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For many drinkers, cold weather means whiskies because whiskies are HOT! Over the past decade whiskies have surged in popularity, and presently in St. Louis, American whiskies top the chart. According to T.J. Vytlacil, proprietor of Blood & Sand, high-end bourbon (starting at $25 per shot) does not live long on the shelf, and has replaced rye, which was the most in demand three months ago.
Dave Davis, “The Whiskey Dude” at the Wine Merchant, echoes this sentiment, saying he gets one to six calls per day looking for rare bourbons like the Pappy Van Winkles, Buffalo Trace Antique Collection (George T. Stag, William Larue Weller, Sazerac Rye 18-year-old, Thomas H. Handy Sazerac, and Eagle Rare 17-year-old), Four Roses limited releases, and Parker’s Heritage, amongst others. Frequently retailers only get one to three bottles of each, and resort to waitlists, contests, and drawing names from a hat to determine which customers get to purchase the bottles. Davis has also seen an overall surge in American whiskies, including bourbons, ryes and craft distillers.
Consumers can get eight- to 10-year-old bourbons and ryes for around $20, and hopefully the distilleries keep prices at these levels and don’t get greedy, says Randall’s General Manager Tony McLaughlin. In addition to the established brands, McLaughlin sees growth in U.S. micro distillers -- such as Hudson Bay, Corsair, Breckenridge, and St. Louis’ own Square One -- which offer more flavor profiles attributed to different mashbills. Mashbills are the grain compositions of whiskies. Bourbon must be composed of 51% corn, but many distillers use 70% corn with the balance typically including some wheat, or rye and a small about of barley. Davis also sees increased demand for Whipper Snapper Oregon Whiskey, Willett bourbons and ryes, Templeton Rye, W.H. Harrison Indiana Straight bourbon, Henry Du Yore’s straight bourbon, and local Still 630.
Everyone I spoke to saw more consumers venturing into American whiskies then graduating into the more established bourbons and Scotch. “Scotch still does a brisk business,” says Davis, but “we just don’t get the calls like we do for American whiskies.” Vytlacil has seen increased interest in Scotch as more drinkers want to explore its differences with Irish whiskey and bourbon.
Cory Cuff, restaurant/bar manager at Cielo at The Four Seasons-St. Louis, uses rye (right) as a springboard into bourbon. He likes to start with rye in cocktails like Manhattans and rye and ginger ale. In addition to traditional rye, Cuff sees a trend toward blends of bourbon and rye, like the Bourye from High West distillery in Utah. Cuff sees resurgence in Scotch, but also trendy brands like Red Breast Irish Whiskey and George Dickel Tennessee Whiskey. Cuff will be on “Bartenders Row” serving whiskey cocktails at the Whiskey in the Winter Festival at the Hyatt Regency hotel in downtown St. Louis on Nov. 23.
Another trend in whiskies is flavoring. Cuff sees more maple and cinnamon flavored whiskies hitting the market and McLaughlin has noticed more Scotch distilleries releasing products finished in different types of wood, like virgin oak, and non-traditional wines like Sauternes. Traditionally bourbon is aged in new oak barrels, and Scotch is aged in refilled bourbon barrels and ex-sherry casks.
Additionally, Scotch companies have increasingly released non-age statement expressions. If a Scotch company wants to include an age statement on the bottle, it must be of the youngest whisky therein. So if a distillery wants to blend eight- and 20-year-old casks, they would have to label it as eight-year-old Scotch, or they could create a new name for the expression and omit the age statement entirely. Some distilleries like the freedom of being able to blend younger whiskies with older casks to get the best of both worlds, but others see an opportunity to release younger casks without the stigma of a young age on the label. Examples include Aberlour a’bundt, Glenmorangie Astar, Talisker Storm, Old Pulteney Navigator, and Laphroaig Triple Wood.
Regardless of whether you are new to whiskey, or a traditional whiskey drinker, next week's Whiskey in the Winter offers a rare opportunity to taste many of the aforementioned bourbons, Scotch, and American craft distilleries products without having to buy an entire bottle. It also affords the chance to learn about the products from the brand representatives.
William C. Meyers is a local attorney and avid scotch collector. He co-authored one book on Scotch and is one of 23 contributors to the recently published 1001 Whiskies You Must Taste Before You Die. Meyers will again serve as the "Whisky Sommelier" at Whiskey in the Winter Festival, as he did at the inaugural event last year. Look for him at the Golden Ticket Bar.
