Spirits · Red Meat & Cigar Club editorial

Kentucky, Tennessee, Bottled-in-Bond & Rye

The American whiskey terms on the label, decoded.

American whiskey labels pack in a lot of legal meaning. Here's what the big terms actually guarantee.

Kentucky

Most bourbon is made in Kentucky, but the law doesn't require it. Bourbon can be made anywhere in the United States. Kentucky's advantages are partly natural (limestone-filtered water low in iron, plus hot summers and cold winters that work the barrels hard) and partly two centuries of know-how. "Kentucky straight bourbon" on a label means it was distilled in Kentucky and meets the straight-whiskey rules.

Tennessee

Tennessee whiskey is a close cousin. A 2013 Tennessee law requires it to be made in the state from at least 51% corn, aged in new charred oak, and filtered through maple charcoal before aging. That's the Lincoln County Process, which many drinkers say rounds off the spirit. The best-known example, Jack Daniel's, is made in Lynchburg, where the distillery burns its own sugar-maple charcoal. George Dickel is the other historic name. (The law has an exemption for Prichard's, which doesn't charcoal-filter.)

Bottled-in-Bond

Under the 1897 Act and today's federal rules, a "Bottled-in-Bond" or "Bonded" American spirit must be:

• the product of one distilling season, by one distiller, at one distillery;
• aged at least four years in a federally bonded warehouse;
• bottled at exactly 100 proof;
• labeled with the distillery where it was made (and bottled, if different).

It was America's first consumer-protection label for spirits, and bonded bottlings are popular with enthusiasts again as dependable, full-strength values.

Rye

Before Prohibition, rye was the whiskey of Pennsylvania and Maryland ("Monongahela" rye was famous). American rye must be at least 51% rye grain and follows the same production rules as bourbon. Expect more pepper, dill, mint and dry spice, and less of corn's sweetness. That's why rye is the classic base for a Manhattan or a Sazerac. Many Kentucky distilleries make rye, and the style has had a strong comeback.

Straight, small batch, single barrel

Straight is a legal term: at least two years in new charred oak, with no added coloring or flavoring. Small batch and single barrel aren't defined by federal law. Single barrel generally means each bottle came from one cask, while small batch is up to each producer.

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