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What is Bourbon?
Bourbon is a distinct type of American whiskey, and while all bourbons are whiskey, not all whiskeys are bourbons.
For a whiskey to be called a bourbon, it must:
· Be made in the USA
· Be made from a mash bill containing a minimum of 51% corn
· Be distilled at 160 proof or less
· Be aged in charred new oak barrels at 125 proof or less
· Not contain any additives (except water)
· Be bottled at no less than 80 proof
Mash Bill:
The mash bill is the list of grains used in the specific recipe. Many different whiskeys can be made from the same mash bill. Other factors contributing to a whiskey’s flavor are the type of yeast used, the number of distillations, the proof, char, length of aging, and where it is aged. Different aging houses and even the location within the aging-house influence the flavor and character of the bourbon.
Bourbons must have a mash bill of at least 51% corn and may also include, oats, barley, wheat, or and/or rye. Compare that to Irish whiskey - made of mostly malted barley, unmalted barley, and sometimes small amounts of other grains such as rye, wheat, or oats.
For example, the 2 mash bills used at 4 Roses are:
B: 60% corn I 30% Rye I 5% malted barley E: 75% corn I 20% Rye I 5% malted barley
The mash bills for a couple of the whiskeys at Rabbit Hole are:
Heigold: 70% corn I 25% malted Rye I 5% malted barley
Cavehill: 70% corn I 10% malted wheat I 10% honey malted barley I 10% malted barley
You get the idea. Everyone has a different and typically very secret mash bill.
Read this History of Kentucky Bourbon to learn a bit more.
A Few Other Terms You Might Like to Know:
Wheated Bourbon: wheat is the secondary flavoring grain (after corn) in the mash bill instead of the more common rye. This generally gives the whiskey a softer, sweeter, fruitier flavor. Rye Bourbon: Rye is the secondary flavoring grain (after corn) in the mash bill. This generally gives the whiskey a spicier flavor.
Rye Whiskey: Must be at least 51% Rye and aged in deeply charred barrels. Some ryes will be as high as 95%. Historically, rye was the more traditional grain used in early American whiskeys. Rye doesn't grow as well as corn in Kentucky, hence the change when Bourbon started gaining popularity.
Corn Whiskey: Must be at least 80% corn.
Angel’s Share: The aroma of alcohol evaporating our of the barrels while in storage.
Straight Whiskey Must be aged at least 2 years.
Sour Mash: This does not pertain to a whiskey’s flavor, nor, contrary to what marketing executives would have you believe, Sour Mash is not a specific type of whiskey, or even anything special. It is simply part of the process in the production of whiskey. The process is that some (1/4 to 1/3) of the days previous batch of mash is “setback” and used to start the fermentation of a new batch. This is analogous to the making of sourdough bread with a starter. Nearly every American whiskey distiller does this, so if you see something labeled as sour mash, it’s a redundant marketing ploy.
Bottled in Bond: To be considered Bottled in Bond, the whiskey must be the product of one distilling season from one distillery (can be from different barrels and aging-houses), bottled at 100 proof and aged at least 4 years in a federally bonded warehouse
Small Batch: A run of bourbon made by mixing a relatively small number of barrels (10-20)- anything below 900 gallons can be considered a small batch.
Single Barrel: As the name implies, single barrel bourbons come from a single, particular barrel. These vary greatly from bottling to bottling.
Barrel-Proof: Barrel-proof or cask strength bourbon is typically in the range of 110 proof to 120 proof. (It must be less than 1% lower than when the barrels were dumped at the end of aging).
Why Char the barrels? Charring the wood cleans the barrels, and because the wood sugars are caramelized when burned, charring imparts sweeter flavors like caramel and honey into the bourbon. It also gives the bourbon a deeper color as does the amount of time it ages.
Will you like Bourbon? There is only one way to find out. Try some.
See these other posts to learn more about Louisville and The Kentucky Bourbon Trail
Travel with Friends
"Beer is for quitters" - I like that
I had a book on methods for distilling (at home) that I considered trying with some of my beer..................but of course that would be illegal!
Bill, Yes indeed. The process for brewing beer is largely the same as the first steps of the whiskey making process. The liquid the distillers use to distill into whiskey is unhopped beer. In fact, one of the distillers we talked to quipped “beer is for quitters”. Fun stuff.
You can also think of bourbon (and whiskey) as "baby beer". The mash is basically what beer is made from (but no hops are added). The difference being the distilling.
One reason why bourbon infused beers work so well.