Sourcing Whiskey: Good or Homogenizing?

U.S. distillers and consumers are rightfully proud of the strictness of our nation’s rules governing bourbon. They make clear where and how it can be made, aged and bottled like no other country in the world.

But after tasting hundreds of bourbon iterations in my career, the consistency of them many is becoming as concerning as comforting. Some days, I wonder if too many are just too similar, especially when I see so many parallels in my tasting notes (and others’) for reviews and barrel picks. That consistency is born of at least a few things:

• The sensory limits of my (and others’) palate(s)
• Historically tight guardrails around bourbon production
• The sheer volume of the same whiskeys sourced by non-distilling producers (NDPs)

Let’s address each separately.

1. When I see many repeats in my tasting notes, I have to ask, “Am I not able to discern the nuances of every bourbon I taste?” Frankly, I don’t think so, but I am, after all, a survey panel of one. Even at 59, I’m learning and discerning more about everything I smell and taste, whether it’s the endless array of flowers and plants I smell on long walks, the wide range of foods I cook and buy or the large number of alcoholic beverages I drink. The adventure remains fresh to me.
2. The guardrails around bourbon ensure consistency via the rule-bound combo of corn, malted barley and primarily rye or wheat. Of course, yeast plays a huge role, as do cask choices and rickhouse locations and rick placements. But if you can imagine giving chefs such a limited market basket from which to create a whole menu, you can see how narrowly restricted American whiskeys are.
3. Now, to sourcing. It’s always existed and always will. But I believe increasingly homogenous whiskey is a real and concerning impact. Sure, skilled blenders improve on and minimize those basics, but it’s truly difficult to blend your way to a radically different product when your source materials are shared by others. Even if it’s well blended and you get a better bourbon, it’s still a bourbon like many others.

Do I think secondary cask aging can create differentiation? Absolutely for some. Excellent and nuanced examples are Tumblin’ Dice, Angel’s Envy’s 2023 Cask Strength Bourbon, its Cask Strength Rye finished in Sauternes and Toasted Oak Barrels, and Bardstown Bourbon Co.’s Amrut-Finished Cask bourbon, to name only a few. But some others that resort to merely double oaking or a short rest in a Cabernet cask don’t always match up.

There’s also a growing problem of a common age of so much sourced whiskey on the market: 4 to 6 years old. Many single barrels I’ve helped pick over the past several years are at that age and bearing similarities so easily discerned that there’s little unique about that pick.

I get it: Sourcing works to get lots of brands launched. There’s definitely a place for it. But have we reached the tipping point at which there’s too much of it?

My palate is leaning toward yes.