Question 1

What is the difference between whiskey and bourbon?

Accepted Answer

All bourbon is whiskey, but not all whiskey is bourbon. Bourbon must legally be made in the United States from a mash of at least 51 percent corn and aged in new, charred oak barrels with no additives. Whiskey is the broader category with far looser rules.

Question 2

Why does bourbon taste sweeter than Scotch?

Accepted Answer

Bourbon must age in new charred oak, which floods the spirit with fresh vanilla and caramel compounds. Scotch is usually aged in used barrels, often spent bourbon barrels, that have already given up most of their sugars, producing a drier, less sweet result.

Question 3

Is Jack Daniel's a bourbon?

Accepted Answer

Jack Daniel's technically meets the federal requirements to be called bourbon, but it is labeled Tennessee whiskey. Tennessee law requires an extra step called the Lincoln County Process, filtering the spirit through sugar-maple charcoal before it enters the barrel.

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The Whiskey That Congress Defined