Bourbon Heritage Month Cheat Sheet

The calendar is stuffed with made-up holidays like Nationwide Grilled Cheese Day (April 12) and Nationwide Hug Your Cat Day (June 4). However Nationwide Bourbon Heritage Month may be very actual. In reality, it was established as a vacation by the US Senate again in 2007, which signifies that all of us get a full 30 days to rejoice bourbon. And rejoice it we will.

First, see our primer on bourbon. Then behold: 13 enjoyable information about this quintessential American spirit.

In 1964, Congress acknowledged bourbon as a “distinctive product of the USA.”Bourbon is most intently related to Kentucky, however it may be produced wherever in the USA, with bourbon distillers situated in California, Texas, New York, and in all places between.Bourbon should be comprised of at the least 51% corn, and may be composed of nothing in addition to water, grains, and yeast.Bourbon should be distilled to no larger than 160 proof (80% ABV).Bourbon can’t enter a barrel any larger than 125 proof.Bourbon should be bottled at a minimal of 80 proof.Bourbon should be aged in new charred oak barrels.Bourbon has no minimal ageing requirement, however to be labeled “straight bourbon,” the product should be aged at the least two years. Any bourbon aged lower than 4 years should embody an age assertion on the label.Not like rum and sure different spirits, a bourbon’s acknowledged age should be that of the youngest whiskey within the bottle.There are extra bourbon barrels in Kentucky than there are folks. Bourbon takes its title from Bourbon County, Kentucky, which takes its title from the French royal household.Bourbon County was ravaged by Prohibition, and no whiskey was produced (legally) within the county between the years of 1919 and 2014.The Kentucky Bourbon Competition is held every September in Bardstown, KY to honor and showcase the bourbon making course of and the storied historical past of this Kentucky-centric business. It started in 1991 as a bourbon tasting and dinner, and has grown tremendously since then. Lately, greater than 50,000 folks have attended from everywhere in the world.