"select grains" and age

[nydistiller]

Age is not as important as grain. Age is just a personal preference in my opinion. I like the younger stuff. I also like the flavor of white dog. If you do not start with good grain, then no amount of aging will help. All distillers I know use the best grain they can get. The statement "select grains" is just marketing.

[smokinjoe]

Age is not as important as grain. Age is just a personal preference in my opinion. I like the younger stuff. I also like the flavor of white dog. If you do not start with good grain, then no amount of aging will help. All distillers I know use the best grain they can get. The statement "select grains" is just marketing.

I'm confused by this. If a distiller uses the best grain they can get. If a distiller uses only one type of corn, rye, or wheat. If they test all incoming grain for mold, moisture, etc. If after those tests, it is judged to meet spec. and thus accepted. If they tend to buy from the same, qualified, suppliers year after year (presumably because that producer delivers quality and value). Then, isn't a distiller who promotes that he uses "select grains", by the very definition, doing exactly that? IMHO, I don't see "marketing", or hype, or fluff.

JOE

[cowdery]

It's marketing fluff when the marketer brags about using only the "finest grains" as if that's a point-of-difference and his competitors, by implication, must be using grain that is less fine.

As I said earlier, what consumers need to understand is that while quality grain is important, all of the American whiskey distillers have mastered that challenge, pretty much. It's not a significant point-of-difference. Presumably, nydistiller is talking as a micro-distiller, but whether or not micro-distillers can make grain selection a real (as opposed to fluff) point-of-difference remains to be seen.

[Barkley]

Welcome. Interesting question and many good answers. Looking forward to more from you.