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Young Whiskey Mash
Hello,
I work at a small distillery in Oregon and I have been struggling to find information on how to correctly label a malt mash unaged whiskey. From what I have read on the TTB website we are not able to place “white” and “whiskey” on the label next to each other. Also I seem to have read something somewhere that possibly states we would not be able to call it whiskey because it is not made from corn? Is that correct? What I am wondering is if anyone has tips or knows the direction I need to move in with the TTB to get our unaged whiskey properly labeled? Any information would be appreciated!
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3 Replies
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Whiskey is a spirit made from grain, distilled at a max of 160 proof and aged in charred new oak barrels. Corn is only one of many grains that can be used to make whiskey.
If your spirit is stored in new charred oak for any length of time you can label it as Malt Whiskey, even if it is basically clear from only being in oak for a short period of time. An expensive use of new barrels for sure!
If you store it in used oak barrels, you can call it whiskey made from a malt mash, again, even if it’s clear from only being in oak for a short time.
If you never expose it to oak, you can’t label it as whiskey (unless it’s 80% corn), you would have to label it as a spirit made from a malt mash.
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Thank you for taking time to respond. That is what I was thinking, but needed to make sure
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You can have all sorts of different experiences with what you need to label things, a quick spin at the liquor store will show you all sorts of white/unaged whiskies which are labelled “whiskey”. My advice would be to study their labels, and also to not expect many people to be interested in an unaged single malt.
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