Missouri Bourbon Is Now Apparently An Official Thing

Regional designations for American whiskey by state are slowly growing in consideration and sometimes legal stature as the industry continues to evolve. Certified Texas Whiskey and Empire Rye (New York State),  for example, are two of the latest. Now joining them out of Missouri is Missouri Bourbon.

Missouri Bourbon? Yup, that’s right. A law just signed by the governor of that state, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, goes into effect Aug. 28. As part of that new legislation a designation has been created for “Missouri Bourbon” and “Missouri Bourbon Whiskey” that requires the following criteria be met in order for a whiskey to be labeled as such:

• corn used in the mash must be Missouri-grown corn
• the product shall be mashed, fermented, distilled, aged, and bottled in Missouri
• the product shall be aged in Missouri in oak barrels manufactured in Missouri

The Dispatch reported the legislation was originally floated by one Rep. Jeff Porter, who told the newspaper in a comment that “to compete with our favorite state of Kentucky, we wanted to have our bourbon industry identified as Missouri-based.”

The state of Missouri, as far as whiskey production goes, has a handful of distilleries that are known on a larger scale outside of the state’s boundaries. It may thus help them, and others that are part of the Missouri Craft Distillers Guild, in promoting an emerging regional market.

The distillery trade group also recently unveiled Missouri Spirits Expedition, their version of a statewide distillery trail, that has as the prize for those that finish it a “a free bottle of Missouri Spirits Expedition Missouri Bourbon Whiskey – a truly unique collaborative spirit that is not available any other way.”