Amerikanischer Whiskey

Buy rare and selected American Bourbon and Rye Whiskeys

American whiskey is mainly made from a mixture of unmalted and malted barley, corn or rye, whereby the exact composition of the grain types varies from region to region and sometimes wheat is also processed. This is why an American whiskey is not a malt and why whiskeys from America differ greatly in taste from European or Japanese whiskeys, such as Scotch whiskey, which cannot contain corn, or single malt, which is made exclusively from malted barley. American whiskey gets its typical taste from the use and blending of different types of grain. There are two areas on the North American continent where whiskey is traditionally distilled: on the one hand, these are Canada with the area around the St. Lawrence River and the US states of Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia.
There are two main categories of American whiskey: American blend (blended and possibly a mixture of several varieties) and American straight whiskey, with straight whiskey (pure, not blended - similar to single malt), rye whiskey and bourbon whiskey. Bourbon whiskey is further divided into straight, blended and blended straight bourbon with different blending ratios and grain types. For a whiskey produced in the USA to be called bourbon, the grain mixture used must have a corn content of at least 51%, the alcohol content during production must not exceed 80% and must not exceed 62.5% at the start of maturation. The whiskey may only be matured in fresh, unused barrels made from American white oak that have been charred beforehand. The barrels used for this are usually produced in the states of Arkansas or Missouri, with the wood itself coming from all over the eastern and central United States. Straight rye whiskey is distilled from at least 51% rye, which makes it very spicy and is a rarity; old bottlings are now expensive rarities. Tennessee whiskey must be distilled in the state of the same name, they are made from at least 51% corn and are also filtered over charcoal made from sugar maple before being stored in barrels, which makes them very mild in taste. The sweet boubon, for which a minimum maturation period of 2 years is prescribed, is particularly popular with connoisseurs. The name comes from Bourbon County in the US state of Kentucky, which was named after the Bourbon dynasty from France.