A unique Wisconsin whiskey - Queen Jennie Sorghum Whiskey

Whiskey has to be made entirely from grain, not from grain and other things. Sorghum spirits are not rare. Most of what the Chinese call 'whiskey' is made from sorghum. And all sorghum spirits are made from sorghum juice, not sorghum grain.

The more I deal with this subject area, the more I understand that TTB pretty much takes what the COLA submitter says except for a few things that are 'red flag' rejections, such as the words 'unaged whiskey.' Otherwise they take the producer at its word and wait for someone to object. Which is why I've gotten into the habit of objecting. Unfortunately, TTB policy prevents them from giving me substantive feedback, but I'm convinced they do follow through on my inquiries.

Chuck, do you think they could qualify if they used the above mentioned syrup from the sorghum grain as their sole product? It seems that it would fit the description of "whisky" IF that was the source.

The old guys with a portable still would've called it 'sugar whisky'.

Also, sorghum whiskey could be called gluten free.

Sorghum Squeezins has a ring to it.

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Originally Posted by RickWrightson

Also, sorghum whiskey could be called gluten free.

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Distillation makes it all gluten free, whether from rye or winter wheat.

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Originally Posted by Jono

Chuck, do you think they could qualify if they used the above mentioned syrup from the sorghum grain as their sole product? It seems that it would fit the description of "whisky" IF that was the source.

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I can tell you that Aeppletreow, another Wisconsin micro who is also a cider maker, distills from sorghum syrup, ages it, and calls it Brown Dog Whiskey. He did a cask strength release, and it was the base of an amazing Manhattan I had at a restaurant.

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Originally Posted by cowdery

Whiskey has to be made entirely from grain, not from grain and other things. Sorghum spirits are not rare. Most of what the Chinese call 'whiskey' is made from sorghum. And all sorghum spirits are made from sorghum juice, not sorghum grain.

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Not exactly; Baijiu, 3hich translates as "white spirit", is an unaged Chinese spirit usually made from sorghum grain (and indeed the Taiwanese version is called Kaoling or Gaoling, after the Mandarin word for sorghum). Some varieties are made from rice instead. It's definitely grain-based, though, as the grain is treated with starter culture called Jiuqu which has moldsto break the starches down to sugars for the yeasts to ferment. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baijiu

That said, sweet sorghum syrup-based neutral spirits (like sugar cane-based neutral spirits) are often used in poorer countries as the base of imitation whiskey or blends containing only a small fraction of real whiskey. But not all sorghum spirits are use sweet sorghum juice.

Thank you. Good to know.