Welcome to Flavor Country - The Flavored Whiskey Boom

When whiskey geeks talk about new trends in whiskey, we talk about things like finishing, age statements, reductions in proof and craft whiskey.  Living in the whiskey geek bubble, though, it's easy to forget that probably the biggest and most important trend in whiskey in the last ten years, at least from a sales perspective, has been flavored whiskey.  Hardly a day goes by when I don't see a report of startling new whiskey growth figures inevitably led by flavored whiskey sales. Yes, whiskey of all types is booming, but flavored whiskey is on fire. According to the Distilled Spirits Council, in 2013, 45% of growth in the whiskey category came from flavored whiskey sales. 

Jack Daniel's is undertaking a major distillery expansion, largely to satisfy demand for its Tennessee Honey. Nearly every major American brand has a flavored category and Canada, Scotland and Ireland are starting to catch on to the flavored whiskey trend as well.

Of course, flavored whiskeys and whiskey liqueurs are nothing new.  Brands like Drambuie, Bailey's and Southern Comfort have been around for decades (though Southern Comfort no longer uses a whiskey base) and Wild Turkey introduced its American Honey back in 1976.  But the new wave of flavored whiskey took off with Red Stag.  Jim Beam introduced Red Stag, a cherry flavored bourbon, in 2009, and it's been an enormous success.  It was followed by other big brand flavor extensions, including more Red Stag flavors, numerous flavored whiskeys under the Evan Williams label, flavored Seagram's 7 from Diageo and the aforementioned Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey.  Even premium brands have gotten into the act with Beam releasing a smoked maple version of Knob Creek.

The biggest success in flavored whiskey has been Sazerac's Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey which has been around for years but didn't take off until after Red Stag's introduction.  Fireball sold nearly 2 million cases globally in 2013, and earlier this month, Brown Forman announced it would introduce a new cinnamon flavored whiskey in the Jack Daniel's line which was largely seen as an attempt to compete with Fireball. 

How much has the category taken off since Red Stag came out?  Looking at TTB label approvals, for the entire year of 2008, the year before Beam introduced Red Stag, I found only one label approval for a flavored whiskey.  In contrast, in 2013 there were close to 100 unique label approvals for flavored whiskey of various types.  Cinnamon, honey and fruit flavors are the most popular, but I've seen labels for coffee, ginger, coconut, chocolate and even green chile flavored whiskeys, among others.

Whiskey geeks turn their noses up at flavored whiskey, and while I don't drink it, I've always defended it. It's no skin off my back if someone likes flavored whiskey, and good for the companies for finding a cash cow that can hopefully subsidize more premium products.  At this point, though, it's become so popular that you have to wonder whether the lure of easy profits is contributing to the general shortage of quality whiskey stocks.  At some point, when companies face limited stocks and the choice of releasing premium, high proof brands or stretching their stock with flavored whiskey (with its 60 proof minimum), the temptation to use those stocks for flavored whiskey might be irresistible.

Who's not making flavored whiskey?  Among the major American companies, only Four Roses doesn't have a flavored whiskey.  How long will they be able to stand up against the pressure of easy profits and enviable growth figures?

So should we be worried about the growth in flavored whiskey or will this rising tide lift all the whiskey boats?

March Madness: Knappogue Castle and Kin

It's March, which means one thing in most of the whiskey world:  Irish Whiskey.  Yes, you're allowed to drink Irish all year 'round, but let's face it, March is the one time in the year when non-whiskey people wake up and pay attention to it.

I've always been a fan of Knappogue Castle's Irish single malts, but haven't sampled any of their whiskey since they switched from vintage years to age statements, so I was quite pleased when Castle Brands sent me samples of their entire lineup.

Castle Brands is an independent bottler which also owns the Jefferson's line of bourbons.  Their Irish line includes Clontarf, a blend, as well as the Knappogue Castle single malts.  While they have not disclosed where these whiskeys are distilled, given that the Knappogue Castles are all triple distilled single malts, they are likely from Bushmills.  The only thing they say about Clontarf is that it comes from Dublin, which means it could be a Midleton product (while Midleton Distillery is in Cork, they have a presence in Dublin as well).


Clontarf 1014, 4 years old, 40% abv ($20)

Not part of the Knappogue line, Clontarf is Castle's budget brand.  Clontarf is a blended whiskey aged in bourbon casks.  It is 10% single malt and 90% grain whiskey (both pot and column distilled).

