Friday is Bottled in Bond day, the 126th anniversary of the Bottled in Bond Act signed into law on March 3, 1897. This legislation was monumental for the whiskey industry in the United States, so I’m sipping Whisky Advocate’s top whisky of 2022, Jack Daniels’ Bonded on Whisky Wednesday in its honor.

The whiskey is robust and rich, crashing onto the palate with sweet caramel and vanilla. Oak follows the sweetness, its lingering on the tongue with a dry, woody finish.

As I sip this, I should be thinking about what makes a bottle of whiskey “bonded”, but we’ll have to come back to that some other time. I’m instead stuck on this question: what the heck is a Tennessee whiskey, and how is it different than bourbon?

The best answer I can find is, not much.

Technically, this whiskey is—or could be—bourbon. The mash bill contains at least 51% corn; it’s bottled at less than 160 proof and more than 80; and it was aged in charred new oak barrels.

But what sets this whiskey apart from bourbon is a rigorous filtration process called the Lincoln County Process, named for the county where Jack Daniel got his whiskey-making start. Distillers of the region claim that this added filtration makes for an exceptionally smooth whiskey, softening some of bourbon’s coarser, corn-influenced qualities.

True? Maybe. Filtering isn’t exclusive to Tennessee Whiskey — though there seems to be a singular intensity to the Lincoln County Process.

But as someone who is often put off by the harshness of traditional bourbon, I think they might be onto something.

Whether you call this spirit Bourbon or Tennessee Whiskey, and whatever happens in filtering, it was enough to earn this spirit a #1 spot on Whisky Advocate’s list….and in my whisky cabinet too.

Sláinte, y’all!

In My Glass

Jack Daniels Bonded Tennessee Whisky
American Whiskey, Bottled in Bond
No Age Statement; 50% ABV
USA

On My Desk

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Manual Typewriter
c. 1960