Whiskey 101

Bourbon and Whiskey Definitions

Angel’s Share: The portion of Bourbon in an aging barrel that’s lost to evaporation.

Backset: The thin, watery part of a previously distilled batch of whiskey mash that is added ‒ or “set back” ‒ into the next batch. Also “sour mash, setback, stillage or spent beer.”

Barrel Proof (Cask Strength): Whiskey/bourbon that is bottled after barrel-aging without being diluted to a lower proof by the addition of water.

Beer Still: A giant apparatus in which the main component is a very tall metal column used to separate the alcohol from the water in the distiller’s beer by vaporizing the alcohol content. Also called a “continuous still.” The spirit produced is called “low wines.”

Bottled-in-Bond: Bottled-in-Bond (BIB) Act of 1897 are rules that require spirits such as whiskey to be aged and bottled according to a specific legal rules and regulations. The primary purpose of the BIB Act of 1897 is to guarantee that the product the consumer was buying was truly whiskey, according to a standardized definition. The BIB act of 1897 was in fact the first form of consumer protection in the United States of America. o be labeled as bottled-in-bond or bonded, the liquor must be the product of one distillation season (January–June or July–December) by one distiller at one distillery. It must have been aged in a federally bonded warehouse under U.S. government supervision for at least four years and bottled at 100 (U.S.) proof(50% alcohol by volume). The bottled product’s label must identify the distillery where it was distilled and, if different, where it was bottled.Only spirits produced in the United States may be designated as bonded.

Bourbon: A product of the United States, made from at least 51% corn mash, distilled at no higher than 160 proof (80% ABV), stored at no more than 125 proof (62.5% ABV) in new oak containers, bottled at no less than 80 proof (40% ABV) and have nothing added except pure water.

Bung: The stopper used to seal a barrel.

Charring: The process of setting fire to the interior of barrels for less than one minute and creates a layer of charred wood. Distillers can choose from four levels of char.

Column Still: A column still, also called a continuous still, patent still or Coffey still, is a variety of still consisting of two columns. Column stills behave like a series of single pot stills, formed in a long vertical tube. The tube is filled with either porous packing or bubble plates. The rising vapor, which is low in alcohol, starts to condense in the cooler, higher level of the column. The temperature of each successively higher stage is slightly lower than the previous stage, so the vapor in equilibrium with the liquid at each stage is progressively more enriched with alcohol. Whereas a single pot still charged with wine might yield a vapor enriched to 40–50% alcohol, a column still can achieve a vapor alcohol content of 96%; an azeotropic mixture of alcohol and water. Further enrichment is only possible by absorbing the remaining water using other means, such as hydrophilic chemicals or azeotropic distillation.

Corn Whiskey: A whiskey made from a mash containing a minimum of 80 percent corn and, if it is aged at all, must be aged in used or uncharred oak barrels.

Distiller’s Beer: The thick, fermented mash of cooked grains, water and yeast that is transferred from the fermenter to the beer still for the first distillation.

Distillery: A place where liquor is manufactured.

Doubler: A large copper still used to accomplish the second distillation of American whiskey. It effectively removes impurities and concentrates the alcohol even further. “Low wines” go in; “high wines” come out.

Fermentation: The process by which yeast transforms sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide.

Fermenter: A large tub made of metal (or cypress) in which the mash of cooked grains and water meet the yeast. After they mingle, the yeast begins to act on sugars in the grain, and fermentation occurs over a few days. This produces alcohol within the mash and turns it into distiller’s beer.

Heads: The first section of the high wines to exit the doubler or thumper; this spirit is high in impurities and sent back to the still for redistillation.

High Wines: The final spirit produced by the secondary distillation, ready for aging.

Low Wines: The name of the spirit after it has passed through the beer or continuous still for its first distillation.

Malted Barley: Barley that has been partially germinated and then heated or roasted to stop the germination. Malted barley (or any malted grain) contains enzymes that convert starches into the fermentable sugars on which yeast feeds. These enzymes are not present in unmalted grains.

Mash: The mixture of cooked grains and water before the yeast is added to start fermentation.

Mashbill: The grain recipe used to make whiskey.

Mash Tub: A tub where grains are combined with water and cooked to soften them and break down the starch into simple sugars before the resulting “mash” is transferred to the fermenter. Also called a “cooker.”

Non-Distiller Producer: A producer that does not distill, but instead purchases whisky from a distillery to sell under its own brand name. Often abbreviated as NDP.

Nose: The aroma of a whiskey. In basic terms, it’s the smell.

Pot Still: A type of distillation apparatus or still used to distill alcoholic spirits such as whiskey or cognac. Pot stills operate on a batch distillation basis (as opposed to a Coffey or column stills which operate on a continuous basis). Traditionally constructed from copper, pot stills are made in a range of shapes and sizes depending on the quantity and style of spirit desired. By law, cognac, Irish and Scotch malt whiskies, and single pot still whiskey must be distilled using a pot still.

Prohibition: in the United States was a nationwide constitutional ban on the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages from 1920 to 1933.

Proof: Measurement of beverage alcohol on a scale, in America, of 200. A 100-proof whiskey contains 50% alcohol by volume; 86-proof whiskey contains 43% alcohol.

Rickhouse/Rackhouse: The building in which whiskey is aged, sometimes referred to as the “warehouse.”

Ricks: The wooden structures on which barrels of whiskey rest during aging.

Rye Whiskey (straight): Defined in United States law as whiskey created by distilling a fermented (malted or unmalted) grain mash to create a alcohol content by volume (ABV)  not exceeding 80% and then aging the spirit for at least two years at an ABV concentration not exceeding 62.5% at the start of the aging process.

Single Barrel Whiskey: Whiskey drawn from one barrel that has not been combined with any other whiskeys.

Small Batch Whiskey: A product of combining several barrels of whiskey that have matured into a specific style.

Sour Mash: Sour mash is a process used in the distilling industry that uses material from an older batch of mash to start the fermentation of a new batch, analogous to the making of sourdough bread with a starter.

Tails: The last section of high wines to exit the doubler or thumper; this spirit is high in impurities and sent back to the still for redistillation.

Thief: A tubular instrument for removing a sample from a barrel.

Wheated Bourbon: Bourbon made from a mashbill that contains wheat instead of rye grain.

Yeast: Yeast is a single cell organism which multiplies vigorously in the presence of oxygen and then after consuming all the oxygen will convert fermentable sugars into alcohol.Without yeast we could not produce alcoholic beverages.