YoungMonk Posted April 26, 2012 Share Posted April 26, 2012 I have a question for whiskey makers? If Bourbon must be made from at least 51% corn, then would a 100% Corn Whiskey be a Bourbon...assuming all other requirments of Bourbon at met? Or does Bourbon have to be made from a blend of at least 51% Corn with the remaining ingredients being other grains such as Rye or Malted Barley? If Bourbon must be a blend of Corn and other grains, then for the sake of legal definition (not flavor) where do you draw the line in terms of Corn/blend percentage amounts to get the legal definition of Bourbon? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick jones Posted April 26, 2012 Share Posted April 26, 2012 Since the definition of bourbon only has a minimum corn content, it is allowable to make bourbon from 100% corn. Note that "corn whiskey" is also a specific "type" of the whiskey "class" as far as the TTB is concerned. Therefore, legally speaking, bourbon is not corn whiskey. You can read the regulations yourself to your heart's content here. Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohninWV Posted April 27, 2012 Share Posted April 27, 2012 If it's 100% corn, and it's in a new charred barrel (assuming other regs are met), its bourbon. In a new uncharred barrel or a used barrel, it's corn whiskey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coop Posted April 27, 2012 Share Posted April 27, 2012 If it's 100% corn, and it's in a new charred barrel (assuming other regs are met), its bourbon. In a new uncharred barrel or a used barrel, it's corn whiskey. Not Excactly Right. You must use at least 81% corn but you can use 100% Corn for corn whiskey, the barreling requirments are corect. Coop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohninWV Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 Not Excactly Right. You must use at least 81% corn but you can use 100% Corn for corn whiskey, the barreling requirments are corect. Coop That's why I said "if it's 100% corn". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluestar Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 Given that, anyone currently making the same product 80+% corn, but aging some in new charred oak as bourbon and aging other in old or uncharred oak as corn whiskey? Would be very curious to know how they compare, if mash bill and distillation was the same, just barrel type was different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteB Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 Given that, anyone currently making the same product 80+% corn, but aging some in new charred oak as bourbon and aging other in old or uncharred oak as corn whiskey? Would be very curious to know how they compare, if mash bill and distillation was the same, just barrel type was different. They would be very different, just ask someone who makes "scotch style" single malts in different types of re-use barrels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluestar Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 Yes, I assumed they would be very different, but wondered for those actually doing it, what the difference in character is, specifically for a corn whiskey versus bourbon on the same mash. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohninWV Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 Bluestar, we do exactly that. We have an 80% corn, 20% malt mash that goes half into new and half into used barrels...a mix of corn whiskey and bourbon. It has been approved as Appalachian Whiskey. We started laying it down about 2 years ago and will come out in the fall. I'd be happy to send you a sample of some of the same distillation run in the different barrels....but it's going to take me some time with my travels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoungMonk Posted May 8, 2012 Author Share Posted May 8, 2012 Thank you everyone for your answers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul@mbroland.com Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 Bluestar, we do exactly that. We have an 80% corn, 20% malt mash that goes half into new and half into used barrels...a mix of corn whiskey and bourbon. It has been approved as Appalachian Whiskey. We started laying it down about 2 years ago and will come out in the fall. I'd be happy to send you a sample of some of the same distillation run in the different barrels....but it's going to take me some time with my travels. So you're blending the bourbon and corn whiskey and making one single product, or the bourbon is one product and the corn whiskey is another? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowdery Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 They make one distillate from a mash that is 80% corn and 20% malt. Some of it they age in new, charred barrels, which makes it bourbon. The rest they age in used barrels and that's corn whiskey. The mistake many people make in interpreting this rule is that they assume the 80% corn minimum requirement for corn whiskey means bourbon cannot be more than 80% corn, although the rules say nothing of the kind. Tuthilltown's bourbons are 100% corn, for example. The distinction is in the aging, not the mash bill. Corn whiskey doesn't have to be aged at all and is the only whiskey that can be called whiskey with no aging. But if it is aged, it cannot be aged in new, charred barrels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohninWV Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 We make the products as bourbon and as corn whiskey, but in the end, we will blend them to become something else, Appalachian Whiskey, My thinking was that most people think moonshine is corn whiskey, when in fact, it's sugar jack. As you all know, WV has a rap as a moonshine heavy state, so I'm trying to make something that plays to that angle, hence Appalachian Whiskey made from an 80% corn mash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EllenJ Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 At least one "old-line" bourbon is a good example of that. Old Charter's mashbill was (and probably still is, even though it's a Sazerac-owned brand now, distilled at Buffalo Trace) 80% corn (not sure of the rye and malt content). Aged in new, charred oak barrels, it's a legitimate straight bourbon. Were it aged new un-charred barrels it could be called "straight corn whiskey", but intrestingly enough, if it were aged in used charred barrels (or any other container using charred wood) it would lose its right to the term "straight" and could only be called "corn whiskey". Go figure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wadewood Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 If it's 100% corn, and it's in a new charred barrel (assuming other regs are met), its bourbon. In a new uncharred barrel or a used barrel, it's corn whiskey. I agree with you 100%. I've been trying to tell Chip Tate at Balcones the same thing. His product is labeled as Corn Whiskey, yet it meets all the definitions of bourbon and his website says it is aged in new charred oak barrels. You can not make corn whiskey in new charred barrels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowdery Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 The regs even go a little further, stating that corn whiskey may not be, "subjected in any manner to treatment with charred wood." The Tuthilltown bourbons are 100% corn, aged in new charred barrels, and correctly labeled as bourbon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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