Whiskey. More fun to drink, that to think about.

The White Whiskey is nearly back after much delay. In the spirit of celebration, I thought to share a bit of knowledge, so you can impress your friends and learn how to talk about whiskey… and not sound like a moron.

One of my favorite customer experiences to date at the distillery was a man who attempted to engage me in argument the entire hour of a tour I was giving. He was so insistent that bourbon cannot be made outside of Kentucky or Tennessee that he made sure to interrupt me regularly with loud passionate oral discharges during the tour. Thanks for the man-splain. 

It is bewildering to me how anyone can hold on to “facts” so tightly, even when presented logical, legal, and experiential evidence to the contrary. However, I recognize, that luckily this breed of asshat is a rare one, and the rest of us tend to respond appropriately to quality information.  Given this, I felt compelled to write a bit on what exactly is a whisk(e)y.  

To E or not to E? Who cares. This is not important.

• Good whisk(e)y is made under either spelling and at most designates where it came from in the world (some of the time).  You will see me spell it more commonly with an e, as this is typically American. Let’s move on to something more interesting.

What is Whiskey? As defined: “Spirits distilled from a fermented mash of grain at less than 95% alcohol by volume (190 proof) having the taste, aroma and characteristics generally attributed to whisky and bottled at not less than 40% alcohol by volume (80 proof).”

• As you can see this is quite broad. The type of grain is not specified and the proof at distillation just needs to be below the designation for vodka (190 proof). Whiskey is further designated into more than 40 subtypes, most with their own rules about a few key things: Mash bill makeup, Proof at distillation, Proof at barrel entry, Barrel type/size/char/duration, Bottle Proof, and Geographic location (please note Bourbon extends to the whole U.S).  For a full list please see here https://www.ttb.gov/spirits/bam/chapter4.pdf.

What is Corn Whiskey? As defined: “Whisky produced at not exceeding 80% alcohol by volume (160 proof) from a fermented mash of not less than 80 percent corn and if stored in oak containers stored at not more than 62.5% alcohol by volume (125 proof) in used or uncharred new oak containers and not subjected in any manner to treatment with charred wood.” 

• This definition is very special because all other whiskey types must be subjected to oak maturation (even if it is very brief). This means a true white whiskey (non-oak matured) can only be a corn whiskey.  Although there appears to be confusion on a national level with regulation as there are several white whiskeys on the market that are not corn whiskies.

How is this different from Bourbon? “Whisky produced in the U.S. at not exceeding 80% alcohol by volume (160 proof) from a fermented mash of not less than 51 percent corn and stored at not more than 62.5% alcohol by volume (125 proof) in charred new oak containers.”

• Given this, all corn whiskies can be made into bourbon, but not all bourbons are corn whiskies, the key lies in the amount of corn used in the mash bill and the required specific barrel maturation (new charred oak barrels).
  
• Pro tip: This can be further designated to a Straight Bourbon if matured for 2 or more years.  You can also deem this designation with the esteemed “bottled in bond” subtype if you distill it on site, age it for 4 years, and it is bottled at 100 proof.

What is Moonshine? Ohhh boy the mysticism gets thick here. 

• The short of it? Moonshine doesn’t exist. Moonshine is code for spirits made and not taxed by the government.  A big no-no I wouldn’t recommend. Most moonshine is a product made at home illegally (because yes, ALL home distillation is a felony) from a combination of fruit juice, grains (usually very modified (think cornstarch)), and refined sugar (mmm… gross).  Add to this equipment that may contain toxic metals like lead, and a distiller who may not understand how to tell the difference between ethanol (let’s party!) and methanol (oh shit I’m blind)… and you have a recipe for something scary. Now, that being said… I have experienced superb “moonshine”. It does exist, it is exceedingly rare, and simply isn’t worth the Russian roulette to get it, especially when you can walk your ass down to the store and buy a sure thing off the shelf.  Also, please take note that the “moonshine” you can buy in the store is just a fanciful fluffy name for something else (usually whiskey).

In the spirit of whiskey, I’ll leave you with some wisdom from Johnny Carson. “Happiness is having a rare steak, a bottle of whisky, and a dog to eat the rare steak.”
 
-Geri Lefebre