Some mood music for the thread...
 "Copper Kettle" - Chet Atkins "White Lightning" - George Jones "Tennessee Whiskey" - George Jones |
Posted on 08/24/2017 6:39:38 AM PDT by BenLurkin
It’s not that the wood ferments. Rather, it’s that it changes the flavor. Kinda like cooking Salmon on a cedar plank.
Over half the people in McNairy County, Tennessee, already know this.
Bourbon does not *legally* have to be made in Kentucky. Breckenridge and Cedar Ridge are two excellent brands not made in Kentucky, but I agree that it seems almost blasphemous to call them bourbon. I think of them as ‘bourbon-style’ whiskey.
It wouldn't be worth my time to taste that swill.
I may try a bottle just for fair/informative comparison.
Hate the idea of tech overwhelming traditional crafting, but progress happens. Let’s see how good/bad it really is, albeit apparent blasphemy.
Otherwise it is whiskey!
Nope. Bourbon labelled as Kentucky Bourbon must be fully produced aged (minimum one year) in Kentucky.
Bourbon Whiskey must be produced fully in the United States. Here's the strict definition of something that may be labelled "Bourbon Whiskey" in the United States: "Whisky produced in the U.S. at not exceeding 80% alcohol by volume (160 proof) from a fermented mash of not less than 51 percent corn and stored at not more than 62.5% alcohol by volume (125 proof) in charred new oak containers"
The issue with this company is the "charred new oak containers" part. He cannot call it bourbon unless it's done this way. Putting the charred oak into the vat doesn't meet this definition.
Ok, I get it. Thanks. I know nothing about making real alcohol. I make kombucha though...
Friend of a friend was a chemist, and he could take any whisky, analyze it and make his own version that was pretty dang close to the original - certainly close enough that nobody could really tell the difference...
Well, since the top-selling whiskeys are not bourbons, it seems that buyers don’t care what it’s called.
I drive by five distilleries on my way to work every day. Makers Mark, Jim Beam, Four Roses, Heaven Hills and a small one who’s name I keep forgetting.
The buildings they age the stuff in are quite impressive. At a glance they look like apartment complexes.
No, according to its website, the Bulleit distillery is in Jefferson County, Kentucky.
I don’t believe that Jack Daniels is aged in charred oak barrels so it doesn’t qualify under the classic definition cited in an earlier response as a bourbon, but my understanding is that under NAFTA it is classified as a Bourbon.
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"Copper Kettle" - Chet Atkins "White Lightning" - George Jones "Tennessee Whiskey" - George Jones |
The “beechwood aging” of Budweiser is similar with wood chips added to the stainless steel vats. This process might make a drinkable whiskey in record time, but there is a lot of complexity in the flavors that takes years of aging in barrels.
Barrels made in Lebanon, MO...
The Jack Daniels website says that the product is aged in new charred oak barrels and that technically it is a Bourbon. It goes on to state that historically a Bourbon should be produced in Bourbon County, Kentucky, which is utter nonsense. While the name “Bourbon” for the whiskey does come from its association with Bourbon County, one should understand that Bourbon County was formed out of Fayette County (Virginia) in 1785. Bourbon County has been split many times, and it is now one of 120 counties in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
At the time of Prohibition, Bourbon County, in its present configuration, had 26 distilleries, if the Wikipedia is to be believed. Apparently, a distillery opened there in 2014.
Post-Prohibition, the center of Bourbon production has been Nelson County, which was never part of Bourbon County.
Not that anyone adheres to the basic rules of civilization or maintains any type of standards nowadays, but technically bourbon is to be made from at least 51% corn, or it is not bourbon.
We have a distiller here in GA that makes a good bourbon. Their rye whiskey makes Knob Creek look like crap and their vodka is on par with Grey Goose. Thirteenth Colony in Plains, GA.
No. It can’t be called “Kentucky” bourbon.
The problem here is that by law it must be aged in new, charred oak barrels for a minimum of 3 years.
It appears to be a matter of surface area. Chips of oak would have magnitudes of surface area compared to surface area of a barrel.
Not fermented. Caramelized. The oak is charred, which causes the sugars in the wood to caramelize. In the aging process these sugars and other notes from the wood seep into the product.
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