Whiskey demand causing downward trend in quality

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[quote]The precise state of distillers’ whiskey reserves remains ever-mysterious, a trade secret held close from the prying eyes of booze journalists. But the writing on the wall is that this dramatic increase in demand for aged whiskey has distillers scraping the bottom of the barrel, so to speak, wishing they could travel back to the 90’s and lay down more stock. “The dirty little secret of the Scotch industry is they’ve become addicted to high prices, but they’ve run out of old whisky,” says Ian Buxton, the whisky expert and author of 101 Whiskies to Try Before You Die.

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We’ve already seen public evidence of distillers struggling to keep up: last year, Maker’s Mark tried (with disastrous PR consequences) to water down their bourbon; Buffalo Trace warned of potential shortages. Meanwhile, an increasing number of single-malt Scotches are being released without an age statement, a way for blenders to have more latitude to work around gaps in inventory.

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