Rye Whisky Versus Bourbon

Rye is similar to bourbon but it s made from at least 51 rye instead.

Rye whisky versus bourbon. It is stored in oak barrels for a minimum period of two years. Bourbon has all the same rules above except for one. In fact jack daniel s the most popular whiskey brand in america is not a bourbon but a tennessee whiskey and most of the classic american whiskey based cocktails call for rye not its sweeter cousin bourbon. It is not uncommon to find rye whiskey that is 95 100 rye.

Rye whiskey consists of at least 51 per cent rye and is distilled at less than 80 percent alcohol per volume. Bourbon tends to be fuller in body richer and there are more concentrated notes of vanilla baking spices and caramel. Rye tends to be drier more of a focus on the vegetal aspect of rye and almost always dominated by. For a whiskey to be considered bourbon the mixture of grains from which the product is distilled the mash must be at least 51 corn rye wheat malted barley or malted rye grain.

There are some generalizations that can be made when tasting bourbon and rye. Rye vs bourbon vs irish whiskey the difference between rye bourbon and irish whiskey pertains to the strength of predominant grain in the grain mash that is fermented to make the whiskey. While in rye whiskey rye is the predominant grain in the grain mash to the tune of no less than 51 this predominance is that of corn in bourbon. Bourbon whose name comes from an area known as old bourbon in kentucky is a whiskey that s distilled from corn.

Where rye whiskey has to have 51 percent rye as the base of its mash bill bourbon needs 51 percent corn or maize as the base of its mash bill. For a whiskey to be considered bourbon the grain mash must be at least 51 percent corn. On top of that the mixture must be stored in charred oak containers and cannot contain any additives. In america the production regulations on rye are almost identical to bourbon.

Bourbon contains at least 79 per cent corn.