DEFINING CRAFT DISTILLING

 

 

CERTIFIED CRAFT SPIRIT™

ADI craft label.jpg

Craft spirits are the products of an independently-owned distillery with maximum annual sales of 52,000 cases where the product is PHYSICALLY distilled and bottled on-site.

A Craft Blender is independently-owned and operates a facility that uses any combination of traditional and/or innovative techniques such as fermenting, distilling, re-distilling, blending, infusing or warehousing to create products with a unique flavor profile.

Craft blending is not merely mixing high-proof spirits with water or sweetening. Many craft distillers both distill and blend products and must identify them as such on their TTB profile.

TO BE A CERTIFIED CRAFT DISTILLED SPIRIT

  • Distilled by the DSP: The spirit must have been run through a still by a certified craft producer, and the TTB-approved label must state “Distilled By” followed by the name of the DSP.

  • Independently-Owned: Less than 25% of the craft distillery (distilled spirits plant or DSP) is owned or controlled (or equivalent economic interest) by alcoholic beverage industry members who are not themselves craft distillers.

  • Small-Scale: Maximum annual sales are less than 100,000 proof gallons.

  • Hands-on Production: Craft distillers produce spirits that reflect the vision of their principal distillers using any combination of traditional or innovative techniques including fermenting, distilling, re-distilling, blending, infusing or warehousing.

QUALIFICATIONS TO BE A CERTIFIED CRAFT-BLENDED SPIRIT

  • Independently-Owned: Less than 25% of the craft distillery (distilled spirits plant or DSP) is owned or controlled (or equivalent economic interest) by alcoholic beverage industry members who are not themselves craft distillers.

  • Small-Scale: Maximum annual sales are less than 100,000 proof gallons.

  • Hands-on Production: Craft Blenders produce spirits that reflect the vision of their principal blender using any combination of traditional or innovative techniques including fermenting, distilling, re-distilling, blending, infusing or warehousing. The blended components must be varied in each type — e.g., more than one barreling of whiskey, more than one type of neutral spirits, etc. — and cannot be limited to merely blending-down high-proof spirits with water, or by only adding coloring, flavoring or blending material.

Bill Owens

President & Founder, American Distilling Institute

Reprinted courtesy ADI