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
It seems Jack Daniel’s is capitalizing on momentum after successful releases of their Bonded and Triple Mash whiskeys in 2022, both of which carried bottled-in-bond designations. While on a recent trip to their Lynchburg, Tennessee distillery, company reps told me both releases received better-than-expected responses from consumers and critics alike. Now, the Brown-Forman owned whiskey…
Bib & Tucker is complementing its classic 6 year old bourbon (self-dubbed as the “classic 6,” a whiskey we’ve reviewed three times now) with a new Double Char release which was “inspired by the turn of the century, when food was cooked on the open flame.” The aim was to add a smoky appeal by…
Sweetens Cove Spirits, the celebrity-backed whiskey brand named for an unassuming golf course in Tennessee, is out with another addition to its lineup, Sweetens Cove 22. Your first question might be the same as mine. What’s with the 22? Per the brand, 22 denotes the year this whiskey was released, 2022 (we’re a bit late…
Drinkhacker readers: We’ve heard your cries. Our top ten lists regularly feature whiskeys that are impossible to get, much too expensive, or both. With this feature, we’re diving deep into 10 bottlings you can readily obtain, with none costing more than $100, and half of them under $50. Best of all, we’ve given all of…
Log Still Distillery is based in Gethsemane, Kentucky, where it produces a variety of whiskeys and gins. The project was born from the progeny of old-time whiskeymaker JW Dant, whose name is still being used on whiskey today, courtesy of his great-great-grandson Wally Dant, who revived the family’s 1836-established brand just a few years ago.…
Uncle Nearest will likely be catching its breath for a bit in 2023 after their rapid launch of new releases to close out 2022. We’ve already covered the trifecta of new rye whiskey offerings, the last of which was a single barrel distillery exclusive. As if to remind their adoring fans they hadn’t completely forgotten…
Dickel has been cranking out special edition whiskeys with double-digit ages as part of its ongoing Bottled in Bond series for a few years now. But for the holidays, the distillery has dropped an even older bottling that hits a full 17 years of age, though it’s not bonded, entering the bottle at 46% abv.…
The Covered Bridges Whiskey Company (TCBWC) is best known for its Ruddell’s Mill Kentucky bourbon. Now its out with a companion brand, Pigeon River, which is a sourced Tennessee whiskey made with the Lincoln County Process of undergoing charcoal filtration before it is aged. There’s a lot of info provided about the Pigeon River Bridge,…
Dickel’s well-priced, top-shelf Bottled in Bond release has become an annual affair, now in its fourth edition. For two of the first three years, the BiB bottling has been a 13 year old, as it is once again for 2022. Dickel’s 2020 is the lone outlier, a whiskey distilled in fall 2008 and bottled at…
We recounted the story behind Jacob’s Pardon in our review of their two 15-year-old whiskeys and 8-year-old Small Batch American Whiskey Recipe #1. Today we are trying the second release of the younger offering. For Recipe #2, Master Blender (and well-known spirits writer) Paul Pacult took a very different approach. The earlier release included MGP…