will be a separate, stand-alone product with its own brand identity. The name, age, price, and other details have yet to be determined.

The Buffalo Trace site is now 439 acres large and the planned farm may not be the final use of the additional property. "These recent land purchases hold a lot of potential for us," said Master Distiller Harlen Wheatley. "We are very excited to begin our farm-to-table venture and see what the future has in store." The site has substantial Kentucky River frontage.

How about this? In the old days, distilleries often raised cows or pigs, feeding them with stillage. Stillage, the spent mash that is left over after all of the alcohol has been extracted, makes a high-protein feed for livestock. Some farmers still collect it in wet form from the distilleries, generally for free. Other distilleries dry it, which allows them to sell it as animal feed, but which is very energy intensive. No distillery today has a feed lot on site. Buffalo Trace could be the first.

NOTE: According to a reader, Short Mountain Distillery in Woodbury and Southern Pride Distillery in Fayetteville, both in Tennessee, are feeding livestock on site with stillage.