Modern Craft Distilling

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Modern Craft Distilling

Unread postby EllenJ » Tue Jan 23, 2007 8:52 pm

Chuck Cowdery's little Bourbon Country Reader, whose publication now spans equal parts of two centuries, is well-recognized by enthusiasts as a "must-have" source of information on just about every facet of the American whiskey industry (and related topics). Still wearing its trademark WordPerfect 3-Column Company Newsletter format that looked so spiffy and professional in 1993, and still made up of four pages printed on folded 11 x 17 stock (with an occasional insert page when Chuck finds one necessary for a given issue), the Reader remains packed with articles about whiskey's ever-changing traditions. Often it's the only source.

Nearly always, Chuck includes articles that shine some light into little-known or widely misunderstood corners of the whiskey world. And sometimes he lays some real bombshells on us. Occasionally, Chuck will even dedicate an entire issue to a particularly big issue, or one where history has left so many twists and turns that the logic of discovery is more fun to read about than whatever conclusion can be drawn. Such was the case recently when Chuck took on the Great Mythical Michter's whiskey, which required TWO issues to cover (and which will be feeding discussions and samplings for years to come).

Well, Chuck, it looks like "Whoops! you've done it again". You're gonna pi$$ off ANOTHER bunch of people this time, y'know.
And I have to say it's probably just what we deserve, too.

The latest edition of the BCR is another one-topic treatise, this one dedicated to a subject often called "Craft Distilling". That is the term used so reverently by people with polished copper stars in their eyes who consider it the way of the future for American whiskeymaking, once our glorious independent artisans are freed from the shackles of the evil modern industrialist monolith... well, you get the picture, okay? Of course, it's ALSO the term used by traditionalists who put it into the same category as home-made furniture and the sort of duct-tape-and-old-automobile-parts inventions one might expect to find at Red Green's lodge. There are, of course, many stages in between, and Chuck addresses those with logic. Cruel logic, without much leeway or forgiveness, according to some, I suspect. "Humbug!", others are likely to say, feeling that Chuck's very recognition of such endeavors grants them a legitimacy they don't deserve. I perceive Chuck's own take as one which accepts the validity of Craft Distilling, while not agreeing that all (or even most) of those who apply that term deserve to.

After all, there is an easily-seen difference between home-brew and craft beer. And yet, there are home-brews that are meticulously fashioned, of high-quality and unique character; and there are "craft beers" which are simply cutely-named brands produced by mega-breweries in Milwaukee and St. Louis. Chuck contends (and I'd agree) that too many Craft Distilleries fall into a category where they emulate the latter, just on a smaller scale.

Chuck makes a very strong case for the idea that there are aspects of whiskeymaking that are simply best performed by large commercial operations, such as milling their own grain or distilling neutral spirits. And yet Craft distillers rarely if ever mill their own grain. Instead, they seem universally proud of their ability to make (uh, craft?) vodka! Whoo-whee! Some time ago (probably while he was researching for this edition's article) Chuck brought up some of these points here on Bourbon Enthusiast (and probably other venues as well). At that time there was some discussion about craft distilling and batch-vs-continuous distilling, and I took the position that modern Craft Distillers are using, not the "traditional" pot stills of folklore, but miniature versions of the same kind of continuous column stills employed by what I facetiously called "the whiskey refineries". It turns out that the truth is a combination device, neither swan nor goose, which is part copper pot still (but not enough to actually give those characteristics) and part column still (but not enough to provide a continuous distilling environment). Chuck documents these very well in the article.

He also lists several ways that an aspiring Craft Distiller COULD produce a product which has an intrinsic value to add to the world of American spirits and not just another trendy brand name. Among them are ancient arts no longer practiced by commercial bourbon distillers, such as malting or yeast propigation. Distillation and barreling proofs, a subject of particular interest to me, are mentioned. As are the barrels themselves. Are there "craft coopers"? To learn more of these and other ideas, you'll need to read the story. If you don't already subscribe, you can at http://cowdery.home.netcom.com

I love Malt Advocate, and have been reading it for years. I read Whisky magazine, and subscribed to that for awhile, although Linda and I can usually visit Mike in Louisville, including dinner, for less than four issues of Whisky, and I'll learn more about American whiskey in the process. These magazines are in full Technicolor, on glossy paper, with over a hundred pages, and even staples!! Lot's of ads, too, but they're nearly all spirits-related so they're interesting, too. The Bourbon Country Reader has no ads. Also no color, only a few pages, and no staples, either. But the BCR makes a fine example of a true Craft Publication. It should be an inspiration to those who would do the same as distillers.
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Unread postby gillmang » Wed Jan 24, 2007 9:37 am

John, I also enjoy reading the newsletter very much. It has an authoritative, crisp style and its opinions are always well-informed.

