Tennessee whiskey is straight bourbon whiskey produced in Tennessee.
However, most current producers of Tennessee whiskey disclaim references to their products as “Bourbon” and do not label them as such on any of their bottles or advertising materials.
All current producers are required by Tennessee law to produce their whiskey in Tennessee and, with one exception, to also use a filtering step known as the Lincoln County Process prior to aging the whiskey – which some assert makes the product distinct from the more generic product category called Bourbon.
Tennessee whiskey is one of Tennessee’s largest exports, eclipsing one billion dollars in export sales in 2013.
There are currently two major producers of Tennessee whiskey – Jack Daniel’s (owned by Brown-Forman) and George Dickel (owned by Diageo) – and at least two smaller producers (Benjamin Prichard’s and Collier & McKeel).
