So what is up with all these liquors and their names? And what is the difference between Scotch, Bourbon, Whiskey, Cognac, & Brandy? The first distinction is Scotch, Bourbon, & Whiskey are made from fermented grains, Cognac & Brandy are made from fermented grapes. Next we have a few statements that might help you keep things straight between the fermented grain liquors and the fermented grape liquors.
Whisky is made by fermenting grains that have been malted. The liquor is then distilled and poured into oak barrels. Brandy is made by fermenting grapes (or the leftovers after wine production) the resulting liquor is distilled and poured into oak casks.
- All Bourbon is Whiskey, but not all Whiskey is Bourbon
- All Scotch is Whisky, but not all Whisky is Scotch (did you notice the spelling difference?)
- All Cognac is Brandy, but not all Brandy is Cognac
Lets start with the whiskey category and the first two bullets above.
Whiskey, Bourbon, & Scotch – What’s the Difference?
Whiskey is a spirit distilled from fermented grain mash. The main grain varieties used are wheat, rye, barley, and corn. After whiskey is distilled it is then aged in wooden barrels. Whiskey is made all over the world with the most popular being Scotland, Ireland, Canada, & America. Again, all Bourbon is Whiskey, but not all Whiskey is Bourbon. In the late 1800’s laws put specifications in place that regulated what you could call Bourbon & what would be called Whiskey.
Bourbon must be:
- Made in the United States
- Contain 51 percent corn
- Aged in new charred oak barrels
- Distilled to no more than 160 proof and entered into the barrel at 125 proof
- Must be bottled at no less than 80 proof
- Free from any added flavoring, coloring or other additives
- Aged in a Government Inspected Warehouse
Bourbon has no aging requirement, with the exception of “Straight” Bourbon which requires two years of aging although it doesn’t have to be called Straight. Any bourbon aged less than 4 years must have its age marked on the bottle using the age of the youngest whiskey that was used when bottling. Most Bourbons are made in Kentucky with the other majority made in Tennessee although most Tennessee Whiskeys don’t use the name Bourbon on their label even though many qualify as bourbon.
When whiskey/bourbon is initially distilled it comes out clear, but gets its color from its aging process in charred oak barrels. Non-Bourbon Whiskey is usually filtered through sugar-maple charcoal, which is called the Lincoln County process. It use to be that this coloring process, either by charred oak barrels or charcoal filtering, was required in order to tell the difference between the “legal” and taxed distilled spirits, and the illegal or non-taxed distilled spirits, which was usually referred to as moonshine. It appears that the coloring requirement has been removed as clear distilled liquor is now sold legally to the public in liquors stores, and is even marketed as “moonshine”, thanks Uncle Sam.
Rye whiskey is made from 51% malted rye.
Now there are also two different spellings for Whiskey that also cause a distinction.
Whiskey – is made in Ireland & the United States.
Whisky – is made in Scotland, Canada, & Japan.
Whisky – is made in Scotland, Canada, & Japan.
And Scotch is Whisky made in Scotland usually from malted rye and therefore could be called a rye whisky.
Cognac & Brandy – What’s the Difference?
So remember above we said all Cognac is Brandy, but not all Brandy is Cognac. We also said that Cognac & Brandy are made from fermented grapes. Isn’t Wine made from fermented grapes? Yes, but what makes Cognac & Brandy different is that they are made from distilled wine which ups the alcohol level from the high end in wine of 18% to about 40% or 50%. Since Alcohol boils at 173 degrees, and water at 212 degrees, one can easily distill wine and catch the steam which is basically all alcohol and cool it to make brandy. But if you do so without a license you just committed a federal offense.
So in order for a Brandy, which is distilled wine, to be called Cognac it must be made from certain types of grapes in designated growing regions in France. In order to be considered Cognac the wine must be distilled twice in copper pot stills, and with the end product being aged two years in French oak barrels. Cognac gets its color from the oak barrels just like whiskey, but most Cognacs are aged much longer than whiskey with a minimum two year requirement.
Cognac Labeling
- V.S. – Very Special – designates a blend in which the youngest brandy has been stored for at least two years
- V.S.O.P. – Very Superior Old Pale – designates a blend in which the youngest brandy is stored for at least four years
- Reserve designates a blend in which the youngest brandy is stored for at least four years
- XO – Extra Old – designates a blend in which the youngest brandy is stored for at least six years, although in 2016 it will be 10 years
- Napoléon designates a blend in which the youngest brandy is stored for at least six years, although in 2016 it will be 10 years
- Hors d’âge – Beyond Age – is a designation which is equal to XO, but in practice the term is used by producers to market a high-quality product beyond the official age scale
Hey what about Sherry, Port, & Champagne – What the Difference?
