The two giants
Jack Daniel's is the best-selling American whiskey on earth — Tennessee, not bourbon, because every drop drips through three metres of sugar-maple charcoal before barrelling (the Lincoln County Process). Old No. 7's square bottle is one of the world's most recognised objects. Jim Beam is bourbon's giant: eight generations of the Beam family since Jacob Beam sold his first barrels in 1795. Booker Noe's Booker's (1988) and the Small Batch Collection that followed in 1992 (Baker's, Basil Hayden, Knob Creek) — alongside Blanton's 1984 single barrel — built the premium bourbon shelf.
The style split in one line: bourbon is sweet corn and new oak; Tennessee adds charcoal-mellowed softness; rye brings spice and dryness.