For at least the last five years, there has been a story making the rounds that has caused terrified bourbon connoisseurs to clutch their wallets and favorite bottles with the whitest of knuckles. That story involves a sort of Dark Age of bourbon availability, as our favorite brands, or those that we drink regularly while dreaming of finding a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle at retail price, have become endangered as supply simply cannot meet demand. Because bourbon sales have seen an amazing spike in the U.S. and beyond – Japan certainly loves the spirit now more than ever – it is pretty much bad news for those of us looking to pick up an affordable bottle of the fancy stuff at the local ABC. And all of the pesky bourbon thieves aren’t helping either.
In order to avoid making hipster bourbon lovers on a budget settle for name brands or the bottom shelf’s plastic bottles (although some cheap brands tend to do the trick), the wizards and warlocks of the industry are getting fancy in speeding up the aging process. According to Nautilus, while the big brands are doing just fine in keeping their products on the shelves, the little guys are doing whatever it takes to keep up.
Terressentia, near Charleston, South Carolina, which specializes in bulk bourbon (sold in 6,000-gallon tankers), uses increased oxidation to mimic aging and take impurities out of young whiskeys, explains Terressentia CEO Earl Hewlette. Terressentia starts with undrinkable 4- to 6-month-old whiskey because they want their whiskey to be brown—something you can’t get without time in an oak barrel. They filter it in plastic tanks with a technology that expedites the aldehyde and acid dance, creating drinkable esters—chemical compounds—in just eight hours. According to Hewlette, the process has the added benefit of turning some of the fatty acids from the original fermented grains into glycerides, which act as a smoothing agent, taking the bite out of the final product. “When the bourbon shortage came along, it gave us a whole new market,” says Hewlette, noting that the same bigger companies who used to sell in bulk have been hoarding their own limited supplies. (Via Nautilus)
Naturally, the experts working for the big boys aren’t impressed by these aging tactics, because they believe that the only way for a good bourbon to truly age is in a barrel, like that woman who married Ashton Kutcher explains in Jim Beam commercials. It’s an interesting prospect, though, the idea that quality bourbon can be produced faster to keep consumers happy.
In fact, I’d gladly volunteer my time and services to test each of these new bourbons. I won’t even charge for it. Just pour it directly into my face hole.