[#AllAboutWhiskyPh] American Whiskey.

September is National Bourbon Heritage Month! To celebrate, in the coming month we're going to be taking look at American Whiskey (AW).

AW is the broad category for #whiskey originating from the United States. Within this category you can find #bourbon, rye whiskey, corn whiskey, #wheatwhiskey, rye malt whiskey and #maltwhiskey

AW tends to taste quite different from #scotch partly because of the ingredients that go into it. While a standard #singlemalt scotch is made from 100% malted barley, the AW tends to be made from a mix of different grains. This mix of grains is called a "Mash Bill".

Based on US laws, the dominant grain in the #MashBill determines what it's called:

#CornWhiskey - 80% Corn
Rye - 51% Rye
Bourbon - 51% Corn
#MaltWhiskey - 51% Barley
Wheat - 51% Wheat
#RyeMalt - 51% Malted Rye

The grains must then be distilled to no more than 80% abv, and nothing else can be added but water. For most AWs, the distilled spirit must then be aged in new charred oak containers.

Corn whiskey being the exception, as it's not required to be aged. But if aged, it must be in used or uncharred oak barrels.

If the AW is aged for at least 2 years and made from whiskey from within the same state, it can be called a Straight Whiskey.

If it's aged in a federally bonded warehouse for at least 4 years at 50% abv, with the whiskey being a product of only a single distilling season of a single distillery, it can be called Bottled-In-Bond.

They say that whiskey making in the US started in the northeast where rye was abundant but the dominant grain shifted more towards corn as whisky makers moved to the south.

Exciting stuff for an AW newbie like myself! Here I got the #RusselsReserve 10yo a Kentucky Straight Bourbon, #MellowCorn a Bottled-in-Bond Straight Corn Whiskey, and #RittenhouseRye a Bottled-in-Bond Straight Rye Whiskey. All very different but also delicious.

In the background is a great american comic, American Vampire by Scott Snyder and Rafael Albaquerque. Cheers!🥃

Image Courtesy of @WhiskyPH

@WhiskyPH

At its core, whisky appreciation is an exercise in memory. Notes of a whisky enthusiast in the Philippines. 🥃🇵🇭