Sherry is fortified wine made from white grapes near the town of Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia, Spain. With Sherry, fortification takes place after fermentation, which causes Sherry to be initially dry, but then some have sweetness added in later.
Port is a Portuguese fortified wine produced exclusively in the Douro Valley in the northern provinces of Portugal. Port is fortified halfway through its fermentation, which stops the process so that not all of the sugar is turned into alcohol. This process usually creates a sweet, red wine, often served as a dessert wine. In the United State wine from anywhere can be sold with the name Port.
Champagne is a sparkling wine produced from grapes grown in the Champagne region of France. In addition to the region, there are additional rules that demand secondary fermentation of the wine in the bottle to create carbonation. Most people used the term Champagne as a generic term for sparkling wine, but many countries do reserve the term Champagne exclusively for sparkling wines that come from the Champagne region of France.
Subsidiary | |
Industry | Distilled beverages |
---|---|
Founded | October 4, 2011 |
Founder | Remainder company created from Fortune Brands |
Headquarters | , |
Area served | Worldwide |
Albert Baladi, President & CEO | |
Products | Spirits |
Revenue | US$3.1 billion [1] |
Number of employees | 4800 [2] |
Parent | Suntory |
Website | www.beamsuntory.com |
Beam Suntory, Inc. is a subsidiary of Suntory Beverage & Food Ltd, which itself is a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings of Osaka, Japan. Its headquarters are in Chicago, Illinois. It is the third largest producer of distilled beverages worldwide behind Diageo and Pernod Ricard. They acquired 20 brands from Allied Domecq worth $5bn in 2005,[3] which has turned them into one of the largest producers of whiskey in the international market.[4]
The company's principal products include bourbon whiskey, tequila, Scotch whisky, Irish whiskey, Canadian whisky, vodka, cognac, rum, cordials, and ready-to-drink pre-mixed cocktails.
History[edit]
James Beam began selling barrels of whiskey in 1795. By 1935, his family's business was formally established the James B. Beam Distilling Company. Ten years later, the Chicago spirits merchant Harry Blum bought the company, and in 1968 sold it to American Brands, Inc. In 1987, the James B. Beam Distilling Company purchased National Distillers and renamed itself the Jim Beam Brands Company. It was known as Jim Beam Brands Worldwide, Inc., by the time Fortune Brands purchased it in 2005.[5] The following year, the company was renamed Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Inc. It was split from Fortune Brands to become an independent publicly traded company, Beam Inc., in 2011. Three years later, it was purchased by Suntory Holdings.[6]
As a distinct entity, the company was established as Beam Inc. on October 3, 2011, from the remainder of the Fortune Brandsholding company after it sold and divested various other product lines to form a business focused exclusively on spirits and directly related products.[7]
On December 16, 2011, Beam Inc., agreed to buy the only independent Irish whiskeydistiller that existed at the time, the Cooley Distillery, for $95 million.[8] On April 23, 2012, Beam announced it would acquire the Pinnacle vodka and Calico Jack rum brands for $600 million.[9]
Previous logo
On January 13, 2014, Suntory announced a deal to buy Beam Inc. for about $13.6 billion.[10] The acquisition was completed on April 30, 2014, for a final cost of about $16 billion – when it was also announced that Beam would become a subsidiary named 'Beam Suntory.'[11][12] Suntory Beverage & Food Ltd trades on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (2587). The acquisition created a culture shock within the company when Japanese managers implied that the American-made Jim Beam whisky could be improved with the kaizen Japanese technique of continual improvement.[4]
In November 2015, Beam Suntory sold its sherry and brandy brands Fundador, Harveys, Terry y Tres Cepas to the Philippines-owned group Emperador for 275 million euros.[13][14]
In March 2016, the company announced it would move its headquarters to the Merchandise Mart building on Chicago's Near North Side;[15] Beam Suntory is subleasing 110,000 sq. ft on the 16th floor of the Mart from Motorola Mobility.[16]
The Chicago Cubs and Beam Suntory announced a long-term sponsorship deal in January 2017, making Beam the official spirits partner of the Cubs and Wrigley Field.[17]
Products[edit]
The company's self-produced brands include the following:
- Bourbon whiskey: Jim Beam, Maker's Mark, Old Grand-Dad, Old Crow, Baker's, Basil Hayden's, Booker's, Knob Creek
- Rye whiskey: Jim Beam Rye, Knob Creek Rye, Old Overholt, (rī)1
- Blended American whiskey: Kessler, Beam's Eight Star
- Scotch whisky: Single malt Scotch (Laphroaig, Bowmore, Ardmore, Auchentoshan), Blended Scotch whisky (Teacher's Highland Cream)
- Irish whiskey: Single malt Irish whiskey (The Tyrconnell, Connemara), Single grain Irish whiskey (Greenore), Blended Irish whiskey (Kilbeggan, 2 Gingers Irish Whiskey)
- Canadian whisky: Alberta Premium, Canadian Club, Tangle Ridge, Windsor Canadian
- Spanish whisky: DYC whisky
- Japanese whisky: Yamazaki, Hakushu, Hibiki.
