Tennessee Whiskey
The subject of eternal debate among whiskey enthusiasts, Tennessee whiskey is technically a type of bourbon. It must be produced to the same specifications as bourbon: at least 51% corn, aged in new, charred oak containers, and bottled at a minimum of 80 proof. Unsurprisingly, it must also be produced in the state of Tennessee. The most unique requirement, however, is that it must use the Lincoln County Process in its production. While most whiskey is filtered through activated charcoal before bottling, the Lincoln County Process is a more elaborate filtration procedure that uses sugar maple charcoal before it goes into the barrel. The result is a “mellowing” of the whiskey, as well as unique maple and smoke notes in many expressions. The most famous Tennessee whiskey, and also the best-selling American whiskey in the world, is Jack Daniel’s. There are only a few other Tennessee whiskey producers today, partly owing to Jack Daniel’s dominance of the category and also because Tennessee, until the 2010s, heavily restricted the production of alcohol in the state.
Top Tennessee Whiskey Posts:
A Visit to Jack Daniel’s Distillery
A Visit to Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery
George Dickel Tennessee Whiskies – Cascade Hollow, No. 8, and No. 12
That’s two years in a row with no major injuries – woo! Whiskies of the World 2019 is in the books, at least its San Francisco installment, and that means another spring evening of Scotch, ...
Back when we reviewed the inaugural release of Bob Dylan’s Heaven’s Door whiskey, we titled that post “Complete Lineup.” Turns out that wasn’t quite accurate, because Heaven’s Door released a fourth whiskey shortly after its ...
So apparently biblical amounts of rain and an outdoor world-class bourbon festival just don’t mix. You may have heard that the much anticipated, weekend whiskey and music extravaganza that should have been Bourbon & Beyond ...
It’s often said that to succeed in the whiskey business a product needs to, of course, be good, but it also needs to have a good story. In recent years, with more and more new ...
Sugarlands Distilling is best known for its wackily flavored moonshines and “sippin’ creams,” but it’s slowly been moving upmarket, into the realm of real whiskey. It’s called Roaming Man Tennessee Straight Rye Whiskey, and six editions ...
It’s only taken 143 years for Jack Daniel’s — one of the U.S.’s oldest distilleries — to get into the experimental whiskey game. And at last, here we are, with the first two entries into ...
Hot on the heels of its new Bottled in Bond selection, Jack Daniel’s is out with another release. This one is going to be far more prized than the Bonded expression (which is now a ...
At long last, Jack Daniel’s has released a bottled-in-bond expression, finally jumping on the trend of higher-proof, more boldly flavored whiskeys. This is a permanent extension to the JD line, but there’s a catch: It ...
Listen, if you’ve never been to the Tabasco factory outside of New Orleans, Louisiana, you should go. Not only will you get to taste Tabasco and watch a movie about Tabasco, you will learn about ...
For our latest installment of Drinkhacker Asks we sit down with best-selling author and bourbon authority Fred Minnick. If you’re a spirits nerd, like me, chances are you’ve got one or two of his books ...
