Tennessee Whiskey, like Bourbon, traces its roots to colonial America. Moving south and west from New England and the mid-Atlantic, some early immigrants settled in Tennessee. As corn became a flourishing crop there, they used it, instead of traditional barley, to make their Whiskey.
Tennessee Whiskey must be made from a grain bill that is at least 51 percent corn, must age in new, charred oak barrels and must be distilled to no more than 62.5 percent alcohol – the same requirements for the production of Bourbon, one state over. One distinction is that most Tennessee Whiskey also undergoes the “Lincoln County process,” in which the just-distilled Whiskey is filtered through maplewood charcoal before it’s put into barrels to age. This key step removes some impurities and lends a mellower flavor profile to Tennessee Whiskey.
