How to Understand Any Whiskey Label
If you jump into your car today and drive to your local liquor stores, you'll walk down the bourbon aisles and see hundreds of bottles of bourbon and whiskey. Some bottles will have an age statement, while others might simply say "bottled in bond." Some bottles might indicate "sour mash," while others might mention "sweet mash." Here I address the most common terms found on a bottle of bourbon and whiskey to help you understand how to decode a whiskey label.
Bourbon or Tennessee Whiskey?
Check out last week’s blog post that explains the requirements to be a bourbon in America. Building on that is the famous Lincoln County process. This is the maple charcoal filtration that Tennessee whiskey claims results in a smoother whiskey.
Straight Bourbon: Bourbon has no age requirement. However, if the bourbon designation says "straight" on a label, it has a very specific meaning. "Straight" means the product is at least 2 years old.
Bottled in Bond / Bonded: Bottled in bond means a bourbon is made at one distillery in one season, aged a minimum of 4 years in a federally bonded, supervised warehouse. It is always 50% ABV.
Single Barrel: “Single barrel" means the bourbon came from one barrel instead of a small batch or blend. This will give the distiller a more consistent product. Single barrel could be rare for a distiller which gives the drinker a unique tasting experience. It could also mean the distiller has made a judgment that this barrel is special.
Small Batch: Honestly one of the most hated words in bourbon in my opinion, because the term “Small Batch” technically means nothing. Small Batch has no defined legal meaning. One example would be Evan Williams 1783 Small Batch. It is made in batches no more than 300 barrels. That does not seem that small to me.
Non-Chill Filtered: Chill filtration is the process of removing compounds from whiskey, such as fatty acids and esters. These compounds can cause the whiskey to appear hazy or cloudy when it is chilled or diluted. When the bottle says non-chill filtered, it has not undergone this process.
Age Statement: Any age statement on the bottle refers to the youngest bourbon or whiskey in the bottle. For example, if a distiller has a blended batch of bourbon that contains a 10-year-old, 20-year-old, and 2-year-old, then the bourbon must have an age statement of “2-year-old.”
Sour Mash vs Sweet Mash: Sweet Mash is the process of using completely fresh ingredients for each batch. Sour Mash is the process where the distiller uses fermented mash that has already been distilled and adds it to a new fermentation that helps maintain a consistent pH level in the mash.
Alcohol: This one’s easy. You’ll either see “ABV,” or alcohol by volume, or proof (which is twice the ABV). A spirit’s ABV is legally required in the United States. Cask Strength or Barrel proof means the bourbon is bottled at the proof level directly from the barrel. In other words, no water was added to the bourbon or whiskey after the barrel was emptied.
Distilled By vs. Distilled In: "Distilled by" on a label means the brand handles the entire process from distillation to bottling. "Distilled in" implies the brand sources the spirit. Many top whiskies and bourbons are sourced, with the artistry in the process of selecting, aging, and batching just as crucial as crafting spirits from scratch.
Finished in/Secondary Aging: Any bourbon finished in a secondary barrel or with secondary staves must be labeled as such. The word bourbon can be used, but it must be labeled as “finished” on the front of the label. For example, “bourbon finished in Port barrels.”
Next week we are going to be looking at the history of bourbon. Also, if anyone has any questions leave a comment below and our team will get back with you. Cheers until next time.
