Innovative times
By launching a wood finish bourbon Kentucky’s Labrot & Graham is merely honouring a long tradition of innovation at the distillery. Our man reports
Does whisky have to evolve, change even, to secure a future? The debate is common to all three of the great traditional whisky markets in Scotland, Ireland and America. And itâs one that is regularly reassessed and reconsidered in all three countries.
On one side of the argument are the traditionalists, the âdonât fix whatâs not brokenâ brigade, arguing that whiskyâs core characteristics are the very thing that make it stand apart and therefore best ensure its future.
On the other side are the modernisers, who argue that the fickle modern customer wants innovation and exciting new products, and that without change the existing whisky will disappear and the next generation will have lost interest. New and growing markets in the East and India are giving the overall picture an artificially bright hue, they argue, but they canât carry the sector forever.
So far in Scotland at least, an uneasy truce has held firm between the two camps. The traditionalists have successfully held out to protect the simple definition of what Scotch is, without it being diluted. The modernisers meanwhile have contented themselves with special finishes, unusual cask types, cask strength and unchill-filtered bottlings and with tinkerings with the fermentation and distillation process.
But the variety on display in Scotland isnât matched in America. Heaven Hill and Buffalo Trace have invested in innovation to some extent, there have been small batch and single cask bottlings and the .....
To read the rest of this article you can buy this issue
or subscribe to Whisky Magazine to have every issue delivered direct to your door.
You can unlock and read this entire article with 1 of your community tokens by clicking here.
By Rob Allanson
Section : American whiskey
Page number : 52
