Bourbon

Bourbon is American whiskey made from a grain mash that is at least 51% corn and aged in new charred oak barrels. It is not required to come from Kentucky, though most of it does. Everything else about the category follows from those two rules, and the second one is what separates it from most other whiskey.

What the law requires

Federal rules for bourbon sit in 27 CFR 5.143. The mash must be at least 51% corn. The spirit must come off the still at no more than 160 proof (80% ABV) and go into the barrel at no more than 125 proof (62.5%). The barrel must be new and charred oak. It must be bottled at 40% ABV or higher. Coloring, flavoring and blending materials are not allowed, which leaves water as the only thing a distiller can add. Bourbon has no minimum age. “Straight” bourbon must spend at least 2 years in the barrel, and the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897 adds the further conditions of one distiller at one distillery in one season, four years in a bonded warehouse and bottling at exactly 100 proof.

What bourbon is made from

The remaining 49% or less of the mash is usually rye or malted barley, with wheat in the style known as wheated bourbon. Corn gives sweetness, and the secondary grain sets the character. Distillation is typically a column still followed by a doubler, and the new oak is what makes bourbon heavy in extractives. A barrel used once cannot be reused for bourbon, which is why so much of it ends up aging scotch and other spirits.

Bourbon vs whiskey

Bourbon is a type of whiskey, defined more tightly than the word. Scotch must age in oak for three years but can use used barrels, Tennessee whiskey is bourbon-style spirit filtered through maple charcoal, and Irish whiskey and Canadian whisky have their own rules. The practical difference for your body is the barrel: new charred oak gives bourbon more lignins, furfurals and tannins than a used cask does. See bourbon vs scotch for the side by side, or cognac vs bourbon for a brandy comparison.

Types of bourbon

High-rye bourbons such as Wild Turkey 101 lean spicy, wheated ones such as Maker’s Mark are softer, and bottled-in-bond releases such as Old Grand-Dad Bonded guarantee 100 proof and at least four years. Buffalo Trace is a mainstream low-rye example. Single barrel and small batch are marketing terms with no legal definition.

Calories and sugar

Bourbon has no added sugar, and the site’s measured brands such as Buffalo Trace and Old Grand-Dad Bonded sit at 0 g of sugar per 1.5 oz pour. Ethanol alone at 40% is about 97 kcal per 1.5 oz, and a bourbon at 50% ABV carries about a quarter more. Compare it with a liqueur and the difference is large; see healthiest bourbon for the ranking. The grain question is covered at gluten-free bourbon.

Hangover profile

Bourbon rates 7 out of 10 on the hangover index here. The sugar is negligible, so the cause is the congener load from new oak and the high proof entry that concentrates it during aging, plus moderate histamines and tannins. Higher proof means more ethanol per pour, so a 50% bottle hits harder than a 40% one even before congeners are counted.