You’re stood in the whiskey aisle facing a vast selection and you’ve narrowed your choices down to two bottles — one is bourbon, and the other is whiskey. After reading the labels to try to tell the difference between the two, the answer still eludes you. In this post, we’ll provide a simple explanation of the difference between bourbon and whiskey.
Have you heard the phrase “all thumbs are fingers, but not all fingers are thumbs”? Well, a similar rule applies to bourbon and whiskey. Bourbon is actually a type of whiskey, so, while all bourbons are whiskey, not all whiskies are bourbon. But what is the true difference between bourbon and whiskey?
Whiskey is distilled from a fermented blend of grains — commonly corn, rye, barley and wheat. Distillers call this a mash bill. The ratio of grains that combine to make the mash bill determines whether the resulting liquid is categorised as either a whiskey or bourbon.There is, of course, an abundance of whiskies out there to try, all hailing from different places around the world and each with its own distinct flavours and characteristics. The most popular types of whiskey are Scotch, Irish whiskey, Bourbon and Tennessee whiskey, but you’ll find that countries such as Japan and Canada are also producing some noteworthy bottlings.
For a whiskey to be categorised as a bourbon by law, it should have a mash bill with at least 51% corn. The remaining blend of either wheat or rye is what determines whether it’s a wheat bourbon (which tends to be mellow and softer) or a rye bourbon (which has a more spicy flavour). The mash bill should also be distilled at 160 proof (80% alcohol) or less and put into the barrel at 125 proof (62.5%) or less. After these criteria are met, the next step is the barrel ageing process. Bourbon whiskey should be aged in new charred white oak barrels. The last rule for bourbon is that it has to be made in America. A lot of bourbons comes from Kentucky, as the name originated from an area called Old Bourbon, which is now known as Bourbon County. While the various stipulations and laws regarding the distillation of bourbon may seem a little bit fussy, it’s a tried-and-tested way of letting drinkers know that the product they have purchased is genuine.
The Difference between Bourbon and Tennessee Whiskey
Tennessee whiskey is — as you can probably guess — whiskey distilled in Tennessee, USA. The fact that it’s also made in America means that many people are quick to assume that it is also a bourbon, but these people are wrong. Tennessee whiskey is a category of its own and abides by specific legislation and rules to ensure the quality of the distilling process.According to law, Tennessee whiskey should be produced within the state of Tennessee, and it also needs to undergo a filtering process with sugar-maple charcoal. This is what gives Tennessee whiskey the smoothness that has made it so popular among its many fans. The most well-known and popular example of a Tennessee whiskey is Jack Daniels.