- Tequila: Sauza, Hornitos de Sauza, El Tesoro de Don Felipe, Tres Generaciones, Hornitos Cristalino[18]
- Cognac: Courvoisier, Salignac
- Vodka: Pinnacle, VOX, Wolfschmidt, Gilbey's, Effen, Kamchatka
- Rum: Cruzan, Calico Jack, Ronrico
- Gin: Larios, Gilbey's, Calvert, Sipsmith, Roku
- Liqueur: Starbucks Liqueurs, Kamora, After Shock, Leroux, Castellana, Sourz
- Bourbon-Scotch fusion: Jim Beam Kentucky Dram[19]
In addition to brands produced directly by the company and its subsidiaries, Beam Suntory imports and markets some brands produced by others, such as the DeKuyper cordial. Beam facilities also produce spirits for brands owned by other companies, such as Calvert Extra blended whiskey, now owned by Luxco.
The company also previously sold Harveys Bristol Cream sherry, as well as the brandy brands Fundador, Terry Centenario, and Tres Cepas, before selling these brands to Grupo Emperador Spain S.A., part of the Alliance Global Group.[20][21]
In popular culture[edit]
In the 2003 Sofia Coppola movie Lost in Translation, actor Bill Murray goes to Japan to shoot a commercial for the Suntory whisky and drops the now famous slogan, 'For relaxing times, make it Suntory time.'[22]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^'Owler'. Owler.
- ^'Beam, Inc. (BEAM)-Key Statistics'. Yahoo! Finance.[dead link]
- ^'Beam Suntory | Scotch Whisky'. scotchwhisky.com. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
- ^ abKana Inagaki (14 June 2016). 'Beam Suntory: A volatile Japanese-US blend'. Ft.com. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
- ^'Jim Beam parent to buy Maker's Mark owner'. Louisville Business First. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
- ^'History'. (slideshow) Beam Suntory. Archived from the original on July 7, 2017. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
- ^'Beam Inc. Begins Life as a Pure-Play Spirits Industry Leader'. TheStreet.com. October 4, 2011. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
- ^(December 16, 2011). 'Cooley Distillery Sold for $95M'. Irish Examiner. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
- ^'Beam buys Pinnacle Vodka and Calico Jack rum from White Rock'. USA Today. Associated Press. April 23, 2012. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
- ^Horovitz, Bruce (January 13, 2014). 'Suntory buys spirits maker Beam for $13.6B'. USA Today.
- ^Beam Suntory completes acquisition of Beam Inc, Suntory.com, 30 April 2014.
- ^Pfanner, Eric (May 15, 2014). 'Suntory Still has M&A Thirst'. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
- ^'Beam Suntory vende por 275 millones sus negocios de brandy y jerez en España al grupo dueño de Torre Espacio'. Eleconomista.es (in Spanish). 30 November 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
- ^'UPDATE 1-Philippines' group to buy Beam Suntory brands for 275 mln euros'. Reuters.com. 30 November 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
- ^Frost, Peter (February 29, 2016). 'Beam Suntory moving HQ to Merchandise Mart'. Crain's Chicago Business.
- ^Beam Suntory opens Merchandise Mart headquartersChicago Tribune December 5, 2016
- ^Cubs strike long-term sponsorship deal with Beam SuntoryChicago Tribune January 12, 2017
- ^'Beam Suntory launches Hornitos Cristalino triple-distilled tequila'. Foodbev.com. 6 October 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
- ^Rebecca Sterritt (15 June 2015). 'A bourbon-Scotch fusion from Beam Suntory'. Thedrinksreport.com. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
- ^Arceo-Dumlao, Tina (December 1, 2015). 'Andrew Tan's Emperador buys Spain's Fundador'. Philippine Daily Inquirer.
- ^Eads, Lauren (November 30, 2015). 'Beam Suntory Sells Sherry and Brandy Business for €275 million'. The Drinks Business. London, England: Union Press Ltd. Archived from the original on December 12, 2015.
- ^John Kell (6 April 2015). 'Suntory hopes it's now 'Suntory time' in America'. Fortune.com. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
External links[edit]
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