It continued to be a dominant spirit in American culture up to Prohibition. Farmers all across Pennsylvania and Maryland used their knowledge of distilling to convert their plentiful rye grain (which could grow anywhere) into a spicy whiskey. It also was very profitable and is also the reason why bourbon’s home was solidified in a state that is west of the Appalachian Mountains.īut rye whiskey was already being made and sold in large amounts in east coast states. The answer was to distill their grain into whiskey so that it could be transported easily. Rail systems weren’t a thing back then and travelling by boat took too long. People might be familiar with bourbon and how that came to be – farmers west of the Appalachian Mountains found it extremely hard and unprofitable to sell their grain (corn) back east. Where to begin about rye whiskey? Well, technically rye whiskey is up on a pedestal of spirits that helped shape America in our early days. George Dickel Unaged Corn Whiskey (which is actually the same recipe – 84% corn, 8% rye, 8% malted barley – as their bourbon whiskey except that it has not been aged).Spirits of French Lick – George E Ballard.Now that you know about corn whiskey, here are some whiskey types to be on the lookout for: It’s different enough from a bourbon to spark curiosity for most consumers, but that’s as far as it goes.ĭon’t be fooled by the small group of enthusiasts out there that seem to worship corn whiskey over all others, their obsession is more of a cultural irony much like hipsters that say they prefer Pabst Blue Ribbon over virtually any other type of beer. It was designed as a cheap whiskey for consumers that don’t care one way or another. The bottom line is this corn whiskey was never designed to be some sort of whiskey that gets better and more refined with each passing year. Other distilleries who use a bourbon mash bill without at least 80% corn cannot call their “White Dog” Corn Whiskey though. George Dickel Tennessee Whiskey (which is a bourbon) has a mash bill of 84/8/8 – technically making it a corn whiskey when it is bottled without being aged. That’s why most bottles of corn whiskey are about 1/3 the price of bourbon and usually have screw caps (to cut down on costs even more). So if a distillery decides to make corn whiskey, the only cost they accrue is the cost to fill it back up again. What do I mean by that? Barrel costs are determined by how long the staves were air dried (seasoned), if the oak was a special variety or if it was toasted first.īy contrast, it probably costs a distillery $40-50 to fill up a barrel with 53 gallons of new-make whiskey. Most wooden barrels will cost anywhere between $200 and $400 depending on bulk discounts or even how complex the barrel is. The reason that corn whiskey is something that distilleries even bother to produce (and why it’s so cheap to do so) is because they have already spent the money into the most expensive part of making bourbon or rye whiskey – the barrel itself. ![]() If it was, chances are high that it would actually fit into the definition of a Bourbon (provided it meets all the other rules of being a bourbon). The law actually states that corn whiskey cannot be used in new charred American oak barrels. That’s why you see corn whiskey that has been aged in a used barrel. This leaves room for adding a little bit of a flavor to the grain mash (like rye) as well as malted barley for the enzymes it brings to the fermenting process.Ĭorn whiskey also doesn’t have to be aged in new charred oak barrels! Most producers that make a corn whiskey do elect to age it in a barrel (more on that in a minute), but very few bottle up an unaged corn whiskey (which would be called White Dog) because they know it’s a poor seller. This is a Bottled-in-Bond one to boot!īy US law, a corn whiskey must have at least 80% corn in the mash. Perhaps the most well-known of all the Corn Whiskies. These two distilleries use a somewhat similar corn mash bill that contain both rye and malted barley in them. Could it be? Yes!īut the top two producers of Corn Whiskey by volume in the US right now are Heaven Hill and MGP Ingredients (also referred to as the Ross and Squibb Distillery in Indiana). The rumor is that Corn Whiskey has to be distilled from 100 percent corn. I’m going to jump right into it and dispel a rumor I hear whenever corn whiskey is brought up. There is a reason for that but first let’s find out the main differences that separates the two. ![]() If you’re a long-time reader of The Bourbon Culture, you know I already review a lot of rye whiskey – but not a lot of corn whiskey. Today, I’m going to go in-depth on two of those styles – Corn Whiskey and Rye Whiskey. ![]() Since we talk so much about bourbon here on our website, I tend to forget that there are a lot of people out there wondering about our opinions on other styles of whiskey.
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