“When I blend for my own products, I insist on tasting every single barrel. Sometimes this can add up to hundreds and hundreds of barrels—but, in my mind, how could I create a masterpiece if I don’t know what flavors are present and possible from the beginning? It would be like trying to create a work of art where certain colors don’t show up on your palette until you’re halfway through creating the piece.” —Marianne Eaves, master taster, freelance distiller and blender
So, you had your plan—your script, if you will. You went into production, and you used a true-to-target sensory panel of hard-working people aligned on a sensory vocabulary to confirm you are executing the plan. The distillate is in the barrel now, and your team will continue to evaluate it over time. The science part is done.
Now, it’s time for the art—for the magic. Now, it’s time for the editors to come in and shape the story.
“The blenders need the distillers to be consistent and conscientious,” says Ryan Ciuchta, head blender at Kings County Distillery in Brooklyn, New York. “The distillers have to trust that the blenders will age, blend, and release their distillate in a way that best showcases their work.”
[PAYWALL]
Know Your Parameters
“I start by asking the foundational questions,” says Justin Aden, head blender at Stranahan’s in Denver. “How big does this batch need to be? What age? What proof? Will I need to repeat this release or profile? What parcels might make good candidates?”
The first step in putting together a successful blend is understanding what you’re making. Is this a flagship product that needs to resemble previous releases, or is this a new product? If it’s new, is it going to become one of your core SKUs, or is this a one-off, limited release? Besides those questions, what are the expectations for this product?
“I focus on the parameters set by business realities,” Aden says. “Most professional blenders must make reproducible batches on time and on budget every time. Even in special limited-release situations with total creative license, there are typically still some practical economics like minimum bottling size or target price point. Sometimes these can be flexible, but it’s always the best place to begin to be more disciplined.”
While both flagships and specialty releases come with their own trials and tribulations, flagships can present a deeper layer of challenges.
“Once you’ve created a specific profile and garnered a following for the product, it’s a lot of pressure to deliver that same quality each and every time,” Ciuchta says. “The consumer has something that they like, and it’s our job to honor that in exchange for their continued support of our brand.”
Amanda Beckwith, head blender at Virginia Distillery in Lovingston, Virginia, agrees that blending a flagship is “vastly more challenging” than blending for limited release. “The balancing act of maintaining a consistent product while still working to improve upon it as whiskeys age, and [as] ingredients such as yeast strains or casks or even maturation environments may change over the years, is not always an easy feat.”
That’s not to say that limited or specialty releases are a walk in the park for the blender. There is inherent risk in putting something new out on the market, especially if it’s not on-spec with what you’ve previously released.
“Limited releases can be more difficult because you are putting yourself and your distillery out there, saying, ‘This is what some of our very best looks like,’” Aden says.
On the other hand, there’s a positive side to assembling the unique one-offs. “Trying to determine what the market wants, making it unique, and having no established benchmark can be daunting,” Ciuchta says. “But getting to flex the creative muscle and utilize odd inventory is often a rush of excitement for a blender.”
Mindful Tasting
You have your vision, and you know your targets. Now it’s time to start evaluating barrels for the blend.
With the principles of proper sensory evaluation in mind, there’s a lot to consider before you crack into those barrel samples. For many, the best time of the day to evaluate spirits is in the morning—preferably before you’ve had anything to eat or drink, but well after brushing your teeth. If you can, forgo that morning coffee until you’re done, though that may be asking a lot. At the least, ensure your sensory location is as free from distractions as possible.
“I make sure I have a clean table, lots of bottled water, and a spit jug nearby, a place to take notes, and an environment that’s free of odors,” says Marianne Eaves, freelance distiller and blender and former master taster at Brown-Foreman. “You also want to limit mental distractions, like unnecessary noises, strange lighting, screens, emails, and social media. Keep your mind on the task at hand.”
One major difference between blending on a small-batch or craft scale versus what the larger legacy brands do is the ability to taste every single component of the blend. While small- to medium-sized distilleries are compiling a handful of barrels, some of the larger ones get into the hundreds for a potential blend; producers such as Jim Beam and Buffalo Trace are using thousands.
