BIG bold
Cask-Strength Variations are Creating New
Opportunities to Reward Spirits Lovers
BEAUtIFUL
By jeffery Lindenmuth
I
n the simplest terms, the proof of a distilled spirit in the U.S. is
the percentage of ethanol in the solution multiplied by two: 40%
alcohol by volume = 80 proof. But beyond the basic math, proof
can be an factor in flavor, a mark of value, a marketing strategy
and even a defining characteristic for some spirits.
Much of the current trend of higher
proof spirits can be attributed to producers
of single malt Scotch and small-batch
bourbon. In an effort to present the
distillate in its most authentic form,
producers began offering “cask strength”
and “single barrel” offerings, bottled at
full strength rather than customarily
diluted at the distillery, just before
bottling, to a tidy round number, like
80, 86 or 90 proof. These higher proofs
are usually the domain of collectors
and connoisseurs.
“I don’t have market data, but everything I’ve been exposed to suggests that
bourbon drinkers buy 100 proof and higher because they like more flavor—a whiskey that is stronger, richer and deeper in
flavor, with more bourbon and less water,”
says Harlen Wheatley, master distiller of
Buffalo Trace and Sazerac.
Standing Out
from the Crowd
Proof can be helpful in differentiating between similar products in a large portfolio
like Sazerac’s, with standard 80 and 90
proof spirits at the entry and 93.7 proof
Blanton’s and the latest release of George
T. Stagg Kentucky Straight Bourbon
Whiskey 15 year (142.6 proof) as premium offerings.
Wheatley notes that most drinkers heed the distiller’s advice to dilute such spirits. “We don’t as a rule of
thumb suggest drinking 145 proof whiskey. It can be consumed that strength,
but it is so hot that it is an awful strong
drink. We really advocate adding water or ice,” says Wheatley. His personal
taste is for bourbon watered to about 90
proof, a number that Sazerac refers to as
“Kentucky proof.”
In some cases, proof is so closely
identified with a product that it becomes
the name, as with Wild Turkey Bourbon
and their core 80 proof and 101 proof
iterations. In the process of reformulating
the classic Wild Turkey 80 from a blend
of mostly four- and five-year old bourbons
to include older whiskies aged up to eight
years, Wild Turkey associate distiller Eddie
Russell bumped the proof from 80 to 81.
“We wanted to make people understand
that it is not the old 80. That means a new
package and a new proof. People order the
product by the proof so they will be asking
for the 81,” says Russell. In addition to the
standard proof blends, Wild Turkey offers
Rare Breed at barrel proof (usually ranging
from 108 to 110).
While drinkers won’t be ordering it by
proof, Beam’s new Devil’s Cut brandishes
its 90 proof strength prominently on the
label, suggesting it serves as an important
point of differentiation.
Brown spirits derive the bulk of their flavor from
maturing in barrels, not from proof alone.
Pictured here: the Buffalo Trace warehouse
in Franklin County, Kentucky.
Foolproof Flavor?
The notion that fuller proof spirits offer
bigger flavor spawned the idea that alcohol equals flavor. In a widely cited article,
Jason Wilson in The Washington Post suggests that “alcohol delivers flavor, just as
fat does in food.”
It’s a logical notion, but not factually
correct. “I would disagree with that idea. I
don’t believe that proof gives you flavor at
all. I’m sure you’ve seen white whiskey off
the still, but it does not give you any flavor. To get all those good flavors you have
to age it in the barrel. That’s where flavor
really comes from,” says Russell.
Indeed, it’s perfectly possible to have
flavorful low alcohol spirits, and neutral
tasting high-proof spirits, given that ethanol is essentially flavorless. It’s accurate to
say that the flavors in a higher proof spirit
are often less diluted, but we should be
careful about telling consumers that more
alcohol means more flavor.
What proof does have in common
with fat in food is calories, with ethanol
clocking in at 7 calories per gram, just
below fat’s 9. Therefore, reducing proof
H i gh Pro of
is one of the single most effective ways of
reducing spirit calories, a concept utilized
by low-cal spirits like Voli Vodka, which
conserves calories by offering a 60-70
proof product, compared to a more typical
80. (See next article.)
Proof Positives
While the idea of diverse proof levels may
be well established in the world of whiskies, categories like Cognac and vodka
are far more homogenous in their proof.
Nearly all vodka is bottled at the minimum 80 proof, excepting a few 100 proof
offerings from Absolut, Smirnoff and
Stolichnaya and specialty products like
Belvedere Intense and 160 proof Devil’s
Springs Vodka. These products are often
utilized for on-premise infusions.
