The late Ova Haney, former Master Distiller at Four Roses, was once asked “why is Bourbon made from Corn?” His reply was “Because that is what grows in Kentucky. If Kentucky grew rice it would have been made from rice.” This is a very true statement but people often wonder why “51% corn” is part of the regulations for Bourbon. The fact is that until the 20th century there was no regulation about how Bourbon was made and no corn requirement.
The first written record of “Bourbon” is from a 1821 newspaper. Bourbon is 195 years old and very different from what was being sold in 1821, Bourbon is whiskey aged in charred oak barrels. In 1821 there was no requirement that it had to be made from corn and you can bet that many barrels of rye whiskey was being sold as “Bourbon” in New Orleans in the early 19th century. Rye whiskey was making the trip down river from Pittsburgh the same as corn whiskey from Kentucky. When aged in charred barrels they both look very much alike and it would easy to call all aged whiskey “Bourbon” if it helped sell the barrel. Soon people began to prefer the whiskey that was made in Kentucky and that was made from corn. There are many hand-written recipes for making whiskey from the late 18th and early 19th centuries at the Filson Historical Society and the Kentucky Historical Society. They all have corn in common, a majority of corn, with rye or wheat added as a flavoring grain and malted barley.
James C. Crow perfected his distilling methods at the Old Oscar Pepper distillery in the 1830s and his recipe was a majority corn recipe. His whiskey gained a great reputation and became the whiskey all other whiskey was judged by. Men who learned to distill under Crow learned to make this corn based whiskey and took it to several other distilleries such as the OFC distillery in Frankfort. Corn was the base of Bourbon by tradition by the 1870s.
By the end of the 19th century there were many products in the market calling themselves “Bourbon” that were rectified whiskeys often with little or no aged whiskey in the blend. To make matters worse they often used neutral spirits made from molasses, giving the product a sweetness from the sugar cane that helped hide the fact that there was little or no aged whiskey in the product. The Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897 helped separate straight whiskey from these blends, but it is not until the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 that we see a move to regulate what could be called Bourbon. In his 1909 “Decision on Whisky”, President William Howard Taft states that Bourbon is made from a majority of corn.
After the repeal of prohibition in 1933, the government set down clear regulations about distill spirits and what they were made from. It is here that the regulations were codified and Bourbon was made from at least 51% corn. These rules have been modified over the years but the 51% corn has remained constant. The tradition has always been that Bourbon was made mostly from corn and the regulations reflect that fact.
Photos Courtesy of Maggie Kimberl
April 11, 2016 at 9:58 pm
I’m very interested in just what type (species) of corn. White, yellow, pop, strawberry…etc….Obviously what grows in bulk today is generations of difference from what a frontiersman was growing 200-225 years ago.
April 14, 2016 at 9:46 pm
” In his 1909 “Decision on Whisky”, President William Howard Taft states that Bourbon is made from a majority of corn.”
Actually, President Taft never mentioned corn in his 1909 paper. Nor did he write of rye, barley, or any other specific grain. He was concerned only with the amount of fusal oil, the distillation proof, and what type of adulterants should or should not be allowed. He did differentiate between “whiskey” and “straight whiskey”, but he did not really describe straight whiskey at all, simply stating that the meaning is “well understood in the trade and well understood by consumers”. The paper itself strongly implies that “straight whiskey” was considered, at the time, a niche product, albeit a high-quality one, and not representative of what most Americans considered “whiskey”.
May 31, 2020 at 5:17 pm
I am celiac and Bourbon with wheat or malt seems to affect me adversely. Is there a Bourbon you would recommend that does not have any other grain but corn? Barley is a problem for Celiacs too. thank you, Mary
May 31, 2020 at 9:30 pm
Hi Mary,
As a sufferer of celiac disease, I suspect you already know to avoid such as Makers Mark and any of the Van Winkle bourbons, as they are all proudly made with wheat instead of rye grain. But (nearly) any kind of cereal grain (except barley) needs to undergo a chemical conversion of the grain’s starch to sugar in order for there to be anything to ferment. That requires some sort of catalyst or enzyme and traditionally the material of choice has been malted barley. That isn’t the only way to go, however, and some distillers – notably newer, craft distillers – have been quite successful using pure enzymes in place of some or all of the malt in their mash bills. In fact, though they might not care to speak too loudly about it, some of the old-line majors are thought to do so as well, since it’s usually cheaper and always more reliable. The problem for celiacs of course is that the enzymes themselves might be derived from barley, wheat, or something else that could cause you grief. If you contact a lab such as FermSolutions in Danville (KY) they can steer you in the right direction. In fact, since they supply enzymes to many of the artisan distillers, they can probably give you a list of suitable brands.
June 5, 2020 at 1:04 am
Thank you so much Ellen, for this information on grains and enzymes in Bourbon. I will follow up on the lead and see what I can learn, about suitable artisan Bourbons. Sincerely, Mary
June 26, 2020 at 3:48 pm
Wow, thank you for informing me that Rye and corn were both once used to make bourbon but now corn is used as it was preferred. About a week ago, I was talking with my uncle, and he mentioned that we should do something to celebrate my 21st birthday. He wants to take me on some bourbon trail tour, and I cannot wait to see what we are doing!