Collier and McKeel is a brand of Tennessee whiskey produced in Nashville. The whiskey was originally distilled by Tennessee Distilling Company, a corporation founded in 2009 in Franklin, Tennessee, by former Tennessee state representative Mike Williams. [1] [2] The brand was sold to North Coast Spirits, a California business group, in 2014, but distillation and other operations remained in Nashville. [3]
After President Washington stopped the Whiskey Rebellion in Pennsylvania in 1794, two whiskey makers from Virginia and North Carolina –William Collier and James McKeel –feared similar events could happen in their own states, so they moved to Tennessee, where they used their knowledge of Scottish and Irish whiskey making to make their own sour mash whiskey. [4] Centuries later, Collier and McKeel's whiskey history began again when Mike Williams, who is a descendant of the original whiskey makers, helped pass new legislation that revised Tennessee state laws related to distilling in 2009. Prior to the passing of the bill, alcohol could only be distilled in three Tennessee counties: Coffee, Moore and Lincoln (origin of the Lincoln County Process used to make Tennessee whiskey). [2]
Williams opened the first Collier and McKeel distillery in the old Marathon Auto Works building (next to Corsair Artisan Distillery), located near the state capitol building in Nashville in 2009. The first distilled whiskeys –aged in 5-US-gallon (19 L) and 15-US-gallon (57 L) barrels –were available for sale in 2011. The original product line consisted of Tennessee whiskey, a cinnamon whiskey, a vodka, and a white dog unaged whiskey –also known as moonshine. [5]
In 2012, Collier and McKeel moved its distillery operations to the Speakeasy Spirits (now Pennington Distilling Co.) complex in West Nashville. Speakeasy used Collier and McKeel Tennessee whiskey in combination with other flavors to create Whisper Creek Tennessee Sipping Cream at a milder 40 proof. Nashville chef Deb Paquette helped create the recipe. [6] [7]
In May 2013, Collier and McKeel signed an agreement with The Vintner Group to expand distribution to parts of the East Coast. The deal made the distillery's whiskey available to liquor stores and restaurants in Maryland, Delaware, Florida and Washington D.C. and designated Rhode Island, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and Massachusetts in the Northeast and Indiana and Illinois in the Midwest as distribution targets. Mike Williams called the deal a "major move" for the company. [8] In May 2014, he announced the sale of Collier and McKeel to North Coast Spirits. [3]
Collier and McKeel Tennessee Whiskey uses a mash of 70% corn, 15% rye, and 15% malted barley with ingredients obtained from local farms. That includes using limestone-filtered water from Big Richland Creek on Collier Farm (which belongs to the Williams family) in Humphreys County. [2] The whiskey is filtered using the Lincoln County Process — a requirement for all Tennessee whiskeys (except Prichard's) — but Collier and McKeel alters the method slightly by pumping the whiskey slowly through the charcoal instead of using gravity to drip the liquid through the charcoal. [5]
The company originally used small casks for aging but added traditional 53-US-gallon (200 L) barrel sizes for aging in 2013. According to master distiller Mike Williams, "Nothing