Bourbon

Bourbon is, without doubt, the most famous American whiskey category. Made from a mixed mash bill of corn and other grains, it’s a sweet, richly textured and deeply flavoured whiskey that can only be made in the United States. 

The bestselling bourbon brands include Buffalo Trace, Colonel EH Taylor, Woodford Reserve, Bulleit, Jim Beam, and Bookers. Each of these brands is produced in the southern states of the US. While bourbon can be made anywhere in the country, it tends to be focused within its historical homelands, states like Kentucky.

Buffalo Trace is owned by Sazerac and distilled at the Buffalo Trace distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky. 

Sazerac also owns Colonel EH Taylor, produced at the Buffalo Trace distillery.

Brown Forman Corporation owns Woodford Reserve and produces it at the Woodford Reserve distillery in Versailles, Kentucky. The distillery here is a protected national landmark.

Bulleit is one of the younger bourbon brands and is owned by Diageo. It’s produced at the Bulleit Distillery in Shelbyville, Kentucky.

Jim Beam is owned by Suntory Global Spirits, the Japanese drinks conglomerate and is made at the Jim Beam Distillery in Clermont, Kentucky.

Bookers Bourbon is also owned by Suntory and produced at the Jim Beam distillery. 

Bourbon is a multi-billion dollar whiskey category that is experiencing growth around the world. Importantly, it is only one of several increasingly popular American whiskey types, including Tennessee whiskey, rye whiskey, and American single malt. 

Bourbon is distinguished by its history. The few records that exist suggest that bourbon, as it is known today, was being distilled in the United States in the early 18th century. It was a distilled spirit that began among farmers and other rural folk who had ready access to corn and grains to use in the mash bill. 

Immigration among agricultural workers from Ireland, Scotland, France, and other countries who arrived in the United States with distilling knowledge is said to have been one of the driving forces behind the growth of this sweet and popular whiskey. 

Bourbon is protected within the United States by the Federal Standards of Identity for Distilled Spirits. This legislation states that bourbon must be made entirely in the US, use a minimum of 51% corn in its mash bill, mature in new oak barrels using American oak, be distilled to a maximum of 160 proof (80% ABV), enter into cask for maturation at no more than 125 proof (62.5% ABV), and be bottled at a minimum of 80 proof (40% ABV).

In addition to these regulations, bourbon must be aged in American oak barrels. There is no minimum aging period for standard bourbon, but to be labelled as a straight bourbon, as many of the better-known releases are, it needs to be aged for a minimum of two years. 

The mandatory use of new American oak in the maturation of bourbon in the US has created an important secondary global industry. American distilleries can sell their ex-bourbon barrels to other whiskey-producing countries, such as Ireland, to be used in their longer maturation processes. This transfer of flavours from the bourbon-soaked wood into the whiskey of other countries is extremely popular and has become a hallmark of whiskey everywhere it is produced.