The Spirit World

Rye may have been America’s first whiskey, and at one time it’s most popular. Today however, bourbon is king.

According to the US Federal guidelines (availalbe here and here), to be called bourbon, a whiskey must meet the following criteria:

• It must be manufactured entirely in the United States.
• It must be made from at least 51% corn.
• It must be distilled to no more than 80% alcohol by volume (160 proof).
• It must be aged at no more than 62.5 % alcohol by volume (126 proof).
• It must be aged in charred new oak containers.
• To be called “Straight Bourbon” it must also be aged for at least two years.

While I’ve seen several sources indicate that only water can be used to reduce the whiskey from its distilled strength to barrel strength and bottle strength, I don’t see that indicated anywhere in the federal guidelines.

The only difference between rye (which we previously discussed) and bourbon, is that rye is made from 51% rye, while bourbon is made from 51% corn.

The Birth of Bourbon

The Whiskey Rebellion provides a moment in time that we can use to trace when bourbon branched off from rye, but the style of whiskey which would one day be named bourbon was started some time before this. In the areas surrounding Kentucky, corn became one of the staple crops. One aspect that helped to establish this was the “Corn Patch and Cabin Rights” law, which went into effect in 1779, and deemed that all settlers had to prove a serious claim to their land by building a cabin as well as planting a patch of corn. Of course, once all of this corn is grown and harvested, something needs to be done with it. If you happened to grow more corn then you could use yourself, you’d want to try to sell it to somebody else. The problem however is that all of your neighbors, and all of their neighbors, were also growing corn. Roads, when there were any, were rough and treacherous. This resulted in a lot of settlers with a lot of corn on their hands, and little in the way of storage options. Turning this corn into a fermentable mash, and then distilling it into whiskey, proved to be an excellent way to not only solve the storage problem, but also provide a little comfort from the harsh realities of pioneer living. Thus when the disgruntled Pennsylvanians headed west as a result of the Whiskey Rebellion, they found that the “recipe” for their whiskey production efforts already well formed.

The product being made by the pioneer distillers would be difficult to recognize as modern day bourbon, or even plain whiskey for that matter. Today, whiskies are aged for a time in oak. This is what gives them both their color, and their mellow and well developed flavor. Back in the 1700’s there would be little motivation for a whiskey to be “aged”. As far as the distillers were concerned, once it came off of the still, it was ready to be consumed. Aging would come into play only when what couldn’t be readily consumed, was stored until needed. Aging also would take place when the whiskey was shipped to other locations. One of the more common methods of transportation was via boat down the Mississippi to a waiting, and thirsty, public down in New Orleans. Problem was however, that corn was harvested in the fall, and the river up near Kentucky wasn’t high enough for serious boat traffic until spring. This meant that any whiskey that was made in the fall had to be stored until spring before it could be shipped out. This meant that down in New Orleans, any whiskey coming down from Kentucky’s main port in Limestone, located in Bourbon County, would be slightly aged before it could be consumed. When compared to any locally produced whiskey, there would be a very noticeable difference, and it wasn’t long before the locals would be asking for “that whiskey from Bourbon”.

By 1821 we see advertisements for bourbon whiskey, thus indicating that the name had come into at least semi-common use. It was also around this time that we start seeing distillers gradually creating a name for themselves. By the 1830’s there are several larger scale distilleries established, and producing whiskies which were vying for recognition. The problem was that all whiskies were being shipped in barrels, and then dispensed into plain re-useable bottles at the saloons. Some whiskey distillers started providing bottles to the saloons, bottles which would have labels on them declaring their manufacturer. While a good move, this would naturally result in less scrupulous saloon-keepers putting cheaper whiskies into these bottles and fooling their customers into thinking they were getting something better. It wouldn’t be until 1870 that we start seeing a whiskey distiller selling their whiskey only in sealed bottles in order to protect their name.

As bourbon distillers make further inroads into establishing themselves, and the quality which can be expected from their product, they find the need increasing to establish common terms, definitions, and methodologies in order to differentiate their specifically produced whiskey from all of the other variations of whiskey which was available. This started out as simply common agreed upon terminology being used in order to differentiate blended whiskey from straight whiskey, which led to guidelines that the distillers would follow, which evolved to general practice rules, which eventually led to various federal laws and mandates. Which brings us to the detailed definition for bourbon whiskey which I started out with above.

Fortunately, it isn’t necessary to memorize the federal regulations that govern the definition of what is, and isn’t a “Straight bourbon whiskey” in order to appreciate it. Unlike rye whiskey, there are a large number of bourbons on the market. You might even already have a particular favorite. I’d recommend that the next time you are in the liquor store to try to pay specific attention to bottles labeled as “Straight Bourbon Whiskey”, find one you’re interested in trying, and take it home for a spin. Drinks such as the Old Fashioned, Manhattan, Sazerac, are all excellent ways to get introduced to your new friend, as too it should be noted is simply sipping it straight.