American whiskey

American whiskey is a distilled beverage produced in the United States from a fermented mash of cereal grain.

The production and labeling of American whiskey are governed by Title 27 of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations.

Outside of the United States, various other countries recognize certain types of American whiskey, such as bourbon and Tennessee whiskey, as indigenous products of the United States that must be produced (although not necessarily bottled) in the United States. When sold in another country, American whiskey may also be required to conform to other local product requirements that apply to whiskey in general when sold in that country, which may in some aspects involve stricter standards than the U.S. law.

Canadian law also requires that products labeled as bourbon or Tennessee Whiskey must satisfy the laws of the United States that regulate its manufacture "for consumption in the United States". Some other countries do not specify this requirement. This distinction can be important, as the U.S. regulations include substantial exemptions for products that are made for export rather than for consumption within the United States (C.F.R. Title 27, § 5, notably 5.2 and 5.3).

Some key types listed in the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations are:

Unless the whiskey is labeled as blended, to be labeled as one of the types listed above, the whiskey must be distilled to not more than 80% alcohol by volume (160 U.S. proof) to ensure that the flavor of the original mash is adequately retained, and the addition of coloring, caramel and flavoring additives is prohibited. All of these except corn whiskey must be aged (at least briefly, although no minimum aging period is specified) in charred new oak containers. These restrictions do not exist for some similarly named products in some other countries, such as Canada. American corn whiskey does not have to be aged at all – but, if it is aged, it must be aged in used or uncharred oak barrels,"at not more than 62.5% alcohol by volume (125 proof)". In practice, if corn whiskey is aged it usually is aged in used bourbon barrels.

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