Bottled in bond. Blended. Single-barrel. If those terms don't mean anything to you,
come down the bourbon rabbit hole with us to learn all the fine distinctions.
Standard bourbon, means any bourbon that meets the minimum requirements
for bourbon as defined by law and the laws are pretty strict.
The whiskey must be made in the U.S. It must be aged in a charred oak barrel. It
must be at least 51% corn and can’t enter the barrel above 125 proof. It
also can’t enter the bottle at less than 80 proof, with water being the
only approved thing to add to the bottle afterwards if the proof isn’t correct.
If that long daunting list doesn’t state the obvious, we will. The act of just making bourbon
makes it one of the most regulated spirits in the world next to cognac. That meticulous oversight
ensures that even the cheapest bottle of bourbon on the shelf is still quality.
While all bourbons are technically standard bourbons, some bourbons go above and beyond,
aging longer than the requirement of simply being
aged, and finely tuning their mash builds beyond the required 51% corn.
It may be a high minimum, but if you make sure that your whiskey is at least a standard bourbon,
you know you are drinking one of the most meticulously made whiskeys in the world.
Whether you reach for a mid-range bourbon like Old Forester or a bottom-shelf bottle like Evan
Williams, it’s still more highly regulated than the tequila or vodka bottle on the same shelf.
This should be the lowest tier requirement for your bourbon, otherwise, it isn't really bourbon.
The only thing distinguishing Kentucky bourbon from standard bourbon is that
Kentucky bourbon is actually made in Kentucky. Contrary to popular belief,
bourbon can legally be made anywhere in the United States, but it has to be made in the U.S.
Balcones makes bourbon from blue corn in Texas, and there's even a Wyoming Whiskey Company in,
you guessed it, Wyoming. Needless to say, whiskey can be made in any style all over the country.
Most of it happens to be made in Kentucky, and yes, most of the best bourbons in the world are
made there. Why? Because there are generations of master distillers who grew up working in the state
where the bourbon originated. Now that doesn’t mean you should immediately run off to Kentucky…
"Aw, bourbon go bye-bye."
"There ain’t enough bourbon in Kentucky for you, big guy."
Maybe there is, who knows! But Kentucky bourbon is a bit more complicated than it
seems. Purely calling it "Kentucky bourbon" doesn't make it so. Brands like Bulleit
weren't originally made in Kentucky, it was just aged and bottled there.
Much of Bulleit's bourbon and rye were actually distilled by a massive whiskey supplier called
MGP in Indiana or by Four Roses, despite the label laying out a story of an heirloom family recipe.
After Bulleit made a name for itself, its parent company Diageo opened a Bulleit
distillery in Kentucky in 2016. We suggest looking for words other than just Kentucky on
the label to ensure that you are purchasing the quality of bourbon one should expect.
The differences between whiskey and bourbon are subtle but distinct. According to Men's Journal,
both spirits are made from fermented grain that's been aged in barrels, while bourbon
is specifically aged in oak caskets from a mash, or grain mixture, consisting of at least 51% corn.
Barley, rye, and/or wheat make up the rest of the mash,
but if the corn content comprises 80% to 100% of the mixture,
then the resulting spirit is corn whiskey. If the product then spends its aging process
inside of an oak barrel — used or uncharred — then that corn whiskey is thus corn bourbon.
Corn bourbon is very similar to moonshine, which is an umbrella term for any illegally
produced alcoholic spirit, but which is usually made partially or entirely from
a corn mash. Also like moonshine, corn bourbon is relatively obscure.
It’s produced almost entirely by small, regional distillers in limited batches. The corn bourbons
reportedly smell and taste a bit like its mother product — sweet, hearty, and wholesome.
Of all of the claims on the bourbon bottle,
perhaps straight bourbon is the most straightforward. All the name suggests is
that the whiskey has been aged for more than two years in charred oak barrels.
The law only requires bourbon to be aged in charred oak barrels,
but doesn't specify how long it is to be aged, so making the distinction of
bourbon being "straight" is just one more way of differentiating quality.
The booze enthusiasts at Distiller observe that every type of whiskey
can be a straight whiskey. It can be blended, single barrel, high rye,
wheated, or corn heavy — but it must follow the five rules of bourbon and
must be aged at least two years in the barrel to be labeled straight bourbon.
Everything from Woodford Reserve to Buffalo Trace are considered straight bourbon,
and while it is a fairly low benchmark, it is a good rule of thumb to make sure
that whatever bourbon we buy is at the very least a straight bourbon.
The Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897 was passed to ensure consumers of a liquor's quality, but
also to provide tax incentives for distillers to produce a higher quality product. Before the act
had been passed, there was little to no regulation on what went into whiskey in the fledgling nation.
"They’d add rubbing alcohol or water and since the
color was lighter they might put a little tobacco spit in there."
