In 1777, while the United States of American adopted the Stars and Stripes as the Continental Congress flag, George Washington had a grave concern that his troops did not have a sufficient amount of whiskey! He even suggested that more distilleries be constructed throughout the states because "the benefits arising from the moderate use of strong liquor have been experienced in all armies and are not to be disputed". In fact, George Washington, himself, was known to have earned a considerable profit in the year before his death in 1799 from his private whiskey distillery! In the late 1700’s as well, a group of Scotts- Irish immigrants came to the shores of this great country. This group of people were known for their expertise in the production of whiskey. When they appeared in the United States, there was a great demand for whiskey and vast acres of unused farmland. With their work ethic and experience in whiskey production, the Scots-Irish helped lay the foundation for a thriving whiskey industry in this country. There are basically three main ingredients in the production of whiskey: these are the water, the grains and the yeast. Without these three, it just isn’t whiskey!

THE WATER: Because most whiskeys in the U.S. are made in Kentucky and Tennessee, the water in those regions is perfectly suited for the production of this product. Much of that water is naturally filtered through the limestone that underlies the areas of Kentucky’s Blue Grass and Tennessee’s Highland Rim. This water is iron-free and rich in minerals, actually it is some of the sweetest water in the world.

THE GRAIN: American whiskeys depend on a mixture of three out of four grains for their production. These grains are corn, barley and either rye or wheat. Since these are plentiful crops in this country, the supply is endless. Bourbons and Tennessee whiskeys use corn in the largest amounts, while rye whiskey is mainly produced from rye grain. An example of a basic bourbon whiskey recipe would consist of 70 percent corn, 20 percent rye or wheat (not both) and 10 percent malted barley.

THE YEAST: Yeast is a living organism that feeds on simple sugars (glucose and fructose). The yeast then transforms the sugar into beverage alcohol and carbon dioxide. This reaction produces some heat and small amounts of flavor-enhancing impurities known as "congeners". The usage of yeast as an ingredient in the production of whiskeys is a vital and very individual choice of each distillery, since each type of yeast produces its own distinct flavor and amount of alcohol. It is truly the particular strain of yeast used by each whiskey company that gives it its very unique flavor.

It would be disastrous for a distillery to lose its supply or cache of yeast. Because of this many distilleries stash a supply of their individual type of yeast in a location away from the distillery. There are, of course, different types of whiskey.

STRAIGHT WHISKEY: This is a distilled grain spirit made from at least 51 percent of a single type of grain and any mixture of other grains. This type of whiskey must be distilled to no more than 160 degrees proof. Straight Whiskey is aged for at least two years and is bottled at a minimum of 80 proof. No other substances can be included. The term "mingling" describes the process in which a number of barrels of straight whiskey are mingled together in order to achieve a consistent style.

BLENDED WHISKEY: Blended Whiskey is a straight whiskey that has been blended with neutral grain spirits. This often includes the addition of coloring and flavor enhancers. Often between 15 to 50 different whiskeys will be blended in order to maintain the same taste of the product consistently.