Myu understanding is that under NAFTA Jack Daniels is now a Bourbon. The swill certainly doesn’t meet the traditional definition of Bourbon, but, by fiat, NAFTA declared Jack Daniels and its ilk to be Bourbons. I was a free-trader until I learned of this re-redefinition.
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.
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