SMS. The Straw That Stirs The Drink.

I have been thinking a lot lately about how single malt scotch is the straw that stirs the drink of the entire whiskey category.

In 2010, 47,093,000 cases of whiskey were sold in the United States. (New DISCUS Data, released Monday.) Just 1,281,000 of those cases, less than 3%, were single malt scotch, yet that’s what people want to talk about, that's what dominates the general and enthusiast media, that’s what gets consumers and the trade excited, and (not coincidentally) that’s what produces everybody’s highest per-unit profits.

Mind you these are just the U.S. stats, but we are the world's largest whiskey market. Less than half of the whiskey we drink is whiskey made here, 44%. Another 34% comes from our friends to the north. The rest, 22%, comes from the whiskey motherlands of Scotland and Ireland. The smallest piece of that is single malt scotch.

Yet that is what whiskey enthusiasts care about. There are many good reasons for this and I'm not complaining. It's not a bad thing. It's a great thing. I drink single malt scotch, I love single malt scotch, I just happen to be a little more interested in whiskey subjects other than single malt scotch, American whiskey in particular. That makes me an oddball in the world of whiskey enthusiasts and whiskey writers, which may give me a unique perspective. (It must be good for something.)

I am also very interested in America's young microdistillery movement. I think American microdistilleries have the potential to make the American whiskey landscape a lot more interesting, in the same way that Scottish single malts are such an outsize part of what makes whiskey in general so interesting. It's not a perfect analogy because what keeps the single malt distilleries in business is a combination of what they sell as singles and what they sell to blenders, and I don't see a parallel to that evolving here.

On the other hand, bourbon and Tennessee whiskey aren't exactly analogous to Scottish blends. It's a completely different paradigm. You can't compare Johnnie Walker to Jack Daniel's and if you always look at American whiskey through a scotch prism you'll always see a distorted picture.

This potential to be American stir-straws is what the buyers of Hudson and Stranahan's must see. If American micros can build their business on a combination of great products, local pride and fun tourism, I can see parallels and how in not so many years microdistilleries could be an integral part of the U.S. whiskey scene, not for their sales volume but for intangible benefits similar to what Scottish single malts provide now.

New Michael Collins Irish Whiskey Gets It Right.

Sidney Frank was a genius. He created Grey Goose Vodka and sold it to Bacardi for $2.3 billion, the highest price ever paid for a single liquor brand. He also built Jägermeister into a 2-million-case brand.

Frank, who died in 2006, was the son of an orchard keeper who developed a taste for luxury during his one year at Brown University because his roommate’s father was president of RCA. He resolved then to marry rich. (These are all stories he told on himself.) He set his sights on Louise Rosenstiel, whose father Lewis owned Schenley, the largest distilled spirits company in the country.

After running his father-in-law’s business for a while Frank started his own in 1972. It still has Jägermeister and a portfolio of other products. He was preparing to launch Michael Collins Irish Whiskey when he died.

This month, Frank’s company re-launched the brand, named after one of the heroes of Irish independence. It’s still made at Cooley, Ireland’s only independent, Irish-owned distillery. And it still consists of two expressions, a blend and a single malt.

Promotion materials for the re-launch emphasize the new packaging, which is very nice and much more whiskey-like than the old one. The former package was beautiful but over designed and there was another, bigger problem: the whiskey inside wasn’t very good.

The re-launch materials say nothing about changing the whiskey but they clearly did. The former malt was hot, harsh and immature. The new one bears a 10-year-old age statement (the former was NAS) and tastes every bit of it. It is lightly peated, well balanced, and altogether pleasant. The blend has a similar profile. It is full-flavored, sweet, nutty and also very enjoyable. Together they make an excellent introduction to the high quality yet still mainstream Irish Whiskey segment, exactly where this brand should play.

The original was a product Sidney Frank himself approved, but even the great ones make mistakes. This new iteration is much improved. If you previously decided that Michael Collins is mediocre whiskey in a fancy bottle, give it another try. The bottle is not as fancy but the whiskey is much, much better.

Looking For A. H. Hirsch Bourbon? Good Luck.

Today I got a call out of the blue from a guy looking for A. H. Hirsch Bourbon, specifically the 20-year-old. I couldn’t help him. No one can help him unless they have some of it in their bunker. I don’t. I’ve never owned a bottle of the 20 and only ever had a few tastes of it.

