In America, it is very traditional when you're making whiskey to add tails. But for brandy that is not aged, that needs to stand on its own and be bright and clean, you would never add the tails. The barrel acts as a filter, and the barrel will pull out some of those off-putting flavor notes or smells. When you release that whiskey after four or five years, it's going to be rounded,. It's going to have a flavor that I would say is very easily recognizable as an American whiskey.
Scholar and distiller Sonat Birnecker Hart of the Koval Distillery talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about her career move from academia to whiskey-making. She explains that the heart is the key to great flavor--when making whiskey, and when making the right choices in life.