Tennessee whiskey

Tennessee whiskey is straight whiskey produced in Tennessee. Although it has been legally defined as a bourbon whiskey in some international trade agreements, most current producers of Tennessee whiskey disclaim references to their products as "bourbon" and do not label them as such on any of their bottles or advertising materials. All current producers are required by Tennessee law to produce their whiskey in Tennessee and, with one exception, to also use a filtering step known as the Lincoln County Process prior to aging the whiskey; that aside, "Tennessee whiskey and bourbon have almost identical requirements [and] most Tennessee whiskeys meet the criteria for bourbon."

Tennessee whiskey is one of the top ten exports of Tennessee. According to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, as of 2013, the U.S. market for bourbon and Tennessee whiskey reached $2.4 billion, and exports of bourbon and Tennessee whiskey grew to exceed $1 billion. There are currently two major producers of Tennessee whiskey – Jack Daniel's (owned by Brown-Forman) and George Dickel (owned by Diageo) – and at least two smaller producers (Benjamin Prichard's and Collier & McKeel).

On a federal level, what constitutes Tennessee whiskey is legally established under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and at least one other international trade agreement that require that Tennessee whiskey be "a straight Bourbon Whiskey authorized to be produced only in the State of Tennessee". Canadian food and drug laws state that Tennessee whiskey must be "a straight Bourbon whisky produced in the State of Tennessee".

On a state level, the State of Tennessee has imposed stringent requirements. It is not enough under state law that the whiskey be produced in Tennessee; it must meet quality and production standards. On May 13, 2013, Tennessee governor Bill Haslam signed House Bill 1084, requiring the Lincoln County process (which involves maple charcoal filtering) to be used for products produced in the state labeling themselves as "Tennessee Whiskey", along with the existing requirements for bourbon (namely, mash consisting of at least 51% corn, aging in new charred oak barrels, and limits on alcohol by volume concentration for distillation, aging, and bottling). The law contained a specific exception for Benjamin Prichard's, which doesn't use the Lincoln County process. As federal law requires statements of origin on labels to be accurate, the Tennessee law effectively gives a firm definition to Tennessee whiskey.

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Wikipedia