This got me reviewing some of the research I’ve done about Hirsch. Here are the highlights.

The bourbon was commissioned by Adolph Hirsch, a former Schenley executive. It was 400 barrels of bourbon made in the spring of 1974 at the Pennco Distillery in Schaefferstown, PA.

Pennco was a small, independent contract distiller, mostly of rye whiskey. That order represented about eight days of production.

It is unknown why Hirsch commissioned the whiskey. It may have been a way to infuse some capital into a struggling company, which he had once owned. He apparently had no use for the whiskey as he left it there to age for the next 15 years.

This batch of whiskey was not the “last pot still bourbon,” as has often been reported. It was a conventional double-distilled bourbon, but it did age out very nicely.

Pennco, which had history back to 1753, folded shortly after the Hirsch bourbon was distilled. The plant was purchased in foreclosure and renamed Michter’s. It soldiered on for another decade but never stabilized. By 1989 the owners had skipped town and the bank was ready to shut the place down. They told Hirsch to get his whiskey out of there or risk losing it in the chaos that was sure to follow.

Hirsch sold the lot to Gordon Hue, who moved the barrels to a distillery in Cincinnati and began to bottle the whiskey as A.H. Hirsch Bourbon, mostly for sale in Japan. The first release was a 15-year-old, followed the next year by a 16-year-old.

At that point most of the whiskey was dumped and held in stainless steel tanks for subsequent bottling as a 16-year-old. A few barrels were allowed to continue aging. That produced 37 cases of an 18-year-old in 1992, 121 cases of a 19-year-old in 1993, and 500 cases of a 20-year-old in 1994-95.

Then the Hue family sold the brand and remaining, tanked 16-year-old bourbon to Preiss Imports which in 2003 had the rest of it bottled, about 3,000 cases. In 2009, Preiss created a boxed set priced at $1,500. That's the end of it.

The boxed set is still around at retail as are a few bottles of the final 16-year-old (distinguished by its gold foil capsule), reportedly at prices north of $250. I don’t know where they are exactly, but sightings have been reported.

Recovery of Distilled Spirits Industry Still Fragile, Says DISCUS.

This morning in New York, the Distilled Spirits Council (DISCUS) presented its annual report on the state of the industry.

The report is based on sales data and other research about the year just ended. DISCUS President Peter Cressy led with an appeal to lawmakers not to stifle the recovery by piling on new tax burdens.

In 2010, supplier volumes rose 2% to 190 million cases and revenue rose 2.3% to $19.1 billion, but Cressy pointed out that growth rates remain below the robust pre-recession growth rates, and the important on-premise (restaurants and bars) sector is still experiencing a fragile recovery.

Cressy also noted that in 2010 consumers began to return to their preference for high-end and super premium spirits products, with revenue in the super premium category growing 10.9% from a very soft 2009. Revenue-based market share for spirits versus beer and wine gained four-tenths of a point, rising to 33.3% of the beverage alcohol market. Beer lost seven-tenths of a point of market share falling below 50%, as consumers continued their decade-long migration from beer to cocktails.

Reinforcing the cocktails theme, vodka, which accounts for 31% of industry volume, was up 6.1% to 59 million 9-liter cases (the standard measure of industry volume). Among super premium vodkas, volume was up nearly 18% and revenue was up approximately 14%.

Whiskey showed strong revenue growth, particularly in the super premium segment, which increased by 8.1% overall to over $1.1 billion. Within the super premium segment, bourbon and Tennessee whiskey revenue increased by over 17% to $161 million; single malt scotch grew nearly 18% to $140 million; and Irish grew 30% to $23 million. Super premium Brandy and Cognac were also up almost 10% to $315 million.

2010 preliminary U.S. distilled spirits export data showed a fourth consecutive year exceeding $1 billion, and a rebound from the slight downturn in 2009. The Council predicted final results could break the $1.1 billion record set in 2008. American whiskey represents 71% of all U.S. spirits exports.

DISCUS also reported that progress is being made in the prevention of underage drinking and drunk driving. The latest government data shows underage drinking by 8th, 10th and 12th graders, as well as the total number of drunk driving fatalities in the United States, are at historic low levels.

