SEATTLE, December 13, 2024 – It started with an idea and led to over a decade of advocating, but Westland Distillery is thrilled to celebrate the official ratification of the American Single Malt Whiskey category, announced by the U.S. Government’s Alcohol & Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau (TTB). The Seattle distillery, a leader in the category, has been instrumental in achieving consensus in how to define American Single Malt, and lobbying the TTB to recognize it as its own official category within the broader world of American whiskey.

Before today, the TTB has only recognized a formal definition of single malt whisky if it’s produced in Scotland. Now, thanks to Westland, which founded the American Single Malt Whiskey Commission in 2016 alongside nearly 100 other distiller-members, the U.S. formally recognizes American Single Malt Whiskey according to unique standards of identity:

- Fermented mash of 100% malted barley produced in the United States

- Distillation proof of 160 or less; distilled at the same distillery in the United States

- Stored in used, charred new, or uncharred new oak barrels, with a 700-liter maximum capacity and only stored in the United States

- No neutral spirits permitted

- No allowable coloring, flavoring, or blending materials permitted, except for caramel coloring that is disclosed on the label

This regulation defines the production standards for American single malt whiskey, and what distillers can and cannot state on labels. The final rule is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on Wednesday, December 18, and the effective date is January 19, 2025.

“Westland was founded on the conviction that American Single Malt Whiskey could and should stand shoulder to shoulder with the finest whiskeys in the world,” says Jason Moore, Westland’s managing director. “For more than a decade we have been at the forefront of this new category diligently working to establish it on the global stage.”

About Westland Distillery
Founded in 2010 in Seattle, WA, Westland Distillery is leading the emergence of the American Single Malt Whiskey category. Distilled, matured and bottled in the heart of the Pacific Northwest, their whiskeys bring a new and distinctly American voice to the world of single malt. To learn more about Westland Distillery, visit www.westlanddistillery.com. To receive updates on Westland’s latest releases and distillery news, join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/westlanddistillery, or on Twitter or Instagram at @westlandwhiskey.