“To think that any one person could taste thousands of barrels individually that would go into each batch that they’re making on a weekly basis—and sometimes even on a daily basis—would be physically impossible,” Eaves says. “So, most often the blender is looking at new make—at very small sample sets to represent larger lots that are aging in the warehouse. They determine the quality of the overall lot based on these small sample sets and then use that information to pull massive quantities of barrels.”
There’s nothing wrong with that approach. The big brands do quite well for themselves and make phenomenal products—however, when blending on such a grand scale, you can rely more on the law of averages. If most of the whiskey from a specific lot is of high quality, it’s more likely that any barrels not on-spec or with some off-flavors will be rendered negligible by the larger scale.
Building the Blend
On a small-batch scale, meanwhile, every barrel in the blend must have its purpose. One poor barrel can throw the whole thing off.
“I mandate to blend ‘without flaws,’” Aden says, “looking to start with a baseline that’s immaculately error-free, and then exploring attributes and artistry from there.”
At Kings County, Ciuchta says, “we typically blend using something similar to a perfumer’s triangle: The widest bottom part is the base whiskey, the middle section is for flavoring and character. And, finally, the top is like the salt in a soup that ties everything together and makes it a complete whiskey.”
He works alongside Kings County’s senior blender, Nathan Reinke. “Nathan and I often utilize poker chips to mark glasses after our separate evaluations,” Ciuchta says. “Glasses with double chips—mutually agreed upon—will typically comprise the base whiskey. After the base is dumped, we will evaluate the tank and re-approach the set to either correct course, or [to] begin flavoring the whiskey to the correct house profile. We rely on our notes to know where to go in the sample set to get the right flavors we need: heavy oak, sweet caramels, barrel spice, dark fruit, etcetera. After the whiskey is in profile, we’ll then look for that last 1 to 3 percent that really ties it all together into a cohesive finished whiskey, often zeroing in on oak level—how it sits on the palate and the finish.”
Especially when blending a flagship product, it’s important to have previous samples to test against your blend. In craft production, it’s natural for whiskeys to start to change as they continue to age longer and as your distillery improves its processes over time. Finding a way to balance this gradual positive growth—while maintaining consistency in products already being enjoyed in the market—is extremely important.
“Even now, 10 years in, I constantly benchmark against others in the industry and our previous blends,” Ciuchta says.
At Stranahan’s, their flagship yellow-label Original is a blend of whiskeys aged from four to seven years. “The four-year barrels give it our signature malt-forward character, while the older barrels add spice and oak complexity,” Aden says. “I’m keenly aware of maintaining this profile with every batch while vigilantly changing the ratios.”
Avoid blending in a bubble. Performing proper sensory analysis alone is not only difficult, but it can be detrimental to the success of a distillery if the blends are only incorporating one point of view.
“Having two of us in the room, approaching the samples from different perspectives, helps to really home in on the best of what we have to offer and provide unique flavors profiles,” Ciuchta says.
At Virginia Distillery, Beckwith says the two pillars of her blending philosophy are consistency and quality. “I don't believe in cutting corners, and this often means taking a great deal of time to dial in on the final version of a blend,” she says. “I’ve created a sensory panel where I will share my final rounds of a new product, to guarantee that I'm creating a whiskey that will speak to a range of palates beyond my own. I also believe in maintaining the core DNA of a brand’s whiskey. For me, this means making sure that a balance is struck between a new-make distillate and the oak influence. While different whiskeys will showcase different flavors and even drinking experiences, there should always be a consistent through-line that makes sense and tells the right story for the style of whiskey being made.”
Sometimes, knowing when to declare a blend finished can be the hardest part of the process.
“The more time I have, the better the blend will be, but it comes down to diminishing returns,” Aden says. “An extra couple of weeks might make a marginal difference in taste but could take an outsize toll on me both physically and productively. When I'm confident that I’ve found the best combination down one pathway, I like to step away and then come back, with a fresh nose and palate, and make a ruthless gut call on its worthiness. Nearly all of the time, it’s the best way to go.”
Eaves speaks of a peak in the process: “Somehow, I always know when a blend is finished,” she says, “and usually I get to the point where one barrel changes it in a negative way, and I know I want to stop.”
