NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — If it isn’t fermented in
Tennessee from mash of at least 51 percent corn, aged in new charred oak
barrels, filtered through maple charcoal and bottled at a minimum of 80
proof, it isn’t Tennessee whiskey. So says a year-old law that
resembles almost to the letter the process used to make Jack Daniel’s,
the world’s best-known Tennessee whiskey.
Now state lawmakers are
considering dialing back some of those requirements that they say make
it too difficult for craft distilleries to market their spirits as
Tennessee whiskey, a distinctive and popular draw in the booming
American liquor business.
But the people behind Jack Daniel’s see
the hand of a bigger competitor at work — Diageo PLC, the British
conglomerate that owns George Dickel, another Tennessee whiskey made
about 15 miles up the road.
"It’s really more to weaken a title on
a label that we’ve worked very hard for," said Jeff Arnett, the master
distiller at the Jack Daniel’s distillery in Lynchburg, Tenn. "As a
state, I don’t think Tennessee should be bashful about being protective
of Tennessee whiskey over say bourbon or scotch or any of the other
products that we compete with."
Republican state Rep. Bill
Sanderson emphasized that his bill wouldn’t do away with last year’s law
enacted largely on the behest of Jack Daniel’s corporate parent,
Louisville, Ky.,-based Brown-Forman Corp. The principal change would be
to allow Tennessee whiskey makers to reuse barrels, which he said would
present considerable savings over new ones that can cost $600 each.
"There
are a lot of ways to make high-quality whiskey, even if it’s not
necessarily the way Jack Daniel’s does it," Sanderson said. "What gives
them the right to call theirs Tennessee whiskey, and not others?"
Sanderson
acknowledged that he introduced the measure at Diageo’s urging, but
said it would also help micro distilleries opening across the state.
Diageo picked up on the same theme.
"This isn’t about Diageo, as
all of our Tennessee whiskey is made with new oak," said Diageo
executive vice president Guy L. Smith IV. "This is about Brown-Forman
trying to stifle competition and the entrepreneurial spirit of micro
distillers.
"We are not sure what they are afraid of, as we feel
new innovative products from a new breed of distillers is healthy for
the entire industry," he said.
The standards and special branding
of Tennessee whiskey are an outgrowth of the special designation granted
long ago to bourbon. A half-century ago, Congress declared bourbon a
distinctive product of the United States. By law, bourbon must be made
of a grain mix of at least 51 percent corn, distilled at less than 160
proof, have no additives except water to reduce the proof and be aged in
new, charred white oak barrels.
Spirits that don’t follow those
guidelines can’t be sold as bourbon. One example is Brown-Forman’s own
Early Times, which is marketed as a "Kentucky whisky" because it is made
in reused barrels.
Billy Kaufman, the president Short Mountain
Distillery in Woodbury, Tenn., said it is more difficult to distinguish
spirits not meeting the Tennessee standard.
"If I made whiskey in Tennessee in a used barrel, what it would be called then?" he said.
"Whiskey, made in Tennessee?"
David
McMahan, a lobbyist representing Dickel and Popcorn Sutton Distilling,
said the law passed last year would require all Tennessee whiskies to
taste like Jack Daniel’s.
"It’s not unlike if the beer guys 25
years ago had said all American beer has to be made like Budweiser,"
McMahan said. "You never would have a Sam Adams or a Yazoo or any of
those guys."
But Tennessee craft distillers are divided about the
state law. Charles Nelson, the CEO of Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery in
Nashville, said he supports tighter regulation.
"Holding
ourselves to a higher standard will ultimately be better for all the
people in the category," he said. "If we lower the standards, it could
lead to more products and brands that could lower the reputation of
Tennessee whiskey."
Whiskey is clear when it goes into the barrel.
It’s during the aging process that the whiskey acquires color and
flavors. Jack Daniel’s Arnett said other distillers reusing barrels
might resort to using artificial colorings and flavorings that wouldn’t
match the quality of the whiskey stored in new barrels.
"We’ve
been making whiskey a long time, and we know that would not uphold the
quality that people expect from Tennessee whiskey," he said. "So we
wouldn’t dare consider doing it, even though it would save us millions
of dollars every year."
Jack Daniel’s stores its whiskey in new barrels made at a Brown-Forman plant.
Sanderson
argues that the flavor and color of the whiskey is determined more by
the charring of the inside of the barrels, which he said is a process
that can be repeated. Consumers would ultimately decide whether the end
product matches up.
"If they’re making an inferior product, the market will decide," he said.
___
Schreiner reported from Frankfort, Ky.
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