Not all American whiskies are Bourbons. To be labeled as Bourbon the whiskey must meet the following criteria:

1) Must contain natural grains of which at least 51% must be corn.
2) Must be distilled at less than 160 proof from fermented grain mash.
3) Must be aged in new, charred, American white oak barrels.
4) The spirit must go into the barrel at no more than 125 proof.
5) Must be bottled at 80 proof or higher.
6) Nothing can be done to alter the flavor or color, from the distilling through the bottling, except the addition of pure distilled water.
7) Must be made in the USA. (All but a few brands are made in Kentucky, and Kentucky is the only state allowed to put its name on the bottle.)
8) To be called "Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey", it must age in Kentucky at least 2 years and made using the sour-mash method.

Definitions:
Single Barrel Bourbon: Ones bottled from a "single" barrel of bourbon and allowed to age longer.
Straight: Whiskey made with a minimum of 51% of the grain that identifies that particular whiskey and aged at least 2 years.
Blended Whiskey: A blend of straight whiskies in combination with “harmless” coloring, flavoring, blending materials, other whiskies or neutral spirits.
Small Batch Bourbon: Bourbons that are bottled from a "batch" of barrels that have been mixed together prior to the bottling.
Sour-Mash Method: A backset of liquid from a previous distillation is added to the next mash in addition to yeast to promote consistency between all mash used.
Mash: A mixture of milled (crushed) grains soaked in water.
Bonded Bourbon: Bourbon that is produced at one distillery during one distilling season, aged a minimum of four years and bottled at 100 proof.
Barrel-Proof Bourbon: Bourbon taken directly from the barrel and is not cut with distilled water to reach a desired proof level. aka: Cask strength

Kentucky produces 95 percent of the world's bourbon. Production has risen by more than 75 percent since 1999. Bourbon can be made anywhere in the world.

Exports of Kentucky bourbon and other Kentucky whiskey totaled $194 million in 2008. Domestic bourbon sales totaled 9.8 million cases in 2008.

Production went from 455,078 barrels that year to 794,091 barrels in 2008. In 2009 Some 4.6 million barrels of bourbon were currently aging in the state.

Kentucky sits on a limestone bed providing calcium and phosphorous to make Thoroughbreds’ bones strong and filters out iron from the water, essential to Bourbon.

Bourbon barrels can only be used once, then get sold to other industries to age their products in, including scotch, wine, tequila, beer and other types of whiskies. "w

The official Kentucky Derby Mint Julep is not made with Bourbon, it is made with Early Times Whiskey which is not a Bourbon.

During World War II, bourbon distilleries were converted to make fuel alcohol and penicillin.

The word "whiskey" comes for the Gaelic word "uisge beatha," meaning "water of life".

There are two spellings of whisky. One is ‘whisky’ - as spelled by Scotts and Canadians and the second is ‘whiskey’ - as spelled by the Irish and Americans.

There are five basic classifications of whisky - Irish Whiskey, Scotch Whiskey, Bourbon, Canadian Whiskey and American Whiskey.

Single Malt Whiskey comes from a single distillery and a single grain. However, it is possible that it underwent maturing in multiple casks.

Blended Whiskey is called Blended Whiskey because of the mixture of Grain Whiskey and multiple Single Malt Whiskies.

A closed bottle of whiskey can be kept for more than 100 years and it will still be good to drink.