Many people who drink whiskey will be pretty particular about their favourite drink and will usually stick to their brand of choice. Whilst this means you’ll always enjoy the drink, after some time though we’ll often feel the need to try something new whether it’s simply to try or to find a new and potentially better drink.
Fortunately with whiskey there are many different brands and varieties which, like wine, mean you can find different drinks every time as no two bottles are the same. Typically most people associate whiskey with Scotland and for good reason, Scotland is one of the most recognized and biggest suppliers of whiskey in the world. But many of us now will drink American brands as they tend to be sold in bars and nightclubs, brands such as Jim Beam and Jack Daniels are very common these days.
Bourbon Whiskey
Bourbon hails from Kentucky, one of the main regions of the United States that produces whiskey. For a bourbon to be considered “straight” by law they need to be aged for a minimum of two years. Many bourbons though are aged for up to four or five years. The production of bourbon is limited in the USA as some states have laws that make it illegal to distil spirits.
Tennessee Whiskey
This is the American whiskey you are most likely to see in bars with famous brands such as Jack Daniels being a Tennessee whiskey. The difference between bourbon and Tennessee whiskeys is that Tennessee whiskeys will have to be aged in new barrels for four years as a minimum. Tennessee whiskeys also go through a process called the Lincoln County Process, where the whiskey is filtered through maple charcoal before aging. This process creates the distinct flavour that sets it apart from bourbon whiskey.
Corn Whiskey
Corn whiskey has a typically high maize content, 80% usually, and requires little to no aging at all. The aging process for corn whiskey is usually six months which is incredibly short compared to the bourbons and Tennessee’s. The aging process is also different from the bourbon aging process in that it does not need new, charred barrels whereas corn whiskey needs wither used barrels or uncharred oak barrels.
Moonshine
Moonshine is illegal and is a slang term for home distilled spirits. During the prohibition era people used to distil their own drinks from sugar and yeast fermented in their own homes, garages or barns. Due to its illegal status it is rarely aged like bourbon and has many impurities and strange flavours. It is often referred to as an incredibly strong drink and is still being produced in Virginia
So apart from Moonshine there are a whole wealth of American whiskeys both famous brands and little known gems. Buying whiskey online can help take the effort out of your search for a great American whiskey and broaden your understanding of this incredible drink.
There are a lot of famous drinks such as grey goose vodka and black grouse scotch whiskey available online at cheap prices.