I haven't received the current issue yet, so I will wait to offer a detailed comment on it and your response.

For now, I'll just say I am very excited about the advent of straight whisky made by craft distillers. Regardless of particular techniques, I feel this trend (if it is one) just has to mean a lot for bourbon fans. I think it will introduce, one way or another, diversity in the bourbon and rye pictures. The new Hudson Baby Bourbon - still not reviewed on these pages - is an example. I am sure more will follow.

To date, the small distillers seem (in total) to have cast their nets widely. We have seen everything from malt whisky-style products to grappa to gin to rum to corn whiskey. In the new issue of Imbibe magazine, there is a feature on the small outfit that has made Virginia Lightning since the 1980's (Belmont Farms). Of course, and as you explain further on your own site, there are others such as Isaiah Morgan rye whiskey.

But until the Hudson Baby Bourbon, no craft operation has issued a bourbon or aged rye whiskey. I think it just took, and is taking, the craft industry time to wend its way back to the American classic, straight whiskey. Also, and understandably, to cut a swath, they wanted to do something different. The aspect of producing unaged liquors, which can be sold quickly to get in cash flow, can't be ignored either, and may have been primary.

I saw 25 years ago what the few (initially) craft operations started to do for the beer world. I think something similar will emerge for bourbon and rye and it will not copy what the big guys are doing, it will necessarily be different. Craft is something hard to pin down, but e.g., when you read about what the gentleman did who started Belmont Farms, you realise his product is unique and is the result of a thousand little processes and decisions he made. His still is a manageable-size copper pot still that was made in 1933 for the post-Volstead market. He uses local water to mash but filters it a certain way to dilute. There is not too much information in the article on the mash and how exactly he puts it together, but it has the hallmarks of individuality. If we ramp up that kind of model for bourbon, it has to result in a picture, ultimately (I believe) similar to what existed in the mid- and later-1800's. Of course, that will mean some of that new bourbon and aged rye won't be great, but that's part of diversity. (Some of the bourbon currently made by the 8 or 9 producing Kentucky plants isn't that great, in particular in the younger age bands). In craft brewing to this day, probably only 1 beer out of 10 really appeals to me but what does is super-good. Everyone will decide for himself.

I look forward to Chuck's article and will probably give some further thoughts once I've had the chance to see the specific facts and arguments he has made. These thoughts mentioned above are just ones percolating in my mind for the last couple of years, in general, on the subject.

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Unread postby cowdery » Wed Jan 24, 2007 3:36 pm

Thanks, John, for the thoughtful review. I am provocative to a fault, I'm afraid. It doesn't always serve me well.

By the way, it's an old Microsoft Publisher template. I like to think of it as "vintage."

Not much for me to say that I don't say in the piece, but one or two things. The piece itself grew out of a kind of frustration. I've been following this "movement" with interest for years and have repeatedly been disappointed, both by what these distillers are doing and by what they say about it.

I gave an earlier draft of the piece to Bill Owens, who runs the fledgling trade group for craft distillers. He said he found it "interesting" and agreed with "some of it," but he has sat on it and hasn't made any moves to put it or any of the ideas it contains in front of his membership.

I put part of the fault with him and with his advertisers, who are still manufacturers and other suppliers to the industry. Both are telling folks what they want to hear.

I am not saying they have to do things a certain way. I'm just saying they need to be realistic and truthful, to themselves most of all. They're basically kidding themselves and getting a lot of enabling from people who should know better.

