Bourbon: 5 Things You Didn't Know

5 Bourbon Facts You've Been Getting Wrong All Along

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The box has everything you need but the booze. Here's a little bit of key info on one of our favorite brown liquors — and one that would work perfectly for aging your own drinks.

Bourbon 's one of those subjects that tends to inspire strong opinions. Maybe it's the effect of the bourbon itself, but there are some bourbon extremists who claim that the very existence of the United States as a sovereign nation owes something to corn liquor. We'll stay out of that debate, but it can't be denied that bourbon whiskey is the U.S.'s only native spirit, made as it is from corn, rye (or sometimes wheat) and malt.

Bourbon's definition, and how it differs from other whiskies, is the source of some confusion, so we'll start with the basics: Bourbon is a whiskey (not "whisky," which is the Scottish spelling — although Maker's Mark does spell its name "whisky" because it uses a process similar to that of Scotch) that is made with at least 51% corn. It must be aged in new white oak barrels that have never been used before, the insides of which get charred with a torch before being filled with the liquor for aging. In order for a drink to be called bourbon, it can't have any flavor or color additives: just corn, water, wheat or rye, malt, and the coloring effects of the inside of a charred oak barrel. Finally, bourbon has to be between 80 and 160 proof (although, very few clock in above 130).

Now that you have the basic definition down, here are five things you didn't know about bourbon.



1- Bourbon can be made anywhere in the U.S.

2- Bourbon distillers can only use their barrels once

Many people assume that because bourbon is named after Bourbon County, Kentucky, where it was first made in the 1800s, that it must be made in Kentucky to be called bourbon. After all, isn't Jack Daniel's basically the same thing, only it's made in Tennessee? That's a common misconception. According to Maker's Mark Master Distiller Kevin Smith, whiskey can be called bourbon no matter where in the country it's made — it just has to be made according to the rules we laid out above. So why is JD's not bourbon? Because it's filtered through maple wood charcoal before being aged in oak barrels, which is an extra step that isn't included in making bourbon.When bourbon distillers are done with the barrels they use to age the bourbon, they are reused to age other non-bourbon whiskies. Reusing the barrels makes sense, because they cost around $120 each. For example, Maker's Mark and Jim Beam send some of their barrels across the Atlantic to Scotland, where they're used to age Laphroaig single malt Scotch

Read on for more of our five things you didn't know about bourbon...AskMen has partnered with Bespoke Post to bring you July's Box of Awesome — a kit to barrel-age your own alcohol. Check out the deal here.



The box has everything you need but the booze. Here's a little bit of key info on one of our favorite brown liquors — and one that would work perfectly for aging your own drinks.