Posted on 08/22/2013 8:39:19 AM PDT by don-o
The name “bourbon” has been legally controlled only since 1964, so makers exist in other counties. However, only bourbon made in Kentucky may use the name of the state on the label. Tennessee whiskey uses the bourbon recipe, but the distilled spirits are filtered through maple charcoal, adding a different overtone to the flavors. Makers will specify “sour mash” on the label if that process is used. Several societies are devoted to the study of these American spirits, and tours of distilleries are popular in the hill country of Tennessee and Kentucky.
Read more: http://www.ehow.com/about_4574378_between-bourbon-whiskey-sour-mash.html#ixzz2ciZkDbFi
If Jack Daniel’s were a bourbon, I figure it would say “bourbon” somewhere on the label.
I think that JD should create a “Preferred Selection” of fine whiskeys sold as a group. Right now they have 35 different labels on different bottles, all sold individually.
The way I picture it, they sell a wooden cabinet optimized for their whiskeys as a set, for say $3000-$5000. For perhaps five of the standard whiskeys, provide them in small oak casks instead of bottles, with say three bottles worth in each.
The cabinet itself can have several bells and whistles, including a cigar humidor, a first surface non-reversing mirror, an ice bucket and room for other whiskey drink ingredients, attractive trim, an old style lock, and JD specific decor.
I screwed up, as I admitted on responses that you must have missed.
Jack Daniels is not bourbon. But, thanks anyway.
Pretty much all bourbon is actually sour mash. All that refers to is the use of some previously fermented mash from a previous batch (with active yeast) in each new batch, sort of like sourdough bread starter. Most bourbon distillers mention this process somewhere on their websites.
Some Tennessee Whiskeys use the "sour mash" designation on their labels simply because they can't legally use the word "Bourbon".
Nope...”Sour Mash” is a bourbon that is filtered through charoal. A process that “bourbons” do not acquire.
You have it backwards...sour mash starts out as a bourbon, then is filtered.
And you correct about the “old” mash usage...That is not the case with pure bourbon..It uses only “new” corn mash in it’s distilling processes...Then it is cased in wooden barrels for aging...Sour mash is filtered through ash charcoal before being stored in wooden barrels...
There is a distinct taste difference between bourbon and sour mash...There is a distinct taste difference between rye and bourbon and sour mash.
Pure Canadian rye whiskey is probably the smoothest whiskey ever...
The flavor difference between rye and bourbon is due to different content in the mash bills. The flavor difference between bourbon and Tennessee whiskey is mostly due to the latter's filtering (depending on which bourbon you're comparing).
There's a *lot* of variance in bourbons. "Traditional" bourbons use about 70 percent corn and then roughly equal amounts of rye and barley. There are also "high-rye" bourbons and "wheated" bourbons, each of which has a different mash bill and flavor profile.
I've been glad to see straight rye whiskies making a comeback over the past few years; Prohibition nearly killed it off in the U.S.
Take a look at the Buffalo Trace website. You'll find a video there about the fermenting process which mentions use of "setback" from a previous batch to start the sour-mash process. Since those guys not only make their own name brand, but also the super-popular straight bourbons sold under the George T. Stagg and Pappy Van Winkle names, I'd say they're representative of how the big "pure" bourbon distillers operate.
Also, look up some of the online scotch reviewers (Ralfy Mitchell, for starters). They're always ranting about the ills of chill-filtration (which sort of does the same thing to scotch that the charcoal-filtering process does to Tennessee whiskey - it sucks part of the flavor out).
For more about Jack Daniels, see the book:
“Blood and Whisky: the Life and Times of Jack Daniels”.
I think the funniest story in the book describes how, when Prohibition went into effect, the Feds seized all of Jack Daniel’s stock and sent it to a warehouse in St. Louis which was guarded 24 hours a day.
After several years, the guards just couldn’t take the thought that there was all this good stuff in those barrels being unappreciated, especially when they were so thirsty. So they devised a scheme to pilfer some of the whisky and replace it with water.
When they tapped a barrel, they discovered that ... there was no whisky, it had all been replaced with water. They checked further, and discovered that there was not a drop of whisky in any barrel in the warehouse — they had been guarding barrels of water.
They never did find out who stole the whisky.
Thank you. Living about 50 miles north of the facility in Lynchburg we know the difference.
They distill a private selection and sell it by the barrel only. They label your barrel and keep it and will bottle from it when you need more.
I think it’s about $10,000. It’s kind of a step up from their Gentleman Jack.
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