By Mark Gillespie
June 15, 2021 – Single malt whiskeys have been a mainstay of the whiskey world for decades, but there is no legal definition for “single malt” whiskey in one of the largest whiskey markets in the world. Now the Treasury Department’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau has taken the first small step in creating a legal standard for American single malt whiskey.
The agency has Topic added added the “Uniform Agenda” of the Federal Government under the supervision of the Office for Administration and Budget. This document outlines proposed regulatory measures for all federal agencies and serves as a guide to current and future plans for changes to federal regulations.
In this case, the TTB confirmed the demands of distillation industry groups and consumers to create an “identity standard” for American single malt whiskeys. This includes the American Single Malt Commission, a group of more than 100 distillers who either sell American single malt whiskeys now or mature them for future releases. Matt Hofmann, master distiller and co-founder of Westland Distillery in Seattle, is a leader on the commission and praised the move in an Instagram post Monday night.
The agency’s unified agenda notice does not provide guidance on what TTB staff might recommend in the proposed regulation. These recommendations will only be published in the next step of the process when the agency has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register. According to the agenda, this announcement could be made as early as December, although it should be noted that regulatory measures are often postponed well beyond the original schedule. The issue of the NPRM then gives the public and industry a 60-day comment period to propose changes to the proposed rules. After this period has expired, TTB employees will consider these comments before deciding on a final change to the regulations.
As an example, the TTB’s proposal to deregulate certain bottle sizes for spirits was published in the Federal Register in July 2019. After the public comment period triggered criticism of the authority’s original plan to only set minimum and maximum bottle sizes and to allow the use of bottles of any size in between, the TTB employees went back and revised their proposed rule changes. The final regulations were only issued on December 28, 2020, 18 months after the NPRM was issued.
Since this is the first time that the agency is considering a “standard of identity” not just for an American single malt but for every single malt whiskey, the original draft regulations are unlikely to please everyone. To date, the United States has treated most single malts to the “malt whiskey” standard, which meets the same requirements for bourbon and requires the use of new charred oak barrels.
The US identity standard for bourbon, wheat, malt and rye malt whiskeys from Title 27 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
However, the United States allows three other countries to define their own standards for single malt. Scotland, Ireland and Canada have specific exemptions in the regulations where the US bases its legal definitions of whiskey on. This has in the past led to conflict with importers of single malts from India, Japan and other countries including England and Wales who, despite their whiskeys being made to the same legal standards, have not always enjoyed the same treatment as their Scottish neighbors. Whiskeys from “non-traditional” whiskey producing countries were rejected during the TTB’s label approval process under the “malt whiskey” requirement for the use of new charred oak barrels, although these rejections have become rarer in recent years as more countries are using the Start exporting their whiskeys to the USA
The American Single Malt Commission proposal presented to the TTB essentially reflects the Scotch whiskey regulations that require the use of 100% malted barley in whiskey that is bottled in a single US distillery to no more than 80 vol with at least 40% vol. It would allow the use of new or used kegs and industry groups will be watching closely as TTB staff take a stand on this important issue. TTB officials have not yet responded to an interview request.
The American single malt proposal was just one of 24 proposed regulatory measures that were included in the Unified Agenda. Most involve the wine industry with the creation of specific wine-growing regions, but the list also includes a proposal that updates current federal regulations to reflect changes to the Craft Beverage Modernization Act and Tax Reform passed by Congress last December. This legislation was part of the Covid Pandemic Relief Act and made the cut in excise tax rates for small distilleries permanent.
This story will be updated with additional information.
Left: Tax and Commerce Office | Westland Distillery | American Single Malt Whiskey Commission