For those of you that aren’t familiar with them, here are the Bourbon rules per Google AI:

• American origin: The spirit must be made in the United States.
• Corn mash bill: The fermented grain mash must be at least 51% corn.
• New, charred oak barrels: The bourbon must be aged in new, charred oak barrels.
• Distillation proof: It cannot be distilled to a strength higher than 160 proof (80% alcohol by volume).
• Entry proof: The spirit entering the barrel for aging cannot exceed 125 proof (62.5% alcohol by volume).
• Bottling proof: Bourbon must be bottled at a minimum of 80 proof (40% alcohol by volume).
• No additives: Bourbon cannot contain any artificial flavors, colors, or other additives.

Also per Google AI, for Bourbon to be called “straight bourbon whiskey,” it must meet additional requirements:

• Minimum aging: It must be aged for a minimum of two years in new, charred oak barrels.
• Age statement: If aged less than four years, the number of years it was aged must be stated on the label.
• No blending: Straight bourbon may include blends of two or more straight bourbons, but they must be produced in the same state.

Today’s video features two whiskeys from Milam & Greene that were produced in accordance with the above rules, but with a slight twist when it comes to aging…

The exact same distillate was created, but one set of barrels were aged in Kentucky while another set of barrels were aged in Texas.

Here’s more info from Milam & Greene:

“We wanted to better understand how temperature fluctuation between the two environments influences flavor extraction in our whiskey, so one of the first activities we did together as a team was lay down these barrels in two states in 2019,” says Heather Greene, CEO and Master Blender. “The popular hypothesis that the hotter, drier climate significantly differentiates Texas bourbon across the board with higher oak extraction compared to a Kentucky bourbon is a good one, and now you can taste it.”

To hear our many many thoughts about these two intriguing spirits, click play on the above video.

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