Five Things You Didn't Know About Bourbon

Flickr user spenceke

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September is National Bourbon Month. As the weather cools off (OK, everywhere except Southern California), it's a good time to consider one of the finest drinks made in America. Uncork a bottle, pour a little into a snifter, add a little pour of cool spring water, and lean back. Here are five things you may not have known about bourbon.

5. It doesn't have to be from Bourbon County, Kentucky.

Flickr user auvet

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That's right... bourbon can hail from any point in these United States and still legally be called bourbon. What's odd is that this rule only applies for bourbon produced for domestic consumption. When produced for export, all bets are off. Still, most bourbon comes from Kentucky, and if it says Kentucky bourbon, it has to be from Kentucky.

4. Bourbon County, Kentucky is a "wet" county.

Flickr user drewcipher

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Kentucky gives counties the local option when it comes to alcohol sales. Internet lore insists that Bourbon County is a "dry" (i.e., alcohol-free) county. This is not true; in fact, all the counties along the Kentucky Bourbon trail are "wet," including the homes of Maker's Mark, Bulleit, Jim Beam and Woodford Reserve.