Bourbon Recipe Question

[Ftero]

I dearly loved my Grandfather. A soft-spoken gentleman from Alabama.
Some of the best things that I learned in life came from that man.
Anyway, when I was a kid, he would come to visit us sometimes, and I can remember him bringing along a flask of Old Crow whiskey and Gene Autrey albums to listen to.

So, now that my DWWG is just about ready to rack to my carboy, I'm thinking about making some Bourbon in honor of my GP.

I did some searching, and came across this grain bill from an all-grain recipe from Tar on Yahoo Distillers:

25 pounds cracked corn
5 pounds rye flour
17 pounds crushed 6-row malted barley

Does this look o.k? or can you push me in the direction of a recipe that is generally considered "better" ?


Thanks all!

[Dnderhead]

this mite be helpful
bills...
> ----------------------------------------
>
> Early Times Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey:
>
> 37.1% alcohol. Made for export, from a mash of 79% corn, 11% rye and
> 10% barley malt.
> ----------------------------------------
>
> Maker's Mark:
>
> 90 proof whisky. Distilled to a rather low 60-65% alcohol, from a
> mash of 70% corn, 16% wheat and 14% barley malt.
> ----------------------------------------
>
> Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye:
>
> 13 year old rye. 47.8% alcohol, from a mash of 51% rye, 38% maize,
> and 11% barley malt.
> ----------------------------------------
>
> Wild Turkey Old No. 8 (101 proof):
>
> Distilled from a mash of 75% corn, 13% rye and 12% barley malt.
> ----------------------------------------
>
> Wild Turkey 101 Proof Straight Rye Whiskey:
>
> Made from a mash of 65% rye, 23% maize, and 12% barley malt, with a
> 33% sour mash component.

[Ftero]

Thanks for the information Dnderhead...

[RobM]

Here is some grain bills from the Yahoo groups:

Bourbon generic** 75+ % ~10 % 12-15 % "flavor grain", usually rye, sometimes
wheat.
Cutoff points as for Scotch - 75% to 55%
typical rye 23% 12% 65% rye
Tennessee whiskey. 75+% ~10% ~13% identical to Bourbon, but filtered through
deep vats of charcoal before aging
Four Roses (black label) 60 % 4 % 36 % rye
Old Grand-Dad ~63% 8 - 12% ~27% rye

Basil Hayden ~63% ? ~27% rye
Virginia Gentleman 65 % 15 % 20 % rye
Old Forester 72 % 10 % 18% rye
Maker's Mark 74% 14% 16% wheat use sour-mash method. Double distill'n - 1st
column still for 120proof low wines, 2nd in a
pot still for 130proof high wine. Yields
lowest proof in the industry.
Old Fitzgerald 74% 14% 16% wheat
Jim Beam # ~75 % ~10 % ~15 % rye Jim Beam white label is 4 years old
Jim Beam Black is 7 years old
Knob Creek is 9 years old.
Four Roses (yellow label) 75 % 4 % 21 % rye
Wild Turkey 75 % 12 % 13 % rye "Rare Breed" is blend of 6, 8 & 12 yr
olds;
uses 33% backset*
Evan Williams ~75%+ 12% 13% rye
W.L.Weller 76 % 8 % 16 % wheat
Heaven Hill's products 78% Henry McKenna (4 years), Evan Williams (7
years) and Elijah Craig (12 years)
Early Times 79 % 10% 11 % rye
Jack Daniels 80% 8% 6-row 12% rye include 24% backset; collect from 75% to
55%; try sweeten with maple syrup to mimick
the sweetness from the "charcoal mellowing"
process. Mature on heavy char American
oak, at no stronger than 65%abv
Old Charter 84 % 10 % 6 % rye
I.W. Harper ~86 % ~10-12% .~2-4% rye N.B. smaller % rye than most
bourbons
* Back-set = portion of previously distilled mash to new mash , creating a
'sour mash' whiskey
** Cheapest - Ancient Age, Hiram Walker's Ten High, Old Crow, Henry McKenna.;
Ferment max. 5 days
# Tentative mash bill (Jack/ups474), use bread yeast; reportedly collect untill
total ave 67.5%

[Uncle Jesse]

Corn whiskey is 80%+ corn, by law. Bourbon is 51%+ corn, by law.

Any spirit made of a specific grain of more than 51% can be called that type of whiskey. So if you use 51% or more of wheat in your grain bill, you can call it wheat whiskey. The only exception is corn whiskey which again is 80%+ corn in the grain bill.

[Ftero]

Thanks for the further info UJ and RobM. I guess it's obvious I don't know the slightest thing about Whiskey eh?

It's obvious to me now, that there are so very many variations on the same theme, as to make the "best" question useless.

As I've done before, I'll pick a recipe that has the best step by step instructions and go from there. I learned as a young man how to follow directions...

[Dnderhead]

You have to under stand Jesse is talking about US law other countries have there own laws -as Canada if it has rye in the recipe
it can be called rye - irish single malt- all malt,-- single grain all the same grain---- blinded is a mix of the two I'm sure other counters have
there laws also I was reading about one that makes "whisky" from molasses

[Kiwi-lembic]

hell theres some wicked info hiding in here ..so kind of you guys to share

[Habitual Distiller]

Yes thank you Dndrhead and RobM!! Some wonderful info indeed. Hope you are both still going strong.

[Bourbon_Greg]

>> W.L.Weller 76 % 8 % 16 % wheat <<

Is the 2nd "%" barley malt in all these grain bills?

[rager]

>> W.L.Weller 76 % 8 % 16 % wheat <<

Is the 2nd "%" barley malt in all these grain bills?

not to sure, I was wondering the same thing.

heres a great chart bourbons


https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... li=1#gid=4

I don't get this from robm "Maker's Mark 74% 14% 16% wheat use sour-mash method"

does this means its a standard sour mash?

I just sipped something I made that taste like a young makers mark. 60%corn, 20%barley, 20% wheat. pretty close to MM grain bill

lightly toasted at 325 and lightly charred.

[Canaanite]

I am wanting to try a Basil Hayden's clone. I am assuming since they call it bourbon that the 63% would be corn and the 27% is rye. It does not say how much malted barley is in the recipe. Do you think they use enzymes and not grain for converting? If not, how much barley would be needed to convert a 15 gallon mash?

[Canaanite]

Never mind. 63+2 is 90...so I'm assuming the other 10% is the malted barley.

[der wo]

Of course they use enzymes. With only 10% malted barley converting needs too much time.
High rye is more difficult to mash and distill than low rye bourbon.

[JoeyZR1]

I have used all the search feature's on this forum, but I am almost positive that there was a thread or view topic on replicating wild turkey 101. It wasnt about the grain bill, but more on the lines of ageing and adding other things like honey and such. Sorry if i made a mistake, but after hours of reading, this is my last resort.

[HDNB]

I have used all the search feature's on this forum, but I am almost positive that there was a thread or view topic on replicating wild turkey 101. It wasnt about the grain bill, but more on the lines of ageing and adding other things like honey and such. Sorry if i made a mistake, but after hours of reading, this is my last resort.

seen this in a few places:

Wild Turkey
75 % Corn
12 % Barely
13 % Rye
uses 33% backset*

Then aged in a charred American oak barrel.

101 is pretty good, i don't think there is any additives, that would go against appellation rules. likely just time in the wood that sets it right. they use "heavy charred barrels, for longer" according to their site. notes of citrus, toffee, caramel and vanilla, oak and light smoke.

[JoeyZR1]

Thanks for you help.


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