But oh my, there sure are a lot of good selections available. My current favorite is Devil's River Bourbon, but given the large selection and the fact that I'm a newcomer to the pursuit of fine bourbon, that could change overnight. One I would like to try is Colkegan Single Malt Whiskey made by Santa Fe Spirits, but currently the closest retailer where it's available is a hundred miles from here. And sadly, Texas lawmakers have not seen fit to allow shipping liquor to or within the state -- probably a holdover from the days of prohibition.
Meanwhile, let's indulge in some trivia. Mentalfloss has a beginner's guide to the topic in What’s the Difference Between Scotch, Whiskey and Bourbon?:
The Federal Standards of Identity for Bourbon stipulate what is and what isn’t bourbon. For a whiskey to call itself bourbon, its mash, the mixture of grains from which the product is distilled, must contain at least 51% corn. (The rest of the mash is usually filled out with malted barley and either rye or wheat.) The mash must be distilled at 160 proof or less, put into the barrel at 125 proof or less, and it must not contain any additives. The distillate must be aged in a new charred oak barrel. (Most often these barrels are white oak, but they can be any variety of oak.) ...
The main difference between scotch and whisky is geographic, but also ingredients and spellings. Scotch is whisky made in Scotland, while bourbon is whiskey made in the U.S.A, generally Kentucky. Scotch is made mostly from malted barley, while bourbon is distilled from corn. If you’re in England and ask for a whisky, you’ll get Scotch. But in Ireland, you’ll get Irish whiskey (yep, they spell it differently for a little colour). On this side of the pond, we have our own local color, too. The difference between Tennessee Whiskey, like Jack Daniel’s, for example, and Bourbon is that after the spirit is distilled, Tennessee Whiskey is filtered through sugar-maple charcoal. This filtering, known as the Lincoln County Process, is what distinguishes Tennessee Whiskey from your average Bourbon, like Jim Beam. The name, Bourbon, comes from an area known as Old Bourbon, around what is now Bourbon County, Kentucky.
On top of these types of whiskey, we also have Rye, which can refer either to American rye whiskey, which must be distilled from at least 51 percent rye or Canadian whisky, which may or may not actually include any rye in its production process.
So generally, Scotch is whiskey made in Scotland. Irish Whiskey is made in Ireland. Bourbon was originally identified with whiskey made in Bourbon County, Kentucky, but it can be made anywhere in the U.S. There are even a few bourbon distilleries in Texas.
And there are plenty of customers for it -- look for sales to skyrocket on Monday before the midterm elections. See Poll: Democrats Are Stress-Eating More, Drinking Republicans Under the Table Due to Midterm Election Stress.
Coming up: Artificial whiskey.
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1:59 PM 11/4/2018