Content
Citation(s) & Footnote(s)
Book(s)Complete source processing. The accessible web page was read in full, metadata-checked, critically assessed, and converted into verified locator-level evidence on 2026-08-29.
Source
No access
Core summary
The regulation defines whisky generally and then specifies production and labeling rules for named U.S. types. Whisky must be distilled from fermented grain mash below 190 proof, retain whisky character, be stored in oak except corn whisky, and be bottled at at least 80 proof. Bourbon, rye, wheat, malt, and rye malt whisky use named-grain thresholds, a 160-proof distillation ceiling, new charred-oak storage at no more than 125 proof, and restrictions on neutral spirits and flavoring. Straight designations add a two-year minimum. The table also governs corn whisky, blends, light whisky, spirit whisky, and the current American single malt category.
Author argument
Legal category names are controlled production standards rather than informal flavor labels; location claims and the word bourbon carry additional territorial constraints.
Evidence map
General standard and location provisions; Table 1 rows for named and straight whiskies; blend rows; American single malt and straight American single malt rows.
Critical assessment
The accessed page is Cornell LII’s reproduction of the federal regulation. It is authoritative as legal text but time-sensitive; confirm future amendments in the official eCFR. This is legal classification evidence, not sensory guidance.
Retrieval and synthesis
Use as the controlling baseline whenever a producer article states a mash percentage, aging minimum, barrel rule, location rule, blended-whisky composition, or American single malt definition.
Publication-stage controls
Correction record
September 12, 2026: The linked American single malt paraphrase and Claim incorrectly applied bourbon’s 125-proof entry ceiling. Both are corrected. American single malt has no such specified entry ceiling and permits caramel coloring with disclosure. Do not generalize the other straight-whisky rows’ prohibition on coloring to straight American single malt. Full-page reading on August 29 did not prevent this extraction error.
Open questions
None blocking. Any time-sensitive legal, historical-priority, product-availability, or producer-superlative claim must be rechecked at drafting.
