// Style · American Single Malt
American Single Malt
Made primarily from malted barley at a single U.S. distillery; a newer, still-diverse category.
At a Glance
- Category
- American Single Malt
- Flavor Direction
- Grain & Cereal, Oak & Wood, Fruity, Sweet & Dessert-Like
What Makes It Different?
- American single malt whiskey is made primarily from malted barley, distilled and matured at a single U.S. distillery. It's a comparatively new and still-evolving category relative to bourbon or rye.
- Because the category doesn't share bourbon's tightly specified mash bill and barrel rules, individual producers can differ substantially in grain handling, barrel choice, and finishing; this guide describes tendencies, not a single fixed profile.
American single malt is a genuinely diverse category. Individual expressions can differ substantially from one producer to the next; treat the characteristics below as tendencies worth exploring, not a universal profile.
Flavor Profile
Production
A 100%-malted-barley mash bill, produced at a single distillery -- production logic borrowed more from Scotch and Irish single malt than from bourbon's corn-forward recipe. See Whiskey Styles Compared for how the category stacks up against its Scotch and Irish counterparts, and Process for how mash bill composition drives flavor generally.
Explore Bottles
This style spans too many distilleries' own mash bills to reliably match specific bottles here without guessing. Explore real core-lineup expressions in the Distillery Directory, or build your own grain bill in Find Your Perfect Pour.
Related Distilleries
Try It Yourself
Trying a american single malt? Use the Guided Tasting experience to walk through aroma, palate, and finish while it's actually in the glass -- a more useful way to learn what this style tends toward than reading about it alone.