Tennessee whiskey
Tennessee whiskey is Straight Bourbon Whiskey produced in the state of Tennessee.[1][2][3] This definition is legally established under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)[1] and at least one other international trade agreement[2] that require that Tennessee whiskey be "a straight Bourbon Whiskey authorized to be produced only in the State of Tennessee", and the law of Canada,[3] which states that Tennessee whiskey must be "a straight Bourbon whisky produced in the State of Tennessee". However, three of the four current producers of Tennessee whiskey disclaim references to their products as "Bourbon" and do not label them as such on their product bottlings.
Some Tennessee whiskies undergo a filtering stage called the Lincoln County Process, in which the whiskey is filtered through a thick layer of maple charcoal before it is put into charred new oak barrels for aging. The companies that produce whiskey in this manner say that this step improves the flavor of the whiskey. The filtering process is named for Lincoln County, Tennessee, which contained the Jack Daniel's distillery when it originally began its operation. However, in 1871, the boundaries of the county were changed, such that the Jack Daniel's distillery and the surrounding area became part of the newly created Moore County. The only whiskey currently produced within the current boundaries of Lincoln County is Prichard's Tennessee Whiskey, which does not use the Lincoln County Process.
Currently, there are four brands of Tennessee whiskey on the market: Jack Daniel's, George Dickel, Collier and McKeel,[4] and Prichard's.[5]
In 2009, the Tennessee General Assembly amended the statute that had for many years limited the distillation of drinkable spirits to just three of Tennessee's 95 counties (Lincoln, Moore, and Coffee). The revised law allows distilleries to be established in 41 additional counties. This change was expected to lead to the establishment of small distilleries, thus increasing the number of producers of Tennessee whiskey.[6]
Tennessee whiskey is the source of the name of the country music song "Tennessee Whiskey" by Dean Dillon, a hit for George Jones in 1983.[7]
[edit] See also
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[edit] References
- ^ a b North American Free Trade Agreement Annex 313: Distinctive products
- ^ a b SICE - Free Trade Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Chile, Section E, Article 3.15 "Distinctive products".
- ^ a b Canada Food and Drug regulations, C.R.C. C.870, provision B.02.022.1
- ^ Collier and McKeel company web site.
- ^ Prichard's Distillery Whiskey Facts
- ^ John T. Edge, That's the Whiskey Talking, Gourmet.com (Gourmet magazine website), August 13, 2009
- ^ Biography, Dean Dillon website, accessed December 22, 2009
[edit] Further reading
- Waymack, Mark H., and James F. Harris (1999). The Book of Classic American Whiskeys. Open Court. ISBN 978-0812693058
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