Bourbon
Bourbon is the unquestioned king of American whiskey, its production dating back to the 1700s. While bourbon is invariably associated with Kentucky, where 95 percent of all bourbon is produced today, in reality it can be produced anywhere in the U.S. (though only Kentucky Bourbon can include the name of the state on the label). By U.S. law, bourbon must be made from a mash of at least 51% corn; be aged in new, charred oak containers; distilled to no more than 160 proof, entered into barrel at no more than 125 proof, and bottled at a minimum of 80 proof. Contrary to popular opinion, there’s no minimum aging requirement for bourbon, although straight bourbon must be aged for at least two years and cannot have added coloring. One of the most popular spirits in today’s drinking world, bourbon prices have been on the rise as stocks have dwindled — although massive investments in the industry promise to ease those supply pressures in coming years.
Top Bourbon Posts:
Tips, Tricks, and Advice on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail
Top 10 Bourbons Under $20
Buffalo Trace’s Single Oak Project
Back in 2018, we offered up our Top 10 Best Bourbons Under $20. Since then, prices have continued to creep northward on most of that list, surpassing the modest dollar threshold we set at the ...
Saint Liberty is sourced whiskey, but not what you’re thinking. It’s distilled in all sorts of places and bottled in even stranger locales (Colorado, Montana) — with two of its three whiskeys hailing from Texas. ...
Our Booker’s Bourbon small batch reviews fell a bit behind last winter; today we look at two recent batches of Booker’s, both of which should be readily available on the market. While similar in age ...
The Private Selection program at Maker’s Mark is one of the most unique in the bourbon business, the idea being that customers can take a standard barrel of Maker’s Mark, then put 10 additional staves ...
High N’ Wicked is a new whiskey brand based out of Jackson, Wyoming, but beyond that, there’s not a lot I can tell you about their operation. It’s almost certainly a non-distilling producer, as their ...
Daddy Rack — yes, I know — is a new craft whiskey out of Columbia, Tennessee, and before you ask, yes, this is a “Tennessee Whiskey,” a bourbon which undergoes the Lincoln County Process of ...
Prior to the “Bourbon Boom” of the 2010s, America’s Native Spirit far-too-often took a backseat in the world of cocktail development. And while there isn’t always a singular reason behind spirits trends, there’s long been ...
Even though Barrell has been busy building an entire new line of whiskeys (more on that in a future review), that hasn’t put even a slight pause in the schedule of periodic bourbon batch releases. ...
They’ve dropped the “A.D.” at the front of the name and are now just “Laws Whiskey House” — and the Denver, Colorado-based operation has been busy adding expressions to (and tweaking older releases in) its ...
Nevada-based Frey Ranch recently jumped into the single barrel business, offering — you guessed it — single barrel expressions of its top shelf craft bourbon, all bottled at cask strength — which is prodigious. It’s ...
