bourbon whiskey

Also known as whiskey bourbon, bourbon

type of American whiskey, a barrel-aged distilled spirit made primarily from corn

Key facts

Type: American whiskey
Origin: United States, Southern United States , mainly Kentucky
Introduced: 18th century
Alcohol by volume: At least 40% bottled
Proof us: At least 80° bottled
Color: Amber, orange, red or brown
Ingredients: at least 51% corn
Related products: Corn whiskey , straight whiskey , Tennessee whiskey

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Subclass of: American whiskey
Named after: House of Bourbon
Country of origin: United States
Image: Old Rip Van Winkle Whiskey 301243232.jpg

Show 6 more facts

indigenous to: Southern United States
alcohol by volume: 80
Commons category: Bourbon whiskey
topic's main category: Category:Bourbon whiskey
inception: 1800-00-00
native label: bourbon

Sources (2)

via Wikidata · CC0

~29 min read

Encyclopedic overview

Bourbon whiskey (/ˈbɜːrbən/; also simply bourbon) is a barrel-aged American whiskey made primarily from corn (maize). The name derives from the French House of Bourbon, although the precise source of inspiration is uncertain; contenders include Bourbon County, Kentucky, and Bourbon Street in New Orleans, both of which are named after the House of Bourbon. The name bourbon might not have been used until the 1850s, and the association with Bourbon County was not evident until the 1870s.

Although bourbon may be made anywhere in the U.S., it is associated with the Southern United States, particularly Kentucky, through a history of advertising bourbon as a product of Kentucky with rural, Southern origins. Thanks to a market shift in the 1990s, it has also become a symbol of urbanization and sophistication, with a large consumer demographic belonging to the middle- to upper-class, including business and community leaders.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “bourbon whiskey” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.