Why are you messing with my whiskey?

Give Me a Shot of Maple Syrup, Barkeep

Source: New York Times

By ROBERT SIMONSON

Jun 24th

It's tough keeping up with all the new flavored spirits: honey, cherry, cinnamon, apple, maple syrup.

And we're not talking about vodka, the anything-goes wild child of the spirits industry, which has produced more flavors than there are colors in a Crayola 64-pack. Whiskey, once the most tradition-bound and austere of spirits, has developed a sweet tooth of its own.

Distillers around the world are sugaring and flavoring whiskeys. Wild Turkey Liqueur, a honey-infused bourbon, was an early entry, introduced in 1976 and reformulated as American Honey in 2006. But with Red Stag, the successful cherry-flavored bourbon released by Jim Beam in 2009, the dam burst.

There are now flavored American whiskeys from the bourbon distillers Heaven Hill (Evan Williams Honey Reserve and Cherry Reserve) and Brown-Forman (Early Times Fire Eater, which tastes of red-hot cinnamon, and apple-flavored Blind Archer) and the whiskey giant Jack Daniels (Tennessee Honey).

Canada, too, has gotten into the act; most of its contributions are informed, predictably, by maple syrup. Last year, Bushmills became the first major Irish brand to introduce a flavored whiskey, called Bushmills Irish Honey. And in April, Scotland entered the fray when Dewar's came out with Highlander Honey.

Today, flavored whiskeys are the fastest growing segment in the bourbon industry. According to Nielsen research provided by Beam, in 2012 flavored whiskey accounted for nearly 75 percent of growth among all whiskeys, and 42 percent of growth in bourbon.

The field has become so crowded that Jack Rose, a Washington, D.C., bar with enormous whiskey holdings, has devoted a section of its menu to 25 flavored whiskeys. "It's grown dramatically since we opened," said Bill Thomas, an owner.

Whether the flood of new flavors is good or bad for whiskey's image depends on whom you talk to. People in the industry say flavored whiskey is a gateway drink that will introduce novice drinkers to the spirit. Eventually, the logic goes, their tastes will evolve and they will make the leap to straight whiskey.

"The starting point used to be bourbon and Coke, or bourbon and ginger," said Dave Pickerell, a former master distiller at Maker's Mark who now consults at a variety of distilleries. "This is just one extra step further down the trail."

But to some purists, the products have more in common, commercially and aesthetically, with popcorn vodka than corn whiskey.

"I think it is a cynical market grab masquerading as innovation," said Michael Neff, an owner of the Manhattan bars Ward III and Rum House. "Flavored whiskey, as a category, is not meant to create new whiskey drinkers, but to make flavored-vodka drinkers feel like grown-ups."

Skeptics abounded when Jim Beam was preparing to roll out Red Stag. The company itself wasn't so sure it was a good idea.

"At the time, there were a lot of folks both internally and in the industry who were very concerned about a flavored whiskey," said Chris Bauder, the company's general manager for whiskey.

But success is hard to argue with. Red Stag sales have risen in double-digit percentages every year since its debut. "Usually a product will grow a year or two, and then flatten out," Mr. Bauder said. His company responded by introducing two more flavors in 2012, and will bring out a fourth, Hardcore Cider, later this year.

Though industry officials don't like to talk about it, it's no secret that one initial aim of the bottlings was to bring women into the whiskey fold. "I do think it's a major effort to go after female drinkers in an aggressive way," Mr. Pickerell said.

And it has worked: 45 percent of the drinkers of Red Stag are women, Mr. Bauder said.

Mirna Feghali, an architect in Cincinnati, had little experience with whiskey until trying American Honey a few years ago. "It's smooth and has a good flavor," she said, allowing that "it's probably the honey" more than the whiskey that appeals to her. But women are only half the story.

"I'd say more men drink it now than women do," added Jimmy Russell, master distiller at Wild Turkey.

Mike Donnellan of Washington, who works in the video game industry, likes American Honey, but not in the same way he likes Scotch and bourbon. "We're whiskey drinkers," he said of himself and his friends. "Scotch is for sipping-on drinks, and bourbon to mix with Coke or ginger. But for a shot, I'd say nothing is better."

And it can become common ground for men and women to drink together, said Yvonne Briese, vice president for brand marketing for whisky at Diageo, the conglomerate that owns Bushmills. "What's happening with flavored whiskey is, it's becoming something that guys want to drink and something women think is more palatable," she said.

Though the flavored-whiskey shelf at the liquor store is getting crowded, Chris Morris, the master distiller at Brown-Forman, said he doesn't think whiskey is headed down vodka's road to perdition. Vodka is a blank slate; whiskey has a character that must be harmonized with.

"I think that will give us more rational, tighter range of expressions" he said.

So, no birthday-cake whiskey? "God, I hope we don't get to that," Mr. Pickerell said.