Bourbon Heritage Month Cheat Sheet

The calendar is crammed with made-up holidays like Nationwide Grilled Cheese Day (April 12) and Nationwide Hug Your Cat Day (June 4). However Nationwide Bourbon Heritage Month could be very actual. The truth is, it was established as a vacation by the US Senate again in 2007, which signifies that all of us get a full 30 days to rejoice bourbon. And rejoice it we will.

First, see our primer on bourbon. Then behold: 13 enjoyable info about this quintessential American spirit.

1. In 1964, Congress acknowledged bourbon as a “distinctive product of the USA.”
2. Ninety-five % of all bourbon is made in Kentucky, however it may be produced anyplace in the USA, with bourbon distillers positioned in California, Texas, New York, and in every single place between.
3. Bourbon have to be comprised of not less than 51% corn, and will be composed of nothing moreover water, grains, and yeast.
4. Bourbon have to be distilled to no larger than 160 proof (80% ABV).
5. Bourbon can’t enter a barrel any larger than 125 proof.
6. Bourbon have to be bottled at a minimal of 80 proof.
7. Bourbon have to be aged in new charred oak barrels.
8. Bourbon has no minimal getting old requirement, however to be labeled “straight bourbon,” the product have to be aged not less than two years. Any bourbon aged lower than 4 years should embody an age assertion on the label.
9. Not like rum and sure different spirits, a bourbon’s acknowledged age have to be that of the youngest whiskey within the bottle.
10. There are extra bourbon barrels in Kentucky than there are individuals. 
11. Bourbon takes its identify from Bourbon County, Kentucky, which takes its identify from the French royal household.
12. Bourbon County was ravaged by Prohibition, and no whiskey was produced (legally) within the county between the years of 1919 and 2014.
13. The Kentucky Bourbon Competition is held every September in Bardstown, KY to honor and showcase the bourbon making course of and the storied historical past of this Kentucky-centric business. It started in 1991 as a bourbon tasting and dinner, and has grown tremendously since then. In recent times, greater than 50,000 individuals have attended from all around the world.