Jack Daniels is called a Tennessee Whiskey, not a bourbon, and there seems to be some confusion heated debate regarding its actual classification. Although the liquor appears to technically qualify as a bourbon, many people, including the distiller, take a pretty firm stance on the term “Tennessee Whiskey”.
What constitutes Bourbon?
There are some basics in the production of whiskey that will classify the liquor as a bourbon:
- The product must be produced in the United States – although Kentucky tends to be associated with the birthplace of bourbon, it can be produced in any state.
- The Mash Bill, meaning the types and amounts of grains used in creating the wort, which is then distilled into the whiskey, must be at least 51% corn.
- The spirit must be aged in new, charred oak barrels
- Specific levels of alcohol, or proof, must be followed going into and out of the aging barrels. The finished bourbon must be at least 80 proof or 40% alcohol by volume, going into the bottle.
Jack Daniels, which is produced in the United States, has a mash bill of 80% corn, is aged in new, charred, white oak barrels for at least two years and is bottled at 80 proof, certainly seems to qualify as a bourbon.
So what sets Jack apart?
To sweeten the whiskey the distillers put the spirit through a process called the “Lincoln County Process”. The whiskey is filtered through charcoal chips before going into the barrels for aging. The process is named for Lincoln County, Tennessee, which was the location of Jack Daniel’s original distillery. The Lincoln County Process is a common process for distilleries making Tennessee Whiskey, where it removes some of the impurities and sweetens the final product.
Tennessee distilleries are pretty firm in the idea that the Lincoln County Process creates a unique Tennessee Whiskey, and is not a (Kentucky) bourbon. Unlike Bourbon, the United States government does not have a specific classification for “Tennessee Whiskey”.
When the government tried to force Jack Daniels to label its liquor as “bourbon” in 1941, Reagor Motlow, a member of the Motlow family who owned the Jack Daniels Distillery, met with officials to argue their liquor had no characteristics of bourbon. After much testing at the local bar government lab, the conclusion came that the Tennessee Whiskey was not a bourbon and Jack Daniels would not be forced Jack to use the term “Bourbon” on their labels.
So technically, Jack Daniels is a bourbon. The distilling process aligns to all of the bourbon making requirements, but has the addition of the Lincoln County Process. Sides are taken with no clear conclusion and will continue to be debated in local taverns over a drink.