In response, consumer trust dipped in American-made liquor, but the Bottled-in-Bond
Act was passed to regulate the ingredients and process by which liquor was made and aged.
The law required that it be made by a single producer in a single season, that it be aged
for at least four years in a federally bonded warehouse, and that it be bottled at 50% ABV.
In return, distillers' taxation on the product was delayed until it had completed its aging
process and was ready to go to market. To this day bottled-in-bond still represents
a high mark of quality in a bourbon, and is a sure way of selecting a quality bottle.
Classic brands like Jim Beam, Old Fitzgerald, and George Dickel have Bottled-in-Bond labels,
but newer brands are beginning to release their own bottled-in-bond bourbons like FEW Spirits
out of Illinois, and McKenzie Distilling from the Finger Lakes region of New York.
Rye and wheated whiskeys are two very different sides of the same
coin. Bourbon is required by law to be made of at least 51% corn,
the rest of that mash build is largely up to the distiller's discretion.
Usually, it’s made of barley, wheat, and rye. High rye and wheated bourbons are
bourbons that lean heavily on either the rye or the wheat to achieve the desired outcome,
and people tend to have fierce opinions as to which they prefer.
Rye heavier whiskeys are deeply aromatic, with heavy scents of baking spices and fruit,
and have a reputation for being rustic and bold.
Lovers of rye bread will likely love a good rye-heavy bourbon, since the wheat is swapped
out for rye, which comprises a whopping 20 - 35% of these bourbons. Jim Beam, Four Roses,
Old Gran Dad Bonded Bourbon, and Bulleit Straight are among the more reputable high rye offerings.
Wheated bourbons, on the other hand, are far more mellow, with grassy and minerally
aromatics. These whiskeys tend to be on the sweeter side of things,
what many novice drinkers term as "smooth" — a phrase we find grossly overused. Notable
wheated bourbons are Maker's Mark, Larceny, Pappy Van Winkle, and more.
Much in the tradition of Irish, Canadian, and even Scotch whiskeys, bourbon has its own
legacy of quality blended whiskeys. Though it is less common now than it used to be,
you may be familiar with a few of the more famous blended bourbons.
Pappy Van Winkle is perhaps the world's most famous and expensive blended bourbon. For example,
their 23-year-aged bourbon sells for over $17,000. A blending of selected barrels of
23-year-aged Buffalo Trace and Van Winkle, the family brand carefully
curates a perfect mix that has become a global standard for quality bourbon.
Since Pappy is a bit out of our price range,
we suggest the more budget-friendly Four Roses. Most bourbons use a generic brewer's yeast,
but after being absorbed by Seagram in the 1940s, Four Roses developed its own yeast strains.
Any brewer will tell you that yeast is key to the flavor of all beer,
whiskey is essentially a distilled beer, and Four Roses believes that the same logic should follow.
The distillery uses its five proprietary yeast strains to create 10 bourbons which
they blend together to create their Bourbon, Small Batch, and Small Batch Select whiskeys.
A lot of claims can be made about a bourbon barrel, some of which are clearly hogwash,
but some labels carry more weight than others. "Small batch" and "single barrel" are such terms.
When a bourbon is labeled single barrel, it means precisely what it says:
that the whiskey in that bottle came from a single barrel of whiskey. As
booze blog the Barrel Mill notes, no two barrels of whisky taste alike,
and most vintages of bourbon are blended together to make a single vintage.
By dedicating a single barrel to taste by itself,
one gets a more unique, one of a kind bourbon; something that
can't be recreated. Notable single barrel options are Four Roses and Russel's Reserve.
Small batch bourbons can be a little trickier as there is no singular definition for small
batch. It can mean a few select barrels blended for a specific taste, or it can
be a single pot still selection like one of our favorites, Willett's Pot Still Reserve.
Or, even more bizarrely, it could be like Buffalo Trace's collection of highly off-the-wall
experimentation whiskeys and bourbons. But of all of the myriad meanings of "small batch," one
thing it certainly means is that it isn't just a standard bourbon, it’s usually something special.
We've all seen the prominent proclamations of "sour mash" on such labels as Jack Daniel's
and George Dickle. But we've also noticed that neither of those brands
tastes particularly sour, which leaves us thinking, what is sour mash, anyway?
“Bourbon was my anesthetic.”
Well, it’s not an anesthetic although it is delicious. As whiskey connoisseurs,
the Whiskey Mash point out, that sour mash is a process of regulating the pH levels
during the early stage of fermentation, during the initial brew of the mash,
in which a little of the spent grain from the previous batch is mixed in with the fresh batch.
Sour mash is an interesting part of the whiskey making process and it can make a
product more consistent over time. For those interested in exploring more of
the world of sour mash whiskeys, we highly recommend picking up a bottle of Michter's.