The Lincoln County Process: Why Tennessee Whiskey Tastes So Different

The Lincoln County Process: Why Tennessee Whiskey Tastes So Different

Vat & bottle image credit: Jack Daniel’s If you’ve ever sipped Jack Daniel’s and wondered why it’s so smooth, you can thank the Lincoln County Process. This nearly 200-year-old technique – also known as charcoal mellowing – involves filtering fresh whiskey through sugar maple charcoal before it goes into the barrel. It’s a defining step that turns bourbon made in Tennessee into Tennessee Whiskey, and it’s practiced by almost every distillery in …