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Bourbon Whiskey Production

First made in 1789 in Bourbon County, Kentucky by the Rev. Elijah Craig; nowadays, can be produced anywhere within the United States provided that it meets certain standards.

The Mash Bill (recipe of grains that will be used in whiskey production) must be a minimum of 51% corn, which gives a fat sweetness to the finished product. The remainder of the mash bill is rounded out by rye (provides spice and acidity), wheat (provides delicacy and sweetness), and malted barley (contains enzymes that will convert starches in the grains into sugar).

The grains are then milled (ground to a grist) separately, and water is added. The corn/water mixture is cooked to almost boiling to gelatinize the starches in the grain, then allowed to cool. At this point, any rye or wheat are added, as they tend to clump at higher temperatures. Finally, malted barley is added, which contains enzymes that will convert the gelatinized starch in the mixture into fermentable sugars.

At this point, two additional ingredients are added: sour mash (spent liquid from a previous fermentation that adds acidity), and yeast to begin fermentation. After fermentation, the resulting liquid is essentially a beer without hops, which distillers call a wash. The wash is then placed in a still (either a column or a pot still) and distilled twice.

The resulting spirit is colorless and very high in alcohol. The young spirit is then cut with water to reduce its strength (from 40%ABV up to 62.5% - barrelling strength will affect flavor), and is then aged in new, heavily charred 53 Gallon/200L American oak casks. The spirit will derive most of its flavor from its interaction with the barrel, as well as from the warehouse in which it is aged (hotter temperatures will promote extraction, while cooler temperatures will slow the process).

By law, Bourbon must be aged at least two years before bottling, but the label must carry an age declaration if the spirit is aged less than four years (in practice, many distilleries age far longer than the minimum). 95% of all Bourbon is produced in Kentucky.

Notable Brands:

• Maker’s Mark (45% ABV) - Sweet and gentle with a creamy feel (high wheat)
• Woodford Reserve [Early Times] (43.2% ABV) - Citrus and sweet spice (rye-driven)
• Blanton’s [Buffalo Trace] (46.5% ABV) - Caramel, vanilla; sweet, clean, and lightly spicy
• Knob Creek 9 Year [Jim Beam] (50% ABV) - Big, sweet, and luscious
• Booker’s [Jim Beam] (63.4% ABV) - Rich, powerful, and oaky