Small Batch

I’m fond of a whisky of a cold evening, and sometimes a warm evening too, and I’m particularly fond of Scotch.  I’ve enjoyed Irish, too, but I’ve never much cared for bourbon or rye.

Maybe I was onto something without knowing it.  Turns out that a lot of American whiskies labeled “small-batch” or “hand-crafted” are all produced in the same distillery in Indiana.

Bulleit “Frontier” Whiskey, for instance, is owned by multinational spirits conglomerate Diageo. For years, it sourced much of its bourbon and rye from MGP, a wholesale distiller. Only after the brand became established did Diageo open a distillery in Kentucky, where the product has been made since 2016.

 Templeton Rye — marketed as Al Capone’s favorite whiskey and proud product of Templeton, Iowa — is also distilled by MGP. Tincup Whiskey, a self-described “mountain whiskey” replete with commercials conjuring a frontiersman image and Rocky Mountain ethos, is mostly MGP, too.

Since “small-batch,” “hand-crafted,” and “craft” have no legal meaning, anybody can apply the terms to their product.  I can employ those terms any time I make a pitcher of margaritas.

And nobody’s saying that MGP (the country’s fifth-largest distiller) makes crap whiskey.  It’s just that when MGP’s product is marketed by another label, that label might choose to market its product deceptively.

So next time you look at a small-batch bourbon or rye, and the label tells you that’s it’s made using great-grandpappy’s recipe from before Prohibition, you might want to be a little skeptical, and see if the small print on the label says “Distilled in Indiana.”

As for producing the well-known 10-year-old straight bourbon, it’s understandable why Widow Jane sources that — opened in 2012, the distillery isn’t old enough to produce a 10-year varietal.

As for me, I’ll stick to Scotch.