Cocktails with Tennessee whiskey
Tennessee whiskey is an American whiskey made to the bourbon standard and then mellowed through a deep bed of maple charcoal before the barrel. Made only in Tennessee, it comes out rounder and softer for that step.
ABV40–50%Commonly, with 40% the legal minimum and bottled-in-bond at exactly 50%; cask strength exists too. For a stirred drink a bonded or higher-proof bottle holds up where 40% can thin over ice.
Substitutes for Tennessee whiskey
One extra step in the making is the whole of the difference, and it is a softness rather than a flavor. A swap inside the family costs you that and sharpens the oak; the strength and the sweetness stay where they were.
On the label
- Lincoln County Process
- The sugar-maple charcoal filtering before the barrel — the defining step.
- bottled-in-bond
- As with bourbon: at least 4 years at 50% — and the higher proof helps in cocktails.
Often confused with
Bourbon meets the same standard and stops there. This one adds the Lincoln County Process, so at the same age and proof a bourbon Old Fashioned reads sharper and drier.
