Back in 2019, I wrote a blog on the history of age statements. I have been thinking about them lately and I thought I would share a few of my more recent thoughts here today.
Age statements about disappeared twenty years ago when the whiskey supplies started to dry up with the growing demand for Bourbon and Rye whiskeys. Wild Turkey and Buffalo Trace in particular removed age statements from their brands. They brought them back on their premium brands and special releases. Heaven Hill, to their credit, kept the age statements on most of their age-stated brands. Still, age statements seemed a thing of the past for most four to eight year old whiskeys.
Then the artisan distillery movement started to grow. As they got older whiskey in their warehouses they started to place age statements on their whiskey brands. They did this to show that they were making quality whiskey and the consumer should give their brands a try. They also started releasing Bottled-in-Bond whiskey for a similar reason and when they had older whiskey than four years old, they wanted to advertise that fact through an age statement. Brands like Lieper’s Fork started releasing six year old whiskeys with an age statement.
Age statements are making a comeback. As whiskey stocks grow with expanded production, you are starting to see older whiskey being put in the bottle. The next step will be increased competition for sales as the market levels off. You will probably see an increase in age stated brands. You see this happening now with Jim Beam releasing their Black Label Jim Beam with a seven year age statement. The next step will be when brands like Weller Special Reserve start coming out with the seven year age statement once again.
Competition for bottle sales will drive this increase in age statements. As consumers are finding more and more age stated brands, the distillers without age stated brands will find their non-age stated brands decrease in sales. This will drive them to put age statements back on labels. For example, consumers will look at brands like Weller Special Reserve, with its high price point and compare it to brands like Wilderness Trail wheated recipe with the six year old age statement and similar price point and pick up the Wilderness Trail bottle at the liquor store.
Age statements are making a comeback. As whiskey sales level off and warehouse stocks increase with the increased production levels and fierce competition for bottle sales, distilleries are going to be putting older whiskey in the bottle. They will be placing an age statement to reflect this older whiskey going in the bottle.
Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller