And that's where Devil's Cut comes in. Once Beam empties their casks, there's some liquid that's still trapped in the porous wood. With a proprietary i. It's mixed with extra-aged bourbon and bottled, so when you're drinking it, you're drinking bourbon swiped from under the noses of the angels.
So what makes Jim Beam bourbon, and why is it not just Jim Beam whiskey? Technically, it is, and here's the deal. Every bourbon is whiskey. But not all whiskey is bourbon. There's a series of guidelines that need to be met in order for something to be called bourbon, and it's surprisingly stringent. First, it needs to be made from at least 51 percent corn, and that means it's going to be sweeter than whiskeys that are made with less corn.
The only additive bourbon makers can use is water, while whiskey distillers can add other things — like color and flavorings — to their product.
Bourbon has to be aged in new, charred oak barrels, and that's a big one. Many whiskey and scotch distillers age their product in barrels that have already been used — often by bourbon — in order to change the flavor.
And finally, bourbon has to be both distilled and aged in the U. To go one step further, it can't be Kentucky Straight Bourbon — like Jim Beam is — unless it's distilled and aged for at least two years in Kentucky.
Now you know! There's a lot of lingo that goes along with distilling, and one you've probably heard — sometimes on labels, sometimes hotly debated among a certain type of person who likes to argue these things — is sour mash.
And it absolutely doesn't mean that it's sour — it's referring to the process that's used to start, well, the process. Before you even get to distillation, there's fermentation. The Whiskey Still Company says that starts with fermenting a batch of grains with water and yeast. That's eventually what produces the alcohol that's separated during distillation and sometimes, after the distillation process, some of the spent mash is saved and added to the next batch of mash. It's the same way you make sourdough breads, and that's where the name comes from.
Because reusing part of the mash makes it easier to control things like bacteria growth and flavor, and it also helps keep the batches consistent. It's incredibly common, and in case you've ever noticed a product that's labeled "Tennessee whiskey," it's legally got to be sour mash.
Jim Beam doesn't do it all the time, but when they do, you'll see it on the label. If you tend to reach for the orange juice or the chicken soup when you're fighting off a cold, there's good news for Jim Beam lovers: Science says it can help, too. A hot toddy might be something of an old-school cold remedy, but Mic says that there actually is something to this one.
Research has shown that the magical mixture of the hot toddy — whiskey or bourbon, honey, lemon juice, and hot water, at its most basic — actually does help alleviate even the worst symptoms of a cold. The heat of the drink helps relieve congestion especially if you inhale the delicious steam coming from your mug , the lemon juice thins mucus and relieves that aching pressure you sometimes get in your head, and the honey is great for a sore throat.
What about the Jim Beam? The Brown family controls the majority of voting shares in the company, and thereby one of the largest American-owned distilling operations. Its brand lineup is small but powerful, headlined by the all-conquering Jack Daniel's brand, which remains the world's best-selling whiskey. Brown-Forman's other whiskey lines aren't as impressive from a numbers perspective, but fill out a healthy whiskey bullpen nicely. Old Forester offers value bottles as well as a number of high-profile limited releases like its Batch Proof offering and Birthday Bourbon, while Woodford Reserve offers well-crafted, lower proof entry points into more premium bourbon.
While lesser-known, Cooper's Craft offers experiment whiskeys for those interested in one of Brown-Forman's largest assets: its own cooperage. To this day, it is the only major distiller to own its own barrel making shop, lending it the unique ability custom-build barrels and experiments on the fly. In Kirin's mighty beverage portfolio, Four Roses stands alone.
Four Roses' history is one of the most unique of all major whiskey makers there is ongoing debate on where the name comes from, when the company was founded and so on. By the s and early s, the company which had been America's most popular bourbon a short time before, was flailing.
Instead of folding, Four Roses was fired to emerging markets all over Europe and Asia in search of a new foothold. In Japan, it found one. The Japanese market drank it up and made it the most popular bourbon whiskey in the country, effectively saving the company from ruin there are Japan-exclusive Four Roses expressions to this day.
While it was dominating overseas, Four Roses had fallen off the horse in the States. The whiskey was, to put it lightly, not good, and also not bourbon. It had been selling Canadian whisky to America while producing high quality bourbon whiskey to sell abroad.
After a series of corporate takeovers and handoffs, Kirin secured the Four Roses of today by discontinuing the sale of the lower-end whiskey they'd been selling in favor of Kentucky bourbon whiskey. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Politics Covid U. News World Opinion Business. Share this —. Follow NBC News. We apologize, this video has expired. Bourbon goes international June 4, By Shannan Siemens.
The deal also sees the renaming of the company, to be called Beam Suntory. The corporate marriage creates the world's third-largest high-end spirits maker. Beam Suntory wants to integrate the spirits business of Japan's Suntory Liquors before the end of this year. Suntory is best-known for the Japanese whisky brands Yamazaki and Hibiki, as well as Bowmore Scotch whisky and Midori liqueur.
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