A couple of distilleries in early April

"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. (Most often these barrels are white oak, but they can be any variety of oak.)"

Another interesting tidbit is that Scotch whisky is traditionally aged in used bourbon barrels. This is for three reasons: First, there is limited if any oak available for making barrels in Scotland. Second is that new barrels impart an astringency to the whiskey/whisky. Third, bourbon has to be aged in new barrels, so they can’t be reused for bourbon.