Today marks the first day of official recognition for American Single Malt Whiskey. We’re excited to share what that means and why it matters. As founding members of the American Single Malt Whiskey Commission (ASMWC) this is something we’ve been working toward for a very long time. 

A Brief History 

Eight years ago a group of American Single Malt Whiskey distillers (including Copperworks) combined to form the ASMWC and developed a model definition for American Single Malt Whiskey. In 2022 with significant encouragement from the ASMWC, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau (TTB) proposed a new rule to codify the “Standard of Identity” for American Single Malt Whiskey. The public comment period for that rule opened the door for countless distillers across America to discuss where those parameters should lie. In other words, what is American Single Malt Whiskey?

Finally, after multiple years of deliberation, the TTB has finalized the rule to create a legal definition and today we sip to a promising future for American Single Malt Whiskey.

A New Standard

Without further ado, here is the newly codified definition of American Single Malt Whiskey:  

  • Made from 100% malted barley 
  • Distilled entirely at one distillery 
  • Mashed, distilled, and matured in the United States of America 
  • Matured in oak casks of a capacity not exceeding 700 liters 
  • Distilled to no more than 160 (U.S.) proof (80& alcohol by volume) 
  • Bottled at 80 (U.S.) proof or more (40% by volume) 

(For folk who don’t mind a bit of extra reading, you can find the “nitty gritty” details here.)

Our Involvement

As founding members of the ASMWC, Copperworks has played an instrumental role in defining this new standard of identity. We worked to cast as big of a net as we could, to support innovation and the practices of our fellow distillers, while still having meaningful definitions. Flavor was our biggest driver, followed by pre-existing standards and consumer understanding.

Among these, perhaps the most important for Copperworks specifically, was the allowance for distilleries to mash and ferment off site (distillation still must take place on site). Partnering with breweries to produce a mash (part of the whiskey-making process) is a fairly common practice among US distillers (Copperworks included), and has been instrumental for the evolution of Single Malt Whiskey in the American context. Without this in place, Copperworks Whiskey would no longer being able to be called American Single Malt Whiskey.

What Does it Mean?

With these new regulations in place, American Single Malt Whiskey is positioned to take off throughout America and the world, landing international awards and finding itself in its own category on menus and on shelves in grocery/liquor stores, establishing a consistent reputation and legacy. We foresee distillers across America stepping up and into an education role as curiosity piques at the first new category of American whiskey in over 52 years.

For whiskey enthusiasts, this ratification will impart trust in the quality and character of every American Single Malt Whiskey you buy.

Nothing but good news, we’ll drink to that.

Cheers!