American whiskey comprises a huge swath of sub-categories, and most of the whiskeys you’ll encounter fall into one of these. Bourbon (distinguished by its 51%-or-greater corn mashbill) is undoubtedly the largest of these, with Rye (at least 51% rye) arguably second. Tennessee Whiskey (a subset of Bourbon, made in Tennessee and charcoal mellowed) is another major, with Wheat Whiskey, Corn Whiskey, and Malt Whiskey all having their adherents. White whiskey (unaged whiskey) is another segment growing in size. Other categories, including Blended Whiskey, Light Whiskey, and Spirit Whiskey can also be found occupying this broad catch-all category.
Top American Whiskey Categories:
Bourbon
Tennessee Whiskey
Rye
Wheat Whiskey
American Single Malt
Distiller Chip Tate may now be gone from Balcones, but they’re still turning out whiskey (er, “whisky,” here) at the Waco-based operation. Balcones 1 — one of the distillery’s best-known spirits and a product that’s ...
The barrel proof expressions of Elijah Craig have certainly cultivated a cult following in its own rite over the past few years. With proofs varying in all sorts of dimensions throughout the series, we figured ...
Old Overholt’s been making rye since well before rye was cool. Part of the Beam Suntory empire, the brand claims heritage back to 1810 and was reputedly the whiskey of choice of Doc Holliday himself. ...
It has been many years since we visited Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey in a formal capacity. Batch #33, in fact, back in 2009. Since then, Stranahan’s has become a bona-fide phenomenon, one of the stalwarts of ...
Hey, remember last September when Jim Beam rolled out two oddball whiskeys in its 6-whiskey series called the Signature Craft Harvest Bourbon Collection — Soft Red Wheat and Brown Rice? Well now two more are coming out ...
Diageo recently announced another spiritual resurrection: I.W. Harper. I.W. Harper was a Kentucky bourbon brand started by Isaac Wolfe Bernheim (another familiar whiskey name) in 1879. It changed hands a few times over the years, ...
After a flood of Col. E.H. Taylor whiskeys hit the market in 2011-12, the release schedule suddenly went quiet. I’d thought brand owners Buffalo Trace had forgotten about it, but at last here we go with ...
This is it! The end! The last 12 bottles in the unfathomably ambitious Buffalo Trace Single Oak Project have arrived. I’ll be offering some in-depth coverage of the lessons learned from the project in the months ...
It’s back with a (sort-of) new look. The bourbon created by Basil Hayden to salute his grandpappy has been given a bit of a facelift and a new nudge into the spotlight. There’s been a ...
The microdistillers at McMenamins specialize and young and unaged spirits, but once in a while they make more seriously aged stuff, too. Once a year, actually, in the case of Devils Bit, a five-year-old whiskey ...