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For creative distillers, cocktail programs can help move bottles and open paths to new product categories.

There’s an important fork in the road to creating an American single-malt whiskey: Will you produce it on-grain or off-grain? That single decision has a major impact on the whiskey’s character, the equipment you’ll need, and the shape of your waste streams.

Understanding and knowing how to address various issues that can create an unsightly spirit can help you put your best foot forward as a distiller.

Barrel char is a crucial flavor component for American whiskey, but there’s no need to follow the crowd. Going with an unusual char level or including a variety may be what takes your whiskey from good to great.

When small distilleries have success, it can be tricky to navigate through expansion while keeping costs in check. Here are some key factors to consider when you’re making a plan and running the numbers.

The differences between on-grain and off-grain production involve much more than impact on flavor, and it pays for you to know the pros and cons of each method.

The strength at which distillers decide to bottle their products can have wide-ranging impact, from labeling laws to bartender preferences.

Planning production in the distillery requires more than an optimistic foot on the gas. It demands a calculated look at production and sales capacity.

Here are some important practices to observe—and to avoid—when it comes to maintaining stainless steel in the distillery.

Stainless steel is ubiquitous in production environments, so—to ensure consistent spirits and long-lasting equipment—it’s critical to understand how and why it works and the types we’re likely to use in the distillery.

This unusual rye-wheat hybrid isn’t well known among the drinking public, but its star may be rising in the world of craft whiskey.

Rapid-aging research is as old as commercial whiskey production. What are the upsides, what are the downsides—and why hasn’t it taken broader hold in the industry?

While the smallest distilleries will never compete on volume, there are other areas where they can outmaneuver bigger players on experimentation, local ties, and small-batch appeal.

When it comes to diluting a spirit before packaging, deliberate slowness has a strong following among distillers. Yet there’s a lack of hard evidence to back up the approach—or to dismiss it.

As a distiller, you need to ensure that the water you’re using for dilution is helping, not harming, your products. Here’s what to know.

The available data around flavor impacts is unclear—even contradictory—but this much we know: Distilling a range of strengths for the barrels will give you a broader range of blending options.

A smaller space requires any producer to be flexible—but that nimbleness can also be a strength.

Understanding the reactions that occur in a barrel can help distillers get the most from their cellar environment and cask choices.

There are multiple ways to accomplish the critical task of measuring alcohol content in the distillery. Here are four newer methods that are gaining popularity.

While smaller vessels can speed up certain types of aging reactions, the results are uneven among different aspects of maturation. Let’s look closer at what’s happening inside those barrels.

Spirits that feature foraged ingredients offer unique flavors while appealing to locally minded drinkers.

Cocktail kits, premixes, premium RTDs, and gift boxes can help provide an extra revenue stream for independent distilleries.

Properly gauging ethanol in a distilled spirit is essential to ensuring proper reporting and avoiding heavy fines from the TTB.

The way a distiller makes cuts will help to define the flavor and aroma of their spirit—but it doesn’t have to be complicated.