The Wine Bottle

As new Scottish and Irish migrants tried to settle on the American continent, they brought with them the distilling methods of scotch whiskey. As they found the new raw materials different from what they were accustomed to, they lead the way for an evolution of new scotch now known merely as whiskey. Today if you can find a similarity between Irish and Scottish whiskey, and its American cousin you would be further ahead than the experts and connoisseurs.

The fuller, stronger and sweeter of the American whiskey is a result of the lack of smoke in the drying process of grains and/or corns. The six different types of American whiskey is a result of the various aging times and adjusted amounts of grains used in each batch of whiskey.

The six different American whiskeys are bourbon, tennessee, rye, wheat, corn and blended whiskey.

Bourbon is believed to be produced just in Kentucky, which is a myth.  Bourbon has been produced in many states. The requirements for bourbon are very simple. It must be made in the United States, should only be made from fifty-one percent corn, and must be stored in charred oak barrels for a period of least two years. The spirit in its raw form may not exceed eighty percent alcohol by volume.

There are a few differences between Tennessee and Bourbon.  They are very closely related. Tennessee must always be filtered through sugar maple charcoal, and can only be produced in the state of Tennessee, hence its name. Currently there are only two brands of Tennessee whiskey available; George Dickel and Jack Daniels.

Generally rye and wheat whiskeys are blended with other products to create other types of whiskeys. Only a very small portion of this whiskey is bottled. It must be consist of at least fifty-one percent rye in order to be called rye whiskey. The distilling and storing conditions meet the same requirements as in Bourbon. Rye whiskey is made in the states of Kentucky and Indiana. It has a slightly bitter and more powerful taste.

Corn whiskey is another type of whiskey. Due to the large surplus of corn, this was an obvious choice and is the predecessor of Bourbon. As assumed corn is the main ingredient with about eighty percent. The difference between corn and Bourbon is that corn does not have to be stored in wood. If it is to be aged it must be done in previous Bourbon barrels or barrels that have been uncharred

The final type of whiskey is Blended American Whiskey. You should not be confused by the differences in American blended whiskey and Scottish whiskey. American whiskey only contains approximately twenty percent of rye and bourbon whiskey while a mass product industrial spirit makes up the other eighty percent. This makes the product very cheap and much lighter than it’s American cousins.

The above article is just an introduction to whiskey. There are several blogs available online that may be able to provide further information, such as Food and Drink Information. Topics range from buying restaurant furniture to how to make a great coffee.

In particulars of export, Scotch whisky amasses roughly 90% of all export sales mixed in Britain and is a principle export commodity. This revenue is in great part foreign currency. This trend has been followed since the turn of the 19-century as the value of overseas marketing was discovered.

Between 15-20% of all scotch whisky consumed in Scotland is first purchased in Britain. Although the reason for this is unknown, they do not dwell on it since their Scotch seems to be more popular in other countries. This has been proved by the undeniable fact that scotch whisky is inside the top 5 export earners and makes a substantial profit while making large contributions to Britain’s foreign-exchange.

Roughly 2 hundred markets are in the exchange for Scotch whisky with the Western european Union being in the forefront struggling for number one spot with the US, Japan and other Asian markets following suit. The European Union is accountable for at least 50% of all Scotch whisky sales with the other countries rounding up another 40% or so.

A nine-year sales projection is in reserve of scotch stock maturing or already matured. In 1996 the stock of matured scotch was sitting at 2,741 million liters up a tenfold from 1945 at 247 million liters. The stock was higher in 1939 at 374 million liters. Obviously the Scotch whiskey market is predicted to grow based on the amount of maturing stock.

It is a difficult trade dealing in stocks with a scotch manufacturer as they sit and wait on maturing product, they cannot accurately gather information on what the market years down the road will be for their product. This is a commercial problem. The most important undertaking is the capital investment of maturing stock.

There’s a miniscule portion of fine scotch that basically makes it out of Scotland and into other states. Matured whiskies as well as fresh fillings are an alluring profit grabber ; however the time it uses for this product to turn over and give way to recounted profit makes this a dangerous undertaking. It is very hard to determine whether or not the products value will hold in the future.

In closing the value of these company’s finely distilled products is not going to lose appeal soon, though one never knows what the future will bring. For Scotch lovers, another drink is always in their futures.

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.