Title: whiskey | History, Characteristics, Types, Production, & facts | Britannica
Headings: Whiskey
Whiskey
distilled liquor
Learn how barley malt and corn are aged in oak barrels and then blended to taste to create Scotch whiskey in a distillery in Scotland

Content: Straight whiskeys may be stored in government-bonded warehouses. Bourbon is characterized by the flavour of corn (maize), used as the main raw material. It was first produced in Bourbon county, Kentucky, and the name bourbon eventually became a general term for similar corn-mash whiskeys. Sour mashes, used mainly in bourbon production, are fermented with yeast, including a portion of previously fermented yeast; other whiskeys are made from sweet mashes, employing only fresh yeast. In the United States, straight whiskeys are named for the grains predominating in the mash, with at least 51 percent required for whiskeys designated as straight. If a mash of at least 51 percent barley malt is employed, the product is straight malt whiskey; if rye malt is used, it is straight rye whiskey. Straight bourbon mashes contain at least 51 percent corn; straight corn-whiskey mashes contain at least 80 percent.