Elements of a Winner
When it comes to the question of what makes a perfect blend, there are some areas of agreement among the seasoned pros.
Drinkability is important—a whiskey can’t just taste good; it needs to be enjoyable. That means texture, mouthfeel, and finish. Complexity is another key trait: If you’re choosing to combine multiple barrels, the final product shouldn’t be one-note. The barrels should work together to create a nuanced flavor experience.
However, in speaking with these insightful blenders, one thing that really stands out is how they speak less about the aromas and flavors than they do how the whiskey should make someone feel.
“A key marker of a great blended whiskey is balanced complexity,” Beckwith says. “Nuanced layers that tell a story are a way to create a whiskey that people will not … drink and forget, but one that will engage their senses, create memories, and enhance moments that are already special.”
It takes more than great flavor, aroma, and color to make a great blended whiskey, Aden says. “It should engage a fourth sense and evoke in you a feeling.”
Blending a Premium Product
“I try to look for opportunities in the market to do something different, and not just create something new for the sake of having something new,” Ciuchta says. “We try to create with purpose, so that every product has a reason behind its existence.”
When the craft-spirits movement first started, there was a lot of skepticism around small brands and producers. People would wonder why they should consider paying twice as much money for a half-size bottle of two-year-old whiskey when they could buy a full-size bottle of eight- or 12-year-old stuff from one of the big guys.
To answer this call, craft producers had to innovate. They had to try things that the legacy producers were not doing. They had to find unique ways to stand out. Now that some of the craft producers have been around for a decade or longer, they have older whiskey—and some of these experiments are coming of age.
“From my experience, craft distilleries can be a lot more playful and edgy with their blends,” Beckwith says. “They tend to think outside the box a bit more and showcase a willingness to take bigger risks. The larger legacy brands typically have a strong sense of self. They know what has worked for them because of decades of experience, and it is rare that they allow for much coloring outside of the lines.”
Craft producers now have the opportunity, through blending, to create new experiences and styles of whiskey that either haven’t existed for generations, or perhaps have never existed.
“In our blending room, I’d say that we spitball 10 ideas a week for new products, and maybe one makes it to market per quarter,” Ciuchta says. “I try to keep the innovation and creativity constant but only release something for a reason or specific purpose. Too many ideas on my whiteboard is a great thing—it doesn’t mean they all have to exist at once.”
At Stranahan’s, Aden says, he begins by asking, “‘Does this need to exist? Did anyone really ask for it? Does the world need it?’ It has to be inspired, and it has to be great. The quality bar needs to be set higher for creative experiments because creativity for its own sake cannot be a shield for lower quality.”
Aden says there’s a great advantage to working in a place where they can hear directly from customers—“where you have an avenue to let fans weigh in at an intimate scale,” he says. They use that feedback. Creative blends may start out in their Distiller’s Experimental Series releases, in 375 ml bottles, for a limited time. “If it becomes clear that people want more of it, we release it in larger format as a Distillery Exclusive, before considering it for a nationally distributed Diamond Peak limited release.”
The spirits industry is evolving, and interest in whiskey has been rising around the globe. Intrigue and legislative changes gave birth to a new craft movement. Survival inspired innovation; that innovation has opened a door. We are in a new world now, and blending may offer the opportunity to bring whiskey to new heights.
“There's so much room for cool collaborations, new experiments, and new flavors in blended whiskeys,” Beckwith says. “I believe the sky’s the limit on blended whiskeys, and as whiskey drinkers become increasingly educated and open to new styles of whiskey, I'd love to see the rise of American blended whiskeys.”
Aden says the greater interest in blends is part of a natural progression. “Single barrels have been the trend for some time, but America is starting to catch up to the level of appreciation other countries have for blended whiskeys,” he says. “It’s such a great time to be doing what we do.”
On the craft scale, Eaves also speaks to transparency and willingness to share the specific components of a blend—something that has been and will continue to be paramount to the growth and acceptance of American blended whiskey.
“At the end of the day, if it’s a tasty product, go wild,” she says. “I think that as beverage makers, we all make choices based on keeping our own passion alive and how attractive we believe a profile would be to the customer. I would love to see it continue to grow. I think there is a huge opportunity, and I hope to be a part of it.”
