Bourbon Capital of the World

I spent last week traveling about Kentucky for a policy trek on the rural economy. Given that Kentucky is the "Bourbon Capitol of the World," our group couldn't help but spend an hour at Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort to learn about how it's made. (Especially since Kentucky produces 95% of the world's bourbon.)

Buffalo Trace Distillery is an American family-owned company and prides itself on it's over 200 year history of distilling spirits (including bourbon, rye, and vodka), calling itself the oldest continuously operating distillery in the United States. Even during Prohibition it managed to stay open, but only to distill for "medical purposes." It is a National Historic Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Buffalo Trace has also won 17 distillery titles since 2000 and was named "Brand Innovator of the Year" by Whisky Magazine.

While here, I learned about what makes whisky different from bourbon, so I thought I'd share with you all!

1) Bourbon has to be at least 51% corn. Though most distillers use between 65% to 75%. The rest is usually rye, wheat, or barley.
2) It has to be made in the United States. Congress even passed a law in 1964 declaring bourbon "America's Native Spirit" and decreeing that as such, bourbon must be made in the U.S. (Althought if you ask people in Kentucky they say it must be made in Kentucky. Similar to Champagne versus sparkling wine.)
3) Nothing is added to the bourbon except water during the distilling process.
4) Bourbon gets it's flavor from charred oak barrels that are used only once.
5) At a minimum, bourbon is left in the barrels to age for two years. During this time, the bourbon evaporates through the barrels while soaking up the flavor from the oak barrel.
6) Fun fact: Kentucky has more barrels of bourbon than people in Kentucky! Buffalo Trace said that they have enough bourbon for the next 20 years in storage.
7) There are also various requirements for the level of proof the bourbon must be when it's distilled (160 proof), put in the barrel (125 proof), and bottled (80 proof or more.)

What was very interesting on the tour was how distilleries have different product lines to subvert some of the requirements. Most of the above requirements are needed for the classification of "straight" bourbon, but it is possible to use bourbon that has been aged less for other purposes. Like in our tasting we tried Buffalo Trace's new Bourbon Cream. Mix it with root beer or hot chocolate and you've found your new favorite drink!

Before our tasting, we visited the production line and got to see the 15-20 person operation that produced their Blanton's Single Barrel which by hand, was filled, capped, sealed with a wax seal, and packaged. A truly beautiful sight!