Bourbon
Bourbon is Whiskey with a difference, it’s made from a mash that is at least 51% corn. There are regulations of course but the history goes beyond any regulation and the origin of the name is old enough to be disputed between a street named Bourbon in New Orleans, or the Bourbon county in Kentucky to the distant French Bourbon Dynasty.
But what is more important is it’s cultural presence in American culture along with the Tennessee Whiskey which too holds a special place in American hearts.
During the early days of Prohibition, there were distillers who still had whiskey in stock and were unable to sell them, and then there were these six companies that applied for “medical alcohol” license and throughout the prohibition survived by producing medicinal alcohol while all along keeping their already barrelled bourbon in stock and ageing.
These barrels gave them the edge when Prohibition was lifted and Bourbon survived, but as was the case in the America during Prohibition, Bourbon or not, Whiskey was poor quality hooch and mixing was inevitable, honestly, cocktails were never as popular as during the prohibition and thus Bourbon ended up in so many Classic Cocktails.