Back in 2018 Fred B Noe III, Jim Beam’s master distiller at the time, said to Drinks International: “I think the only thing holding us back is the supply of aged products. If we go to the trouble of educating people on what bourbon is all about and then can’t supply the demand, we’re just teasing the audience. We need to ensure that when we enter a market with a new product we’re able to meet the demand for it. The demand curve in the US is so big, which is satisfying to watch but is also an issue for retaining old stocks.”

The legendary distiller wasn’t talking about extra-old whiskey, but retaining enough stock to supply the demand of its mainstream bourbons like White Label. In fact, in 2014 the brand removed the eight-year age statement from its Black Barrel and lowered the abv by 2% to accommodate the sudden boom in American whiskey sales. Since then Jim Beam has revived a seven-year age statement for its Black Barrel while it also has a 12-year-old bourbon in its permanent range, plus a limited-edition 15 and 18-year-old bourbon, a core rye whiskey seven-year-old with and a limited 10-year-old version of that same whiskey.

The wealth in stocks isn’t exclusive to Jim Beam. This year alone Wild Turkey has launched an eight-year-old while Whistlepig, Michter’s and Jack Daniel’s all launched a 10. The latter, from Lynchburg, is the brand’s first permanent age statement in more than 100 years.

“We’ve been experimenting over the last decade to make a whiskey with a rare flavour profile, to give Jack Daniel’s loyal consumers a taste of something new and exciting while honouring our heritage,” says master distiller Chris Fletcher.

“Bottled at 97 proof, this is a first for us and an important addition to our super-premium portfolio. With only 2,500 of these bottles available, we’re proud to have created a unique limited-edition product.”

For Jack Daniel’s, the 10-year-old was launched in the US in 2021 but this is the first time a JD age statement whiskey has left the US. In the UK just 200 cases were allocated but it’s said that the brand has plans for further age statements up to 21.

At The Connaught Bar in London there’s a new drink on the menu called Silver Seventeen, featuring the 10-year-old, silver needle tea, ginger wine and mint leaf. “I think what’s great is that, while it’s such a finite resource, people are still enjoying it in cocktails rather than simply sipping,” says Jack Daniel’s UK brand ambassador Cam Dawson. “In true Connaught style, they’re taking one of our most precious whiskies and elevating it behind the bar.”

It’s safe to say the category has come a long way in just a decade; from struggling to supply demand for even entry-level bourbon and American whiskey to pushing age statement whiskeys in cocktails around Europe.

Michter’s is a brand making some of the most highly sought-aft er age statements on the market, but it wasn’t a straightforward journey for The World’s Most Admired Whiskey brand.

“Going back to the 1990s, when our team started working to restart Michter’s in Kentucky, there was little to no market for age-statement American whiskey,” says Matt Magliocco, executive vice president. “Over the past 10-15 years, there has been a growing appreciation for age-statement bourbon and age-statement American rye. The first two Kentucky Michter’s offerings were 10 Year Single Barrel Bourbon and 10 Year Single Barrel Rye. We have seen a growing demand for both of those, as well as for our 20 Year Bourbon, our 25 Year Bourbon and our 25 Year Rye.

“The demand for age-statement Michter’s has only increased every year both domestically and internationally. To the extent possible, we try to allocate our age-statement whiskeys to each of our export markets in addition to our domestic markets, even if we can literally only provide a single bottle of a particular release to a market.

“We would anticipate that this positive trend for age-statement American whiskey will continue into the future as more people taste it and experience what a first-use barrel whiskey can offer when it is properly matured. With that said, we hear from consumers that quality remains the paramount consideration and that, depending on how a whiskey has been aged, older may not always be better.”

TARIFFS

The difference in both stocks and overseas demand for American whiskey over the past decade is remarkable. However, the timing of Donald Trump’s tariff war couldn’t be worse. According to the Distilled Spirits Council, in 2023 the EU was by far the biggest export market for American whiskey at around $705m – almost six times higher than Australia in second. The same data shows an overall increase of almost $200m in value since 2017 – a time when demand was outstripping supply. However, what the graph also shows is a clear dip in the middle when Donald Trump’s first wave of tariffs restricted sales to the EU.

In April this year he announced a further 20% tax on EU imports, which has since reduced to 10%, although should negotiations not develop by mid-July the EU have threatened their own 50% retaliatory import tariff on bourbon - a daunting prospect. Trump may be a difficult man to predict, but there’s no denying the negative effect his policies have had on American whiskey exports.

“The tariff conversation is bigger than Brown-Forman and our industry, and it’s evolving rapidly,” said the company in a statement. “We are continuing to prepare for different scenarios and are committed to navigating these evolving circumstances to best serve our consumers and stakeholders.”

Ask any American whiskey brand and you receive a similar response – essentially nobody knows what will happen next. The good news for bourbon fans in Europe is that, while overall exports may suffer, rare age statements will continue to dock in trade ports.

Just one week after Trump’s tariff news in early April, Jack Daniel’s announced the first-ever exports of its 10-year-old to Europe. At £110 a bottle, consumers are likely to accommodate a £10-20 increase to get their hands on a rare edition and the more exclusive the whiskey, the more tariff-proof it becomes. As Michter’s Magliocco simply concludes: “These rarer, more exclusive Michter’s whiskeys are not price-sensitive items.”