Tennessee whiskey
Encyclopedia
Straight whiskey
Straight whiskey is whisky created by distilling a fermented cereal grain mash to create a spirit not exceeding 80% alcohol content by volume and then aging the spirit for at least two years at an abv concentration not exceeding 62.5% at the start of the aging process.Filtering and dilution...
Bourbon Whiskey
Bourbon whiskey
Bourbon is a type of American whiskey – a barrel-aged distilled spirit made primarily from corn. The name of the spirit derives from its historical association with an area known as Old Bourbon, around what is now Bourbon County, Kentucky . It has been produced since the 18th century...
produced in the state of Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
. This definition is legally established under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
North American Free Trade Agreement
The North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA is an agreement signed by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The agreement came into force on January 1, 1994. It superseded the Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement...
and at least one other international trade agreement that require that Tennessee whiskey be "a straight Bourbon Whiskey authorized to be produced only in the State of Tennessee", and the law of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, which states that Tennessee whiskey must be "a straight Bourbon whisky produced in the State of Tennessee". However, three of the four current producers of Tennessee whiskey disclaim references to their products as "Bourbon" and do not label them as such on their product bottlings.
Some Tennessee whiskies undergo a filtering stage called the Lincoln County Process
Lincoln County Process
The Lincoln County Process is a process used in making some Tennessee whiskeys such as Jack Daniel's and George Dickel. The whiskey is filtered through a column of charcoal chips before going into the casks for aging...
, in which the whiskey is filtered through a thick layer of maple
Maple
Acer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as maple.Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or together with the Hippocastanaceae included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in...
charcoal
Charcoal
Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...
before it is put into charred new oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
barrels
Barrel
A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container, traditionally made of vertical wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. Traditionally, the barrel was a standard size of measure referring to a set capacity or weight of a given commodity. A small barrel is called a keg.For example, a...
for aging. The companies that produce whiskey in this manner say that this step improves the flavor of the whiskey. The filtering process is named for Lincoln County, Tennessee
Lincoln County, Tennessee
Lincoln County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. , the population was 31,340. Its county seat is Fayetteville. It is named for Major General Benjamin Lincoln, an officer in the American Revolutionary War.-History:...
, which contained the Jack Daniel's
Jack Daniel's
Jack Daniel's is a brand of sour mash Tennessee whiskey that is among the world's best-selling liquors. It is known for its square bottles and black label. As of November, 2007, one blogger was claiming that it was the best-selling whiskey in the world. It is produced in Lynchburg, Tennessee by...
distillery when it originally began its operation. However, in 1871, the boundaries of the county were changed, such that the Jack Daniel's distillery and the surrounding area
Lynchburg, Tennessee
Lynchburg is a city in the south-central region of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is governed by a consolidated city-county government unit whose boundaries coincide with those of Moore County. Lynchburg is best known as the location of the Jack Daniel's distillery, whose famous whiskey is...
became part of the newly created Moore County. No whiskey is currently produced within the current boundaries of Lincoln County.
Currently, there are four brands of Tennessee whiskey on the market: Jack Daniel's, George Dickel
George Dickel
George Dickel is the name of a brand of Tennessee whisky distilled and aged in Cascade Hollow, Tennessee, near Tullahoma and bottled in Stamford, Connecticut and Canada. The brand is now owned by Diageo PLC. Four whiskies are produced at the George Dickel Distillery: George Dickel Cascade Hollow,...
, and Collier and McKeel, which use the Lincoln County Process, and Benjamin Prichard's, which does not.
In 2009, the Tennessee General Assembly
Tennessee General Assembly
The Tennessee General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee.-Constitutional structure:According to the Tennessee State Constitution of 1870, the General Assembly is a bicameral legislature and consists of a Senate of thirty-three members and a House of Representatives of...
amended the statute that had for many years limited the distillation of drinkable spirits to just three of Tennessee's 95 counties (Lincoln, Moore, and Coffee
Coffee County, Tennessee
Coffee County is a county located in south-central portion of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is one of the counties of Middle Tennessee. As of 2010, the population was 52,796. Its county seat is Manchester....
). The revised law allows distilleries to be established in 41 additional counties. This change was expected to lead to the establishment of small distilleries, thus increasing the number of producers of Tennessee whiskey.
Tennessee whiskey is the source of the name of the country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
song "Tennessee Whiskey
Tennessee Whiskey (song)
"Tennessee Whiskey" is the title of a country song written by Dean Dillon and Linda Hargrove. It was originally recorded by American country music artist David Allan Coe, whose version peaked at number 77 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in 1981...
" by Dean Dillon
Dean Dillon
Dean Dillon is an American country music artist. Between 1982 and 1993, Dillon recorded six studio albums on various labels, and charted several singles on the Billboard country charts. Although he has not charted since 1993, Dillon has continued to write several hit songs for other artists, most...
, a hit for George Jones
George Jones
George Glenn Jones is an American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette....
in 1983
1983 in country music
This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1983.-Events:* March — In a span of two days, two major cable networks signed on the air. Country Music Television went on-the-air March 5, while The Nashville Network came on two days later on March 7...
.
See also
- American whiskeyAmerican whiskeyAmerican whiskey is a distilled beverage produced in the United States from a fermented mash of cereal grain.The production and labeling of American whiskey are governed by Title 27 of the U.S...
- American Whiskey TrailAmerican Whiskey TrailThe American Whiskey Trail is an initiative of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States that promotes the history and cultural heritage of distilled beverages in the United States.-History of whiskey in the United States:...
- Bourbon whiskeyBourbon whiskeyBourbon is a type of American whiskey – a barrel-aged distilled spirit made primarily from corn. The name of the spirit derives from its historical association with an area known as Old Bourbon, around what is now Bourbon County, Kentucky . It has been produced since the 18th century...
- Corn whiskeyCorn whiskeyCorn whiskey is an American liquor made from a mash made of at least 80 percent corn.The whiskey is typically run off to high proof and cut to not less than 40 percent alcohol by volume. It does not have to be aged; but if so, it is aged in new uncharred oak barrels or in barrels previously used...
- DistillationDistillationDistillation is a method of separating mixtures based on differences in volatilities of components in a boiling liquid mixture. Distillation is a unit operation, or a physical separation process, and not a chemical reaction....
- MoonshineMoonshineMoonshine is an illegally produced distilled beverage...
- Sour mashSour mashSour mash is a process in the distilling industry that uses material from an older batch of mash to start fermentation in the batch currently being made, analogous to the making of sourdough bread. The term sour mash can also be used as the name of the type of mash used in that process, and a...
- WhiskyWhiskyWhisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Different grains are used for different varieties, including barley, malted barley, rye, malted rye, wheat, and corn...
Further reading
- Waymack, Mark H., and James F. Harris (1999). The Book of Classic American Whiskeys. Open Court. ISBN 978-0812693058