For a whiskey to be properly labeled as a bourbon, most purists will tell you it has to come from Kentucky. Others will say it simply must be American. (As mentioned above, we weren’t kidding about being America’s spirit — Congress has officially recognized bourbon as America’s Native Spirit, so there’s that.) Bourbon must be created from a mash (a mixture of fermentable grain) that is at least 51 percent corn. The other 49 percent is usually a mixture of barley, rye, or wheat. It must be aged in new American oak barrels (whereas many types of whiskey, like Scotch whisky, are often aged in barrels that have previously held wine, port, other whisk(e)y, and so forth). Bourbon must also go into the barrel at no more than 125 proof and it cannot enter the bottle at anything less than 80 proof. Finally, for it to be bourbon, nothing but water can be added, and that is only at the end to proof the whiskey down to what the distiller is seeking.
