What makes that spirit bourbon is that it is at least 51 percent corn, aged in new oak barrels and entered into the barrel at 125 proof.īut, as illustrated by Fant, the bourbon boom has also been a primarily white boom. By definition, whiskey (or whisky, in Scotland) is a spirit distilled from fermented grain mash - grain varieties include wheat, rye, barley, and corn - and then aged in wooden barrels. You’re probably familiar with the history and the numbers behind this trend too: In 1964 Congress declared bourbon “America’s Native Spirit.” Today, there are more bourbon barrels aging in Kentucky than there are people, and production has increased by more than 170 percent since 1999.Īnd just so we’re all on the same page: All bourbon is whiskey, but not all whiskey is bourbon. There’s the Urban Bourbon Trail, the renovation of historic Whiskey Row, and Down One Bourbon Bar with its cases and cases of the spirit - just to name a few. If you travel just a few minutes down the street from The Liquor Store into the middle of downtown Louisville, you’ll see indicators of the current bourbon boom. It’s an unexpected comment given the state of spirits in Kentucky. Meanwhile, she says while there has been an increase in customer interest in bourbon over the last few years, it hasn’t been - and still isn’t - her best-selling spirit.

Owner Sandra Fant steps away from the drive-through window where, on the other side, a couple has asked for two bottles of Absolut vodka.įant, who has owned The Liquor Store for eight years, says that’s a pretty typical order for her patrons, who are 90 percent African-American. Inside, bottles are neatly arranged in steel-barred cabinets decked with glossy posters. This production is part of WFPL News’ year-long project The Next Louisville: Race, Ethnicity and Culture.Īt 26th and Broadway there’s a small, neighborhood shop called The Liquor Store.

Black steel bourbon