During its recent history as a luxury
sipping spirit, nearly all Cognac, including even the highest marques, has been
a selec tion
bottled at 80 proof, diluted for sipping
neat. Taking a cue from mixologists enraptured with higher-proof whiskey, like Rittenhouse Bottled-In-Bond Rye Whiskey
100 Proof and Wild Turkey 101, Cognac
Ferrand 1840 Original Formula has been
designed specifically for mixing, with 45%
ABV or 90 proof.
“We discovered that Cognac was
drunk at higher proof back in the 19th
century. We looked at many of these old
bottles, which reached about 50% alcohol
and we decided that the 1840 was the best
representation to recreate a cocktail Cognac,” says Guillaume Lamy, vice president North America at Cognac Ferrand.
According to Lamy, proof resonates
with today’s bartender’s and many are
eager to mix classic cocktails using the
spirits as they existed. “We did not invent
the product, but dragged it out of history,”
says Lamy.
high
f
proo
In Sazerac’s broad
portfolio, different
proof levels are used to
distinguish its bourbons,
which include Buffalo
Trace (90 proof); Blanton’s
and 1792 Ridgemont
Reserve (93.7); and
George T. Stagg (142.6),
among others.
Top mixologists at New Yorks destination like Employee’s Only, Daniel and
Apotheke are also embracing Louis Royer
“Force 53,” bottled at 106 proof, according to Estelle Ngo, brand ambassador,
Louis Royer Cognac. “Not only does the
spirit stand up well in a cocktail, but it
represents a value. The price difference
from our 80 proof VSOP to the 106 proof
is only $4. Consumers are very interested
in the trying the product and because the
price difference is not that significant,”
says Ngo.
Proof has traditionally played an important role in the rum category, where
over-proof rums like Bacardi’s popular
151 are used for everything from pyrotechnic cooking to making fortifying tiki drinks, with the spirit’s ability to stand up to heaps of blended and
shaved ice. The burgeoning spiced rum
category seems to be taking hint from
rum’s history pages as well.
When Steven Grasse, CEO of Quaker
City Mercantile in Philadelphia conceived
Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum, its 92 proof was
one of several points of difference from
category leader Captain Morgan, along
with price and flavor profile. “Sailor Jerry
has a really interesting unique story and
all the different parts add up to the bigger
picture. We were always intrigued by the
story of high-proof rum and navy rum.
We combined that with Sailor Jerry the
person and reflected that research in a
more manly, stronger proof,” says Grasse.
Avoiding Pitfalls
Now, the category seems to be bordering on an obsession of successively high
It’s accurate to say that the flavors
in a higher proof spirit are often
less diluted, but we should be careful
about telling consumers that more
alcohol means more flavor
proof launches: Blackheart Spiced Rum is
93 proof, The Kraken is 94 proof, while
Captain Morgan offers a 100 proof Spiced
Rum and Admiral Nelson has introduced
a 101 proof product.
proof
roots
Hundreds of years ago, a spirit’s
strength was “proved” when
whisky and gunpowder were
mixed and ignited. If the mixture
flashed, then such whisky was
said to have been proved; if
ignition failed, it meant that
the spirit was weaker than
“proof strength.” Hydrometers
eventually became the standard
tool to gauge alcohol percentage
by volume, but the term proof
has remained part of liquor
nomenclature.
“There is an arms race with new
entries in spiced rum and higher proof,’
says Grasse. “It risks becoming a gimmick
and I think that is dangerous because the
industry can get its arm slapped, like a
Four Loko situation.”
Indeed, the proliferation of highproof spirits carries the seeds of its own
peril as some states are taking notice of
extremely high-proof products and their
impact. Several already have proof bans
in place, including Ohio (bans 151),
Minnesota (bans above 160), California
(bans above 153) and Florida (bans above
153). A 2010 study the Iowa Alcoholic
Beverages Commission also looked at
options for limiting high-proof alcohol
sales, including eliminating alcohol sales
above 151 proof or limiting sizes of high
proof products.
These signs of pushback suggest
that suppliers, marketers and re-sellers alike need to be mindful of image.
Emphasis at all three tiers needs to
be on character and craftsmanship,
not strength alone. Coupled with consumer education, higher proof can mean
greater flavor, more diversity, new usage and superior cocktails, provided the
products rely on more than potency in
their message. n