I made a quick stop at Lieper’s Fork Distillery in Tennessee – my first ever preview of an upcoming whiskey distillery, which is all set to launch Natchez Trail label. White Whiskey: making a minor comeback, this usually refers to unaged whiskey (that are not stored in the casks). To qualify as an American Rye whiskey, the mash has to be at least 51% rye. Rye Whiskey: synonymous with Canada but also manufactured in the US. Aside from the 51% corn stipulation (just like Bourbon) it also stipulates that the whiskey needs to be matured in new barrels and goes through the Lincoln County process. In 2013, the Tennessee government enacted a bill defining Tennessee whiskey. Ironically Moore county is a dry county – the Jack Daniels distillery is the only place you can taste a drink. While all Tennessee whiskey can be categorised as American Whiskey, all Bourbon is not Tennessee whiskey. My tour of the Jack Daniels distillery began at their rickyard where two seasoned experts burn down sugar maple wood to make the famous charcoal to mellow the whiskey drop by drop. This mellows down the whiskey considerably. Lynchburg used to be located in Lincoln County (it now comes under Moore County after the counties were reorganised), hence the name. Tennessee Whiskey and the Lincoln County Process: Jack Daniels championed the Lincoln county process where the whiskey is filtered through charcoal chips before it is stored in the casks for ageing. All American whiskeys that are aged under four years need to have a label announcing how many years they were aged. This is one reason why most experts equate one year of a Bourbon with three years of a Scotch. The somewhat extreme weather (hot summers and cold winters) in Kentucky and Tennessee also results in the whisky ageing much faster (compared to the whiskies that age in colder weather in Scotland). The whiskey gets its dark hue from the cask. These casks are typically shipped off to Mexico or Scotland. The Role of the Casks: most American whiskies do not reuse the casks. ![]() Water is added to the spirit from the cask before it is bottled. The fermented mash is distilled into a spirit which is usually clear. The fermentation process blends this mixture with a mash from an older batch (not very different from how you make yoghurt at home), a process that’s come to be known as sour mash. Another key stipulation is that the spirit added has to be completely natural – nothing other than water can be added. This distilled spirit should not be more than 80% alcohol (180 proof) and no more than 62.5% when put in casks. Bourbon or American whiskey needs to be made from a grain mixture which is at least 51% corn (rye and barley are the other grains that are part of the mix). For starters, it has to be distilled in the USA. The Ingredients: In 1964, the US Congress recognised Bourbon as America’s ‘native spirit’ and laid down clear rules. ![]() But it’s the French Bourbon dynasty that lent its name to American whiskey. The Quick Guide to American Whiskey The Term Bourbon: there’s still some disagreement on whether it was Kentucky’s Bourbon district or New Orleans’ famous Bourbon street that inspired the name. I spent a whole morning at the Jack Daniels distillery in Lynchburg and one of the things I discussed with Chris were the differences between a Bourbon and Tennessee whiskey. Chris Fletcher, the Assistant master distiller at Jack Daniels told me about how Jack Daniels learned to make whiskey from Dan Call, a local lay preacher and moonshine distiller in Tennessee. Immigrants brought their recipes from Europe and moonshine – that primarily used mashed corn, was a popular spirit in the 19th century. American whiskey can trace its origins to Moonshine.Moonshine might have a negative connotation especially given the Prohibition years (1919 – 1930) when bootleggers thrived and backyards were production centres. The first ever tax imposed by George Washington’s government in free USA was a whiskey tax and it led to the Whiskey Rebellion of 1791 when corn farmers went up in arms. He was buried with a flask of JD when he passed away in 1998 in accordance with his last wishes.The American whiskey journey began over two centuries before the demise of Frank Sinatra. ![]() Frank Sinatra’s endorsement of Jack Daniels whiskey in the 1950s gave American whiskey (spelt with an extra ‘e’ just like their Irish counterparts) a shot in the arm like never before.
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