Brown-Forman is rolling out the American single malt whisky it has produced to sell under flagship brand Jack Daniel’s.

The US group is moving forward with a wider launch of the whisky after a “special release” of the product last year.

Brown-Forman is selling Jack Daniel’s American Single Malt Whiskey in “select duty-free outlets worldwide”.

The 45% abv whisky is sold in one-litre bottles for a suggested retail price of $99.99.

“For now, this will be a GTR-only [global travel retail] release but it could go into broader distribution down the line,” a spokesperson for the Jack Daniel’s brand said. “There are no definite plans for that to share right now.”

Jack Daniel’s flagship Old No. 7 Black Label Tennessee Whiskey is made with corn, rye and barley malt. The line-up of Jack Daniel’s products on sale also includes a growing range of rye whiskies.

The emerging category of American single-malt whiskies, while far behind the sales of the likes of Scotch and Irish whisk(e)y, has caught the eye of some of the world’s largest distillers.

In November last year, Diageo bought the American single malt whisky producer Balcones Distilling.

At the time, Claudia Schubert, president of Diageo’s business in North America, described the deal as “in line with our strategy to acquire high-growth brands in fast-growing segments, such as super-premium whisk(e)y”.

Diageo also has a minority investment in Westward Whisky via the Distill Ventures accelerator backed by the spirits giant.

The Jack Daniel’s spokesperson added: “The wider single malt category is predominately Scotch and Irish whiskey and we feel there is a tremendous opportunity to stand out with our iconic Jack Daniel’s credentials.”

Last year, the American Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) called for feedback on plans for a legal standard for ‘American single malt whisky’.

A spokesperson for the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States told Just Drinks yesterday (26 September) a final rule “could be published at any time”.

The spokesperson added: “TTB has included it on their regulatory agenda for this year and understands that it is a priority for the industry, so we do expect it to be published sometime this year. That said, they have many competing priorities (some of which were mandated by statute) and if there is a government shutdown it could also delay their regulatory reform work.“