Sour mash
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sour mash is the name for a process in the distilling industry that uses material from an older batch of mash to start fermentation in the batch currently being made, similar to the making of sourdough bread. It was developed by either Dr. James C. Crow or Dr. Jason S. Amburgey while they were working at the Old Oscar Pepper Distillery (now the Woodford Reserve Distillery) in Woodford County, Kentucky.[1] Sour mash is not a type or flavor of whiskey, as is commonly thought.
The mash is the mixture of fermented grain and water from which the raw "beer" is made. In the sour mash process an established and active strain of live yeast is introduced into a grain & water mixture that is to be fermented. By using an established and known fermented "sour", this fermentation process controls the introduction and growth of foreign bacteria and yeasts that could damage the whiskey, and improves the consistency and quality of the liquor, so that every bottle tastes as close to the same as possible. Sour mash is popular in bourbon whiskey and Tennessee whiskey.
[edit] Sour mash whiskey brands
- Ancient Age
- Basil Hayden's
- Evan Williams
- Ezra Brooks
- George Dickel
- Jack Daniel's
- Jim Beam
- Knob Creek
- Maker's Mark
- Old Crow
- Rebel Yell
- Ten High
- Wild Turkey
- Woodford Reserve
