The easiest explanation or definition for Tennessee Whisk(e)y is the one that might cause the greatest offense — it is bourbon for the most part. But a very specific, geographically defined bourbon, never mind the charcoal. To be more specific, it is a whiskey of any age made in the state of Tennessee. However, the Tennessee Whiskies that most people are familiar with undergo what is known as the “Lincoln County Process”. This process is the maple charcoal/chips filtering that most people associate with Tennessee Whisk(e)y and specifically with Jack Daniel’s (which is the Microsoft of Tennessee Whisk(e)y). It is the dominant brand, with George Dickel Whiskey running a very distant second and the Tennessee Spirits Company rounding out the list of those distilleries using the distinctive Lincoln County Process. Prichard’s Distillery produces an aged whiskey that does not use the Lincoln County Process and could be considered a bourbon both by taste and legal definitions along with of course, qualifying as a Tennessee Whisk(e)y by virtue of geography . The rest of the distillers produce unaged white whiskeys some with fruit or flavorings depending on the distiller. As a side note, we spell Tennessee Whisk(e)y the way we do because Jack Daniels, Collier and McNeel, and Prichard’s uses the American and Irish preferred spelling with and “e” while Dickel – prefers to use the Scottish and Canadian preferred spelling which drops the “e”.