Kentucky Loves Its Horses Too.

For as long as Kentuckians have been making and drinking whiskey they have been breeding and racing horses too. Both industries have fostered unique cultures that often overlap.

One stage on which they have appeared together for more than a century is the historic Seelbach Hilton Hotel, one of Louisville’s two grand hotels.

The Seelbach announced today that it will once again host the annual “Old Friends Along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail” event, a bourbon-tasting and progressive dinner to benefit Old Friends, a Thoroughbred retirement facility.

The event begins at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, February 19. Tickets are $100 per person. Event guests who wish to sleep at the Seelbach (recommended) receive a special reduced room rate of $95 per night. The historic Seelbach Hilton (built 1905) is located at 500 South Fourth Street in downtown Louisville.

Old Friends, which has locations in Georgetown, KY and Greenfield Center, NY, provides a dignified retirement to horses whose racing and breeding careers have come to an end. The farm is home to such retired champions as Eclipse winner The Wicked North, Breeders’ Cup victor Gulch, and Travers stars Will’s Way and Thunder Rumble.

“This is the perfect Kentucky experience,” said Old Friends president and founder Michael Blowen, “It brings together our signature industries, horses and bourbon, at a world-class venue. We are very grateful to both the Seelbach and the Kentucky Distillers Association for their support.”

The bourbon tasting will be held in the Seelbach’s famous Rathskeller, the only intact Rookwood Pottery room left in the world. Bourbon-inspired appetizers will be served and Kentucky’s celebrated master distillers will pour samples of the finest whiskeys from Maker’s Mark, Four Roses, Heaven Hill, Bulleit, Jim Beam, Woodford Reserve, and Wild Turkey.

Dinner will be served in the hotel’s Five Diamond, Triple AAA-Awarded Oakroom, a two-course dinner created by Seelbach Chef de Cuisine Bobby Benjamin.

The first course will feature Greg’s Grateful Greens, Colonel Newsom’s Aged Country Ham, Capriole Farm Pipers Pyramid Goat Cheese, sweet potato, fig vincotto, and bourbon mustard.

The second course is a Wagyu short rib with horseradish potato puree, pickled radish, bourbon glazed farm carrots, and bourbon pecan gastrique.

After dinner, guests will return to the Rathskeller for dessert. Finally, the Old Seelbach Bar will host an after-party featuring the music of Dick Sisto. Sunday brunch will be available from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. ($29 per person).

For reservations call Melissa Getz at the Seelbach at (502) 585-9292.

Review: Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage 2001

Just as the Kentucky Derby is a race for 3-year-olds, Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage (EWSBV) is a race to be the best 9-year-old rye-recipe bourbon in Heaven Hill's warehouses.

After 14 years, the series is also like an old friend. It's not always the same but it's not very different either. The familiarity is always welcome. While the basic profile stays the same there is enough variation from year to year so that you look forward to each new release. It's an annual harvest of Heaven Hill's best. Because of that it is much more true to the traditional meaning of 'vintage' than most other annual whiskey releases.

Heaven Hill and thus EWSBV spent several years in the wilderness after the distillery in Bardstown was destroyed by fire. That history is reflected in the 1997 to 2000 vintages. If some of those years were a bit iffy, the series is back on track now.
 
The new EWSBV 2001 represents Heaven Hill settling down at its new distillery in Louisville, making exactly the whiskey they want to make. Its principal charm is exquisite balance. It has pipe tobacco on the nose, with tannin, deep char and candy corn on the palate.
 
Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage 2001 won't knock you on your ass. It's more like a comfortable visit with an old friend. Nothing spectacular and nothing new, but deeply enjoyable nonetheless.

What Makes A Cocktail Great?

To me, one mark of a great cocktail is that you almost can't identify the ingredients because it is so much its own thing. A cocktail can be good without that quality, but it's fun when you find it.

Noilly Pratt is my usual vermouth. About all I use it for is manhattans. I like Punt e Mes for a change of pace, but now I have two vermouths I rarely use. What else to do with them?

Recently I saw A. J. Rathbun's Punt e Mes highball. It's one part Punt and two parts ginger ale on the rocks. (I used Vernor's.) The drink is pretty great. Only two ingredients and it doesn't taste like either one of them. I'll have to try it with the Noilly.