So if a distillery decides to make corn whiskey, the only cost they accrue is the cost to fill it back up again. What do I mean by that? Barrel costs are determined by how long the staves were air dried (seasoned), if the oak was a special variety or if it was toasted first.īy contrast, it probably costs a distillery $40-50 to fill up a barrel with 53 gallons of new-make whiskey. Most wooden barrels will cost anywhere between $200 and $400 depending on bulk discounts or even how complex the barrel is. The reason that corn whiskey is something that distilleries even bother to produce (and why it’s so cheap to do so) is because they have already spent the money into the most expensive part of making bourbon or rye whiskey – the barrel itself. If it was, chances are high that it would actually fit into the definition of a Bourbon (provided it meets all the other rules of being a bourbon). The law actually states that corn whiskey cannot be used in new charred American oak barrels. That’s why you see corn whiskey that has been aged in a used barrel. This leaves room for adding a little bit of a flavor to the grain mash (like rye) as well as malted barley for the enzymes it brings to the fermenting process.Ĭorn whiskey also doesn’t have to be aged in new charred oak barrels! Most producers that make a corn whiskey do elect to age it in a barrel (more on that in a minute), but very few bottle up an unaged corn whiskey (which would be called White Dog) because they know it’s a poor seller. This is a Bottled-in-Bond one to boot!īy US law, a corn whiskey must have at least 80% corn in the mash. Perhaps the most well-known of all the Corn Whiskies. These two distilleries use a somewhat similar corn mash bill that contain both rye and malted barley in them. Could it be? Yes!īut the top two producers of Corn Whiskey by volume in the US right now are Heaven Hill and MGP Ingredients (also referred to as the Ross and Squibb Distillery in Indiana). The rumor is that Corn Whiskey has to be distilled from 100 percent corn. I’m going to jump right into it and dispel a rumor I hear whenever corn whiskey is brought up. There is a reason for that but first let’s find out the main differences that separates the two. If you’re a long-time reader of The Bourbon Culture, you know I already review a lot of rye whiskey – but not a lot of corn whiskey. Today, I’m going to go in-depth on two of those styles – Corn Whiskey and Rye Whiskey. ![]() Since we talk so much about bourbon here on our website, I tend to forget that there are a lot of people out there wondering about our opinions on other styles of whiskey.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |