Types of Whiskey

Whiskey’s diverse profile is often overlooked as people tend to focus on the variety of other drinks, such as wine or beer.

Here at Jack Daniel’s though, we know that whiskey has its own story to tell.

The different types of Whiskey

A whiskey can be categorised depending on where it’s from, how it’s distilled and what grains were used to make it. 

These three elements are often interconnected and make up a whiskey’s history but generally speaking, whiskeys are classified according to their country of origin. 

That being said, production methods and ingredients vary within countries, making for an exciting and ever-growing range of whiskeys. There are five main countries of origin recognised by the whiskey industry: Canada, Ireland, Japan, Scotland and the USA.
 

American Whiskey

As Europeans moved to the US, they took their whiskey-making methods with them and created rye whiskey, the first American whiskey. Check out our Tennessee Rye for a taste of rye whiskey, made Jack's way.

Nowadays, Bourbon and Tennessee whiskey take centre stage. Bourbon whiskey must be produced in the USA and produced from a fermented mash of no less than 51% corn, among other requirements.

What type of whiskey is Jack Daniel's, you may ask? Tennessee whiskey is a type of bourbon, but Jack took things a little further.

Whether it's Old No. 7 or Gentleman Jack, each drop has been carefully created following the standard for bourbon, with an extra step that makes it Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey.

This is our unique charcoal mellowing process, that gives our whiskey its signature flavour. Every drop of our whiskey is filtered through our handcrafted maple charcoal before being poured into our barrels to begin ageing. This process is what gives our whiskey unmistakable smoothness and makes it a Tennessee whiskey.

Scotch Whisky

Scottish whisky or “scotch”, follows rigid standards as set out in the Scottish Whisky Order of 1990.

Some of these include producing and ageing the whisky in Scotland and distilling it to an alcoholic strength of around 90% by volume so that it retains the flavour of the raw materials used in its production. Scotch is known have a big character because of the peat fires used in early stages of production.

There’s often confusion around the spelling of whiskey, or whisky, but it’s easier enough to remember and help distinguish between styles. A scotch whisky will always be spelled without an “e”, because it derives from Scottish Gaelic.
 

Irish Whiskey

The rules of Irish whiskey making are said to date back to 1880 and there are two main ones: Irish whiskey must be made using grains grown in Ireland and it must be produced in Ireland. On a separate but related note, whiskey described as “Irish pot still whiskey” must only be distilled using pot stills.

Irish whiskey has a light taste compared to rye whiskey or scotch, which makes it the perfect whiskey for an Irish coffee.
 

Japanese Whisky

Japanese whisky is defined as whiskey produced exclusively in Japan and it follows international standards, like other types of whiskey, for example ageing it for a minimum of three years. 

Japanese whisky makers import most of their grains from Scotland, however they have developed their own unique distillation and ageing techniques, making for a rich whisky full of complex flavours.

Not only do Japanese whisky makers import grains from Scotland, they have kept the Scottish spelling of the word “whisky” too.
 

Old versus New World Whiskey

Any whiskey produced in one of these five countries using traditional methods is considered to be an ‘old world’ whiskey, but every day, more and more whiskey makers are coming up with new techniques to push the boundaries of whiskey production. 

‘New world’ whiskeys are made in countries that have not historically produced whiskey or even in countries that have, but created using newer methods. Although it's interesting to see how things change over time, there is a reason we've stuck to Jack’s recipe. 

Sometimes the old ways are the best.