Tariffs could create ‘more opportunities’ for experimentation
While the threat of tariffs continues to cause uncertainty and concern for the spirits industry, some producers are looking at the potential bright side to the situation.
Following US president Donald Trump’s threat of 200% tariffs on spirits from the European Union, Adam Hannett, head distiller of Bruichladdich Distillery, told The Spirits Business what tariffs could mean to the Islay-based spirits company this time around.
“When tariffs were put on whisky before, it did have a big impact on us, and actually, as a distillery, we chose to not pass that cost onto the consumer – we took that hit ourselves,” Hannett said.
Now, he speculates on the knock-on effect they may have on the availability of Bourbon casks, which, Hannet explained, are used a lot in the ageing of Bruichladdich’s single malt whiskies. As such, if there is a shortage, he said it could create an opportunity for experimentation.
“When you think about how [tariffs] are affecting Bourbon, if they’re emptying less casks, there’s less availability [for us],” he continued.
“We fill a lot of first-fill Bourbon barrels because when you taste that Islay barley, it works beautifully, so we do rely on them quite a lot.
“What we generally do is we then fill them a second time, but then after that we don’t have a use for it. We might put a few third-fills, but not really, and so we sell the cask back to the cooperage or do something else with it, so we’re only getting a couple of uses from that wood.”
However, Hannett noted that Bruichladdich Distillery, which is certified B Corp, was conscious of its sustainability efforts.
“We think about being more sustainable, getting better use from things,” he explained. “And again, as the cost goes up we want to manage things better.
“We have started a process of de-char/re-char with the cooperage, so rather than just getting rid of the cask and getting new ones all the time, we’re actually rejuvenating the wood and bringing new life back into it.”
As a result, Hannett said the distillery has been “buying less first-fill barrels and using more of our own second- and third-fill barrels a bit longer, which brings in new flavours, and creates more opportunities for flavour”.
He predicted that if a Bourbon barrel shortage were to kick in, “there will be a lot of distilleries that would want to reuse a lot of oak that way”.
Hannett said: “Looking around our warehouses, we have so many different types of casks that we use, there’s always going to be that avenue as well. Its always worked really well for us, and maybe it creates more opportunities for other people to experiment and do different things.
“But I would imagine it’s initially just going to sow a lot of chaos and confusion, which is just what we don’t need.”
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