I can't could find the original thread

[spiritsmith]

Charles Cowdery I remember reading something you wrote in a post a while back. You said that it was harder to make Bourbon that other whiskeys, and I was wondering if you could elaborate on your thoughts about that.

Cheers,

BW

[cowdery]

Specifically, I said it is harder to make bourbon than malt whiskey, mainly because of the difference between malted barley and corn. Malt pretty much dissolves in warm water. Corn has to be cooked at fairly high temperatures to dissolve the starch and as it cooks it has to be agitated or it forms a great big muffin. This is true of any spirit made from corn. The big distilleries have mastered it, but it can be challenging for the little guys and is one of the reason so many are making malt whiskey, even though the established market for American malt whiskey is exactly zero.

[p_elliott]

Chuck wasn't there a dispute on another site on which was harder to make bourbon or rye?

[cowdery]

Chuck wasn't there a dispute on another site on which was harder to make bourbon or rye?

I don't recall that and don't know that there would be much difference. There are some problems getting rye to dissolve as well. It's not as hard as corn nor as easy as barley.