Five Questions with Joe Ziegler, Whiskey Ambassador

Jan. 8, 2016

Breakthru Beverage South Carolina Whiskey Ambassador Joe Ziegler spends his days in the market preaching about the brown stuff and demystifying a beverage that is often - surprisingly - still misunderstood. A true educator, Ziegler’s passion for whiskey is obvious after only a few moments of hearing him talk shop with customers.  His knowledge of whiskies from across the world is impressive, even more so considering Ziegler got into the beverage industry not on the spirit-side, but through the beer business.

“I was the head brewer at Hilton Head Brewing Company in 1995,” said Ziegler. “That is where my passion for whiskey actually began. I am a production nerd and you can’t make good whiskey without making a good beer first.”

Ziegler took some time between customer visits to talk with us about his passion for whiskey, the industries misconception on blends and what he sees for the future of South Carolina’s cocktail scene.

What are some of the common questions people have for you during your whiskey trainings? What are the key takeaways?

Whiskey as a category has a lot of myth. People are amazed to learn some actual truths about whiskey, especially in the bourbon category.  I still encounter people every day who swear that bourbon has to be made in Kentucky in order to officially be considered bourbon.

In our industry, the concept of what defines Scotch whisky is changing rapidly, single malts especially. Fifteen-to-20 years ago you could almost go by blanket statements and say that each region of Scotland produced a whisky that tastes a certain way. That’s not the case anymore. Single malt producers now make a wide variety of styles all over the flavor spectrum. It is kind of cool to bring people in and show them how dynamic the whiskey business is and how it is continuously changing.

What stood out to you as the most prominent whiskey trend in the market this past year?

One of the things I’ve noticed is that there are a lot of Scotch single malt producers who previously only sold their Scotch for blending, and now are suddenly releasing single malt bottles. We’re seeing a lot of great new releases from distilleries that have been producing whiskies for over 100 years but had never offered a single malt expression before. I think that is cool because you’re seeing a lot of different offerings in terms of how the whiskey is finished, matured, and [how they] differ from one-another. Again, that’s giving some disparity to the regions. Single malt is very exciting right now.

That’s not to take away from blended whiskey either. Blending whisky is very exciting right now as well, with brands like Monkey Shoulder and John Glaser’s Compass Box producing some absolutely amazing stuff. I love the way Glaser is bucking the trend and pushing back at the Scotch Whisky Association a little bit. Some of the new, creative Scotch blends that are coming out are just outstanding.

How has the “bourbon boom” impacted the South Carolina market?

South Carolina has always been a bourbon-heavy state. It is ingrained into our heritage. The bourbon boom has certainly brought more people into the whiskey category. Bottles that once sat on the shelf and collected dust are now popular again. You’re also seeing bourbon coming off the back walls and moving to the forefront of bars and a lot more position-one whiskey sets in the retail space, instead of a vodka or other clear spirit.

There has been a lot of buzz, both good and bad, surrounding the increase of no-age-statement whiskeys in the market place. What are your thoughts on this trend?

I think no-age-statement (NAS) is the way of the future. You’re going to see more and more of them, especially in Scotch, but also in big name American bourbons as well. There is a global shortage on aged whiskies and now that whiskies with a lot of years on them are becoming incredibly hard to find, the prices have gone up considerably. NAS [whiskies] are helping to prop up those prices.

NAS whiskies are also helping distillers’ manage their inventory. A number of distilleries have some really great casks of whiskey with some serious maturity on them, but they might not be perfect for … age statement whiskeys. So instead, those casks are blended with other casks of various ages to create an equally great NAS whiskey.

The reality is distillers don’t have the whiskey to consistently produce age statement bottles, so instead of losing their shelf or backbar space they’ll need to continue producing NAS whiskeys. As long as they maintain the quality of the product, age makes no difference to me.

What are your predications for 2016 in regards to whiskey in South Carolina?

Here in South Carolina our mixology culture might be a little bit behind the times. We do have some really good markets. We have a really strong [United States Bartenders’ Guild] chapter in Charleston. Other portions of the state aren’t quite so hip to that [mixology culture] at this point. So I think the biggest trend will be expanding that cocktail and mixology culture that we have in the on premise to get people a better whiskey cocktail experience, which will hopefully carry over and lead to consumers going to the whiskey shelf at retail [locations].