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jlf1961 -> RE: Maker's Mark defends decision to water down signature bourbon (2/12/2013 10:08:22 PM)
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ORIGINAL: Kirata
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ORIGINAL: tommonymous
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ORIGINAL: Kirata
Bourbon is only made in Kentucky.
Bourbon is only made in Bourbon County Kentucky.
Good man, a brother of the faith. [:)]
K.
And the best commercially available American Whiskey is Tennessee sipping whiskey.
As for bourbon, the definition of Bourbon has changed somewhat in recent years, sorry boys, but it has.
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For a whiskey to qualify as bourbon, the law--by international agreement--stipulates that it must be made in the USA. It must be made from at least 51% and no more than 79% Indian corn, and aged for at least two years. (Most bourbon is aged for four years or more.) The barrels for aging can be made of any kind of new oak, charred on the inside. Nowadays all distillers use American White Oak, because it is porous enough to help the bourbon age well, but not so porous that it will allow barrels to leak. It must be distilled at no more than 160 proof (80% alcohol by volume). Nothing can be added at bottling to enhance flavor or sweetness or alter color. The other grains used to make bourbon, though not stipulated by law, are malted barley and either rye or wheat. Some Kentucky bourbon makers claim that the same limestone spring water that makes thoroughbred horses' bones strong gives bourbon whiskey its distinctive flavor.
Bourbon can be made anywhere in the U.S., but all but a couple of brands are made in Kentucky. Only the state of Kentucky can produce bourbon with its name on the label. The name comes from Bourbon county in the central bluegrass region of Kentucky. This county was named in 1785 to honor the French royal family and was once the major transshipment site for shipping distilled spirits down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to New Orleans. Barrels shipped from there were stamped with the county's name, which then became the name of this kind of whiskey. Interestingly, there are no distillers in Bourbon county, Kentucky right now.
What's the difference between bourbon and whiskey?
There is even a bourbon made in Texas, and a few made in other states. Now, in my opinion, American whiskey can only be properly made using the water from the mountains of western North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky.
The water in the Piedmont area is unsuitable for good whiskey, but they actually make the stuff commercially in that region.
There are no legal whiskey producers in the mountains of North Carolina.
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