Bourbon Heritage Month Cheat Sheet

The calendar is full of made-up holidays like Nationwide Grilled Cheese Day (April 12) and Nationwide Hug Your Cat Day (June 4). However Nationwide Bourbon Heritage Month may be very actual. In reality, 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 have a good time bourbon. And have a good time 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 america.”
2. Bourbon is most carefully related to Kentucky, however it may be produced anyplace in america, with bourbon distillers positioned in California, Texas, New York, and in all places between.
3. Bourbon have to be comprised of at the very least 51% corn, and may be composed of nothing apart from water, grains, and yeast.
4. Bourbon have to be distilled to no increased than 160 proof (80% ABV).
5. Bourbon can not enter a barrel any increased 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 older requirement, however to be labeled “straight bourbon,” the product have to be aged at the very least two years. Any bourbon aged lower than 4 years should embrace an age assertion on the label.
9. In contrast to 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 folks. 
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 Pageant 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 folks have attended from everywhere in the world.