Gary, I agree with what you're saying, and you tend to be a glass-half-full kind of guy, and God bless you for it. There are some hopeful signs, "Baby Bourbon" being one of them, but they are sadly in the minority.
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Unread postby gillmang » Wed Jan 24, 2007 4:34 pm

Thanks Chuck, and we'll see. But again I think of the fitful start of the microbrew phenom. It started so slowly! Fritz Maytag bought Anchor Brewing in 1966 or so. New Albion, the next craft brewer, started approximately 10 years later. 10 years - only a handful of the current micro distiller crop were in business more than 10 years ago. Between New Albion and the early 80's, you could count the microbrew start-ups on one hand. And then slowly it gathered momentum. The big boys in the industry in those years could hardly disguise their contempt - but things turned around, and now A/B makes bourbon-flavored stout and lots of other micro-styled beers. True, there are differences: people were able legally (although not until the mid-70's) to make home brew. That was an important part of the beer renaissance and helped indirectly the commercial start-ups since many of its entrepreneurs had been home brewers. But broadly I see the new crop of distillers as in a similar position. Unlike with the microbrew pioneers, their focus has been, oddly, on almost any hard liquor other than America's great native spirit. But that will change.

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Unread postby bourbonv » Wed Jan 24, 2007 8:00 pm

Chuck,
An excellent issue of the Bourbon Country Reader. I agree with what you are saying about the craft distillers, but I think what is needed is for one of them to take the extra step and make an aged bourbon and to make it well. When that happens they all will want to jump on that bandwagon. It will take time and I think it will happen.
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Unread postby cowdery » Wed Jan 24, 2007 11:39 pm

I agree with all of the above and humbly submit that one thing the "new crop of distillers" needs is someone to tell them to get their collective heads out of you-know-where. Who better than me?
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Unread postby bourbonv » Thu Jan 25, 2007 10:21 am

Chuck,
Your article was very good and inspired me to re-read it last night. I would say that what a craft distiller needs to do is to make an aged bourbon and then make sure it gets plenty of publicity. If the distiller does it right and contacts The Bourbon Country Reader, Malt Advocate, Whisky Magazine, newspapers, and some key magazines explaining what they are doing, and then do something that is really authentic, then they will be create the buzz needed to sell the product before it is finished.

I don't think they need to go to the extra expense to do everything themselves such as milling and malting, but they could contract with a historic old mill (such as the one at Spring Mill Park in Indiana) to get real water power milled grain. I think the yeast would be something else they should try to do themselves. That might involve learning a lot old techniques and maybe working with a local University's biochemical department to really understand what is going on, but it would be a unique factor as Chuck stated in the article. Find some old mash bills and make it in a real fire heated pot still. Maybe use Taylor's method of small tub cooking with 100% backset for the liquid. Distill at about 100 proof and barrel it at 100 proof.

Once all of this was done, then I think the accolades would pour in, even if the whiskey was onlt so-so on the first attempt. Malt Advocate has shown that they value innovation when they pick the Whiskey of the Year. I am sure that would also be true for the Distillery of the Year. Whisky Magazine may very well place the whiskey in their "Best of the Best" issue and it may even win an award from them as well. That would create the publicity that would cause the big companies to pay attention, especially if they feel they wanted some of those awards for themselves.

In my opinion, that is the recipe for a successfull craft distill.
Mike Veach
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Unread postby gillmang » Thu Jan 25, 2007 2:48 pm

Okay, I've read the newsletter. It is (as anticipated) excellent and I agree with the points made. E.g., in relation to possibly doing one's own coopering, an artisan distiller-cooper (or distiller sourcing a barrel from an artisan cooper) could consider using trees that are much older than what are used today for whiskey barrel-making. Sure, that wood is hard to find, but there must be some, and it would suit a small-scale operation if not the way the modern big cooperages operate.

Chuck's article reminds me of how Michael Jackson and others wrote about craft beer and some (not all of) the early craft breweries at the dawn of the beer renaissance.

Jackson advised brewers to brew from whole grains (not malt extract), to use whole hops if possible (not hop pellets or concentrate), not to pasteurise if they could get away with it, to top-ferment for ale brewing, and to bottle- and cask-condition if possible. He was educating them, really, on what craft brewing was all about.

Many of the early craft brewers were still learning: they used short-cuts and often made bad beer. Either they did not know how to brew well, or were focused (fair enough) on reducing cost and labor. With time, they worked out the kinks and the malt extract operations mostly faded away. (I am not against malt extract per se and I understand that its own quality has improved a lot in 30 years, but to me craft brewing is whole grains brewing or "full mash").

Now with distilling, I think we will see a range of practices. Some people will adopt some of Chuck's suggestions. Some will continue to do things their way and some may end up with an excellent product. As I said earlier, being small means inevitably that an individualistic product will result, even if certain short-cuts are followed. I do see the glass as half-full and think things will work themselves out in time.

But Chuck's basic message is sound.

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Unread postby cowdery » Thu Jan 25, 2007 4:00 pm

I see what you mean about me echoing Jackson. In a nutshell, the message is: there is a difference between being a hobbiest and being an artisan professional.
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Unread postby cowdery » Tue Jan 30, 2007 9:15 pm

I thought about putting this under the "woeful bourbon ignorance" thread, but I chose to put it here because it's an example of the mis-information being dished out by the American Distilling Institute.

The ADI puts out an email newsletter that seems to come out about once a week. Not to put this in too prejudicial of a way, but it seems to be rather thrown together. Most of the content appears to be reprints of articles originally printed elsewhere.

Here are some excerpts from the most recent issue, #67.

The article is from the Madison, WI Capital Times and is entitled "Spirited Glass: Here's a toast to bourbon." The interview subjects are the manager and bartender at Greenbush Bar on Regent Street. (Prices quoted are per drink.)

"The smaller the quantity in production, the more distinctive will be the bourbon's character and flavor. In addition to mass-market blends, craft-distilled bourbons come in two varieties:

"Small-batch bourbons are distilled in a pot still in quantities of 19 barrels or less. The smaller quantity, which allows for greater experimentation among distillers, can also ratchet up the price."

"Single-barrel bourbons, as their name implies, come from even smaller, one-barrel batches."

"Rock Hill Farms Single Barrel, 100 proof ($6.50): A fairly high rye content gives this whiskey a lovely color, an almost floral nose and soft, inviting palate."

"Eagle Rare Single Barrel 10 Year Old 90 proof ($5): With a vanilla nose and peppery palate, the bourbon, while popular, gets 'hot' because of the alcohol as it aerates. Despite it being a past award winner, more balanced blending might help."

"Blanton's Single Barrel 93 proof ($6.50): One of the few bourbons whose blend adds an almost creamy quality to the spirit with honeyed caramel notes."

"Jefferson's Very Small Batch 88 proof ($6) and Jefferson's Reserve Very Old 90.2 proof ($7.50): Both from the same distillery and driven by vanilla flavors from the oak kegs."

The fact that some little paper in Madison prints a story about a local bar in which virtually every word is factually wrong is one thing. That a newsletter supposedly providing a service to the craft distilling community would reproduce it, apparently either not knowing or not caring how wrong it is, is just an example of what I'm talking about.
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Unread postby EllenJ » Thu Feb 01, 2007 2:06 am

Chuck...

(1) Careful -- you're beginning to sound like Keith Olbermann

(2) Have I ever mentioned to you just how much I appreciate Keith Olbermann?
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Unread postby bourbonv » Thu Feb 01, 2007 10:49 am

Chuck,
How many people do you think receive this newsletter? I hope it is a fairly small group because this is a terrible disservice to the heritage of the distilling industry to be spreading such bullshit.
Mike Veach
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Unread postby Mike » Thu Feb 01, 2007 11:10 am

EllenJ wrote:Chuck...

(1) Careful -- you're beginning to sound like Keith Olbermann

(2) Have I ever mentioned to you just how much I appreciate Keith Olbermann?
_____________ :discodance: :clapthumbsup: :discodance: _____________


As to (2), John, me too also in addition.....

As to rank amatuers writing about bourbon, several people who know that I like bourbon and have a decent collection have suggested that I write a book about it. I don't even bother to tell them that I really don't know shit about bourbon.

Somewhere in Mark Twain's writings there is a piece about an Italian man who flattered himself that he had mastered English and wrote a book about it. The title of the book was, 'English As She Is Spoke'. I suspose I could write a book called, 'Bourbon As She is Drank'........
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rage at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light. - Dylan Thomas
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Unread postby cowdery » Thu Feb 01, 2007 9:48 pm

Mike wrote:.....'Bourbon As She is Drank'........


I think I would enjoy reading that book.

In fairness to Bill Owens, I know Bill, we communicate about this stuff. He listens but doesn't quite hear. I believe he does reach virtually everyone who considers themself a "craft distiller," but I doubt the majors are paying much attention. As Gary very correctly points out, one has to take a long view. The micro-brewery movement had its missteps too. What happens, I think, like a lot of communities of people who are trying to do something new, is that they only talk to each other, to buck each other up, and try to tune out anything they perceive as negativity. That's understandable.

I think they'll eventually get what I'm saying because...well...I'm right.

I like Keith Olbermann too, but he still hasn't topped his early Sportscenter work, which was sheer genius.
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