What’s the difference between scotch, whiskey and bourbon?

Unlike vodka, a popular "white'' spirit with roots in Europe, bourbon is quintessentially American and has been re-popularized through television shows such as "Mad Men,'' which is set in the 1960s and features then-advertising executives with rock glasses in hand.

• Bourbon, Rye, Canadian, Irish, Scotch, and Sour Mash are all examples of different types of whiskey. They are all whiskey, and they are all a little different.
• Bourbon, the traditional American spirit is made mostly from corn, aged in charred oak barrels and typically hails from Kentucky. 
• Its popularity is building as some consumers grow tired of vodka, the top-selling U.S. spirit.
• For all intents and purposes, Tennessee Whiskey is straight bourbon made in the state of Tennessee. The people who produce this spirit, such as Jack Daniels, don’t want their whiskey labeled as Bourbon, claiming that they are the only type of whiskey which puts the spirit through a charcoal filtering process.

By definition, whiskey (or whisky, in Scotland) is a spirit distilled from fermented grain mash — grain varieties include wheat, rye, barley, and corn — and then aged in wooden barrels. Whiskey is made all over the world and there are many popular styles including Scotch whisky, Irish whiskey, and American whiskey. The most popular form of American whiskey is bourbon, which has its own specific definition.

A selection of Bourbons and Tennessee whiskeys

Much like how Scotch must be made in Scotland, Bourbon can only be labeled as Bourbon if it was made in the United States. While the rules are slightly more loose with Bourbon than with Scotch it still has to conform to a few requirements.

The Federal Standards of Identity for Bourbon stipulate what is and what isn’t bourbon. For a whiskey to call itself bourbon, its mash, the mixture of grains from which the product is distilled, must contain at least 51% corn. (The rest of the mash is usually filled out with malted barley and either rye or wheat.) The mash must be distilled at 160 proof or less, put into the barrel at 125 proof or less, and it must not contain any additives. The distillate must be aged in a new charred oak barrel.

Aging bourbon in barrels at the Maker's Mark Distillery.

The main difference between scotch and whisky is geographic, but also ingredients and spellings. Scotch is whisky made in Scotland, while bourbon is whiskey made in the U.S.A, generally Kentucky. Scotch is made mostly from malted barley, while bourbon is distilled from corn. If you’re in England and ask for a whisky, you’ll get Scotch. But in Ireland, you’ll get Irish whiskey (yep, they spell it differently for a little colour).

Global exports of Scotch whisky fell 7% last year, as American drinkers continued to switch in droves to bourbon and other American whiskeys. 

American whiskeys often cost less than Scotch, they can be mixed more readily and they have benefited from a nationwide trend toward locally made products. The average price of Scotch in the U.S. is $24.09 while the average bourbon costs $17.48, according to Nielsen.  Outside of the U.S. and the U.K., Scotch still outsells bourbon in overseas markets.

Beam's Jim Beam, Maker's Mark and Knob Creek bourbons (owned by Osaka, Japan-based beer and soft-drinks maker Suntory Holdings Ltd.)

On this side of the pond, we have our own local color, too. The difference between Tennessee Whiskey, like Jack Daniel’s, for example, and Bourbon is that after the spirit is distilled, Tennessee Whiskey is filtered through sugar-maple charcoal. This filtering, known as the Lincoln County Process, is what distinguishes Tennessee Whiskey from your average Bourbon, like Jim Beam. The name, Bourbon, comes from an area known as Old Bourbon, around what is now Bourbon County, Kentucky.

On top of these types of whiskey, we also have Rye, which can refer either to American rye whiskey, which must be distilled from at least 51 percent rye or Canadian whisky, which may or may not actually include any rye in its production process.

What makes a bourbon:

• Must be made in the United States.
• Must contain 51 percent corn.
• Must be aged in new oak charred barrels.
• Must be distilled to no more than 160 proof and entered into the barrel at 125 proof.
• Must be bottled at no less than 80 proof.
• Must not contain any added flavoring, coloring or other additives.

Jack Daniels is not Bourbon
By strict definition, Jack Daniels is bourbon. The only reason it doesn’t say bourbon on the bottle is Jack Daniels chooses not to. The distilling process for JD involves charcoal filtering, which is not a required part of the bourbon process. For this reason they have chosen to set themselves apart as Tennessee whiskey.

Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey is proving to be a big headache for Scotch, not just in the U.S., but around the world. Tennessee whiskey is made like bourbon but tastes different because it is filtered through maple charcoal before being barrel aged. Jack Daniel’s is now sold in more than 160 markets world-wide and has become the world’s fourth most popular liquor, with $2.7 billion in retail value, a 2.9% increase from a year ago, according to industry tracker Impact Databank.

Rye is Canadian Whiskey
In Canada they name all Canadian whisky ‘Rye’, but it’s not actually rye. Rye needs to be made from a mash (mix of grains) with at least 51% rye in the mix. Most Canadian whiskey is almost entirely wheat, with some rye in the mash.

How to find scotch that pleases your palate:

During Prohibition, whiskey could legally be sold as medicine. This particular bottle of Four Roses bourbon was prescribed to a patient in Sparks, Nev., in 1924. The label tells patients to mix 2 ounces of whiskey with hot water. From The Art of American Whiskey by Noah Rothbaum.

At first blush, the label for this bottle of limited-edition Old Blowhard seems to suggest the brand is old, but it actually debuted in 2014.

America's Signature Whiskey: Some craft distilleries, like Catoctin Creek in Virginia, are making a whiskey that's 100 percent rye to showcase the grain's spicy, peppery flavor.