The nose is light with honey and malt, a very typical blended Irish Whiskey nose.  The palate is malty, a tad soapy, then later in the palate develops a nice mustiness and some briny coastal notes that dominate the finish.  I really wasn't expecting much from this, but it's a very nice Irish blend with some complexity, and for $20, a real deal.


Knappogue Castle 12 year old, 40% abv ($42)

This is a single malt aged in bourbon casks. It is "lightly chill filtered" at a higher than usual tempreature and has no coloring added.

The nose is malty and fruity.  Palate is soapy with a bit of pepper.  The finish is mostly peppery with some malt on the nose.  This is not at all bad but a bit on the bland side.  


Knappogue Castle Twin Wood 14 year old, 46% abv ($60)

The 14 year old single malt was distilled in 1998 and bottled in 2012. It includes malt aged in both bourbon and Oloroso sherry casks. The 14 year old is not chill filtered and had no added color.

The nose on this one has some malt but is dominated by chemical notes.  The palate is again a bit soapy with some floral notes.  The finish is floral and perfumy.  Despite the "twin wood" designation, there is very little sherry character on this whiskey.

I wasn't a big fan of this one.  It just didn't come together that well.  


Knappogue Castle Twin Wood 16 year old, 40% abv ($100)

This single malt was distilled in 1995 and bottled in 2012.  It spent 14 years in bourbon casks and 21 months in sherry casks. It is "lightly chill filtered" without added color.

The nose on this one is very nice with fruity malt.  The palate is malty and straight forward with some of that nice pepper going out and into the finish, which also has some salty notes.  Again, there is very little sherry character here.  This is decent enough but not particularly exciting.

Celtic Honey, 30% abv ($22)

Everyone has a flavored whiskey these days, and apparently, Castle Brands is no different. Just for the heck of it, I thought I'd give their Celtic Honey a try.  The nose has marshmallows in honey.  The palate is pure honey.  I mean, it's like drinking a watery honey.  I keep wanting there to be some spice, but I don't get any.  The finish is a bit bitter, like artificial sweetener.  Obviously, this isn't my thing, but I didn't feel this one was particularly good even for a flavored whiskey. 


Overall, I wasn't particularly impressed by the new Knappogue Castle lineup, particularly given that they have put out some really great whiskeys in the past.  The 16 year old was my favorite over the 12, though not by much, and $100 is a bit steep for it.

For a good Irish Whiskey at a very good price, I would recommend the Clontarf.  It's a straightforward blend, but it has some more complex notes, and it's a real bargain.

Whiskey Heresy: Flavored Whiskeys

I didn't post this as part of my Whiskey Wednesday series because, as noted in the title, flavored whiskeys are whiskey heresy, but on Friday, anything goes. We've suffered through inanely flavored vodkas and rums for a few decades now, but flavored whiskey and whiskey liqueurs are just starting to proliferate. Sure there are some that have been around forever, like Southern Comfort (though I don't know that it has actual whiskey in it anymore), Bailey's and Drambuie, but recently the floodgates seem to have opened wide to new, sweet whiskey products.

The highest profile new flavored whiskey is Jim Beam's Red Stag, a Black Cherry flavored Bourbon. Wild Turkey American Honey is a liqueur made with honey and Bourbon which has been around for a few years now. I grabbed minis of both to do a tasting. Obviously, these things are not meant for whiskey geeks like me, so I'm going to do my best to judge them for what they are, sweet drinks probably meant for cocktails.


Tasting

Red Stag by Jim Beam, Black Cherry flavored Bourbon, 40% abv ($14-18)

The nose on this is very light, smelling only faintly of cherries. Egads, it's insanely sweet! It's actually not bad though. I was expecting it to taste like cough syrup but the cherry flavor is more reserved than that; more like a cherry soda flavor. The sweetness makes it difficult to take straight, but on the rocks with soda, it would probably make a refreshing drink, like an alcoholic cherry soda.



Wild Turkey American Honey, liqueur with Bourbon and honey, 35.5% abv ($20-23)

The nose on this is really nice. It's got lots of floral and herbal qualities along with a good dose of lemon. Lemon is the predominant flavor, which I didn't expect. Surprisingly, it doesn't really have much of a honey flavor. While it's very sweet, the sweetness isn't quite as cloying as it is in the Red Stag. For this one, I would think there would be lots of good cocktail uses. It has a more complex flavor profile than the Stag and is generally more interesting to drink.

Now, that wasn't so bad, was it. I'm not going to rush out and buy this stuff but it's not bad as far as liqueurs go.