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Tennessee whiskey is straight whiskey produced in Tennessee. Although it has been legally defined as a bourbon whiskey in some international trade agreements,〔〔 most current producers of Tennessee whiskey disclaim references to their products as "bourbon" and do not label them as such on any of their bottles or advertising materials. All current producers are required by Tennessee law to produce their whiskey in Tennessee and, with one exception, to also use a filtering step known as the Lincoln County Process prior to aging the whiskey; that aside, "Tennessee whiskey and bourbon have almost identical requirements () most Tennessee whiskeys meet the criteria for bourbon."〔"Beginner's Guide to Bourbon and Tennessee Whiskey" by Clair McLafferty. ''Paste Magazine'', December 5, 2014()〕 Tennessee whiskey is one of the top ten exports of Tennessee.〔 According to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, as of 2013, the U.S. market for bourbon and Tennessee whiskey reached $2.4 billion, and exports of bourbon and Tennessee whiskey grew to exceed $1 billion.〔〔(U.S. Bourbon and TN Whiskey Drive Export Records in 2013 ), Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, February 4, 2014.〕〔(Distilled Spirits Council Industry Review ), Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, February 4, 2014.〕 There are currently two major producers of Tennessee whiskey – Jack Daniel's (owned by Brown-Forman) and George Dickel (owned by Diageo) – and at least two smaller producers (Benjamin Prichard's and Collier & McKeel). ==Legal status== On a federal level, what constitutes Tennessee whiskey is legally established under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)〔 and at least one other international trade agreement〔(SICE - Free Trade Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Chile ), Section E, Article 3.15 "Distinctive products".〕 that require that Tennessee whiskey be "a straight Bourbon Whiskey authorized to be produced only in the State of Tennessee". Canadian food and drug laws state that Tennessee whiskey must be "a straight Bourbon whisky produced in the State of Tennessee". On a state level, the State of Tennessee has imposed stringent requirements. It is not enough under state law that the whiskey be produced in Tennessee; it must meet quality and production standards. On May 13, 2013, Tennessee governor Bill Haslam signed House Bill 1084, requiring the Lincoln County process (which involves maple charcoal filtering) to be used for products produced in the state labeling themselves as "Tennessee Whiskey", along with the existing requirements for bourbon (namely, mash consisting of at least 51% corn, aging in new charred oak barrels, and limits on alcohol by volume concentration for distillation, aging, and bottling). The law contained a specific exception for Benjamin Prichard's, which doesn't use the Lincoln County process. As federal law requires statements of origin on labels to be accurate, the Tennessee law effectively gives a firm definition to Tennessee whiskey.〔〔 While Jack Daniel's supported the 2013 legislation, stating it was necessary to bring the quality of Tennessee whiskey to the level of bourbons and Scotches, some of the state's smaller distilleries opposed it, arguing the process required by the law was too close to the process used by Jack Daniel's. Phil Prichard, the owner and distiller of Benjamin Prichard's, stated, "If I wanted my whiskey to taste like Jack Daniel's, I would make it like Jack Daniel's." Jeff Arnett, the Master Distiller at Jack Daniel's, noted that stringent requirements were required by Scotch makers in Scotland and Champagne makers in France, and said that Tennessee whiskey should be treated no differently. In 2014, legislation was introduced in the Tennessee state legislature that would amend the 2013 law to allow the reuse of barrels in the aging process. Diageo, which owns George Dickel, supported the proposed change. Arnett blasted the proposed amendment, going as far as to accuse Diageo of attempting to weaken the quality of Tennessee whiskey to protect its Scotch and bourbon brands. Diageo argued that the 2013 law was an attempt by Jack Daniel's to push smaller competitors out of the market.〔Robert Holman, "(Jack Daniel Denounces Barrel Legislation )", ''The Tullahoma News'', 18 March 2014.〕 (Such "smaller competitors" would presumably not include Diageo itself, since Diageo is several times the size of the company that owns Jack Daniel's.) Relatively few brands of Tennessee whiskey survive today, due to a statewide prohibition that lasted longer than the national prohibition. As of 2013, many Tennessee counties still prohibit the sale of alcohol. In 2009, the Tennessee General Assembly amended the statute that had for many years limited the distillation of drinkable spirits to just three of Tennessee's 95 counties (Lincoln, Moore, and Coffee). The revised law allows distilleries to be established in 41 additional counties. This change was expected to lead to the establishment of small distilleries, thus increasing the number of producers of Tennessee whiskey.〔John T. Edge, (That's the Whiskey Talking ), Gourmet.com (Gourmet magazine website), August 13, 2009〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Tennessee whiskey」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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