Tennessee whiskey

choi

Mike Esterl, Jack Daniel’s Faces a Whiskey Rebellion; Diageo feuds with Brown-Forman over what it takes to call a drink ‘Tennessee whiskey’--is it ‘sacrilege’ to reuse the oak barrel?  Wall Street Journal, Mar 18, 2014.
online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052702303287804579443160558822086.html

Quote:

“Some small craft distillers in Tennessee also say they want to be free to experiment and complain new wood barrels are in short supply amid growing thirst for American whiskey here and abroad.

“Bourbon, the most famous type of American whiskey, is made with a recipe similar to Jack Daniel's. Under longstanding federal regulations, any whiskey labeled ‘bourbon'’ must be distilled in the US using at least 51% corn and aged in new oak barrels that have been charred. Unlike Tennessee Whiskey, bourbon doesn't require maple charcoal filtering. It can also be made in any state, although more than 90% of bourbon is produced in Kentucky. There is no federal regulation governing the term ‘Tennessee Whiskey.'’

“Part of what makes bourbon and Tennessee Whiskey unique is the substitution of barley and other grains with corn, typically making them sweeter than other whiskies such as Scotch. Brown-Forman says new barrels are another important difference, delivering unique flavor and turning the spirit orange-brown without caramel coloring. Charcoal filtering produces a smoother sip, it says.

“Diageo booked £11.43 billion ($19 billion) in global sales in fiscal 2013, roughly five times that of Brown-Forman. But Diageo is a small player in American whiskey * * * Diageo's George Dickel Tennessee Whiskey sells about 130,000 cases annually, barely 1% of Jack Daniel's shipments

“Diageo says not all American whiskey aged in new barrels is terrific and that there is plenty of outstanding Scotch aged in reused barrels. It says such barrels can be "rejuvenated'' through a process that exposes and chars the wood.

“Unlike many competitors, Brown-Forman makes its own barrels.

Note:
(a) In print but not online is a table quoting the Tennessee statute in question, which has been in force since a year ago:

“Tenn Code 57-2-106. Restrictions on labeling of intoxicating liquors as Tennessee whiskeys.
(a) An intoxicating liquor may not be advertised, described, labeled, named, sold or referred to for marketing or sales purposes as "Tennessee Whiskey," "Tennessee Whisky," "Tennessee Sour Mash Whiskey," or "Tennessee Sour Mash Whisky" unless the intoxicating liquor is:
   (1) Manufactured in Tennessee;
   (2) Made of a grain mixture that is at least fifty-one percent (51%) corn;
   (3) Distilled to no more than one hundred sixty (160) proof or eighty percent (80%) alcohol by volume;
   (4) Aged in new, charred oak barrels in Tennessee;
   (5) Filtered through maple charcoal prior to aging;
   (6) Placed in the barrel at no more than one hundred twenty-five (125) proof or sixty-two and one half percent (62.5%) alcohol by volume; and
   (7) Bottled at not less than eighty (80) proof or forty percent (40%) alcohol by volume."

(b) Whiskey Rebellion
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whiskey_Rebellion
(1781-1794; primarily Western Pennsylvania)
(c) Diageo (formed in 1997 through merger of two British companies, Headquarters London; world's largest producer of spirits and a major producer of beer and wine)   Wikipedia
(d) George Dickel
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Dickel
(George Dickel's Tennessee Whisky uses the traditional Scottish spelling of whisky (as opposed to whiskey); George Dickel was born in 1818)
(e) “Popcorn Sutton Distilling LLC, one of a growing number of small distillers in the state, also wants the rules relaxed. The Nashville distiller recently began aging whiskey without charcoal filtering—a recipe it says it inherited from Marvin ‘Popcorn’' Sutton, a legendary Tennessee moonshiner who died in 2009.”

Marvin Sutton
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvin_Sutton
(1946-2009; committed suicide rather than report to Federal prison after being convicted of offenses related to moonshine production)
(f) State Senator Janice "Bowling, who lives in Tullahoma, home to the George Dickel distillery. That’s 19 miles northeast of Jack Daniel’s Lynchburg distillery."
(i) Tullahoma, Tennessee
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tullahoma,_Tennessee
(a city [straddling] Coffee and Franklin counties; Its name is derived from the Choctaw language, and means "red rock")
(ii)
(A) Lynchburg, Tennessee
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynchburg,_Tennessee
(B) Loran Smith, Jack Daniel’s is the Heart of aDdry Lynchburg, Tennessee. The News-Reporter, Nov 14, 2013 (columnist)
www.news-reporter.com/news/2013- ... ynchburgTennes.html
("There are some very interesting facts about this Tennessee town which got its name from a popular lynching tree back in its yearling days. You get caught stealing or doing something bad wrong and the lynching tree awaited")

That beech tree stood “until about the year 1880,” to which offenders were tied and whipped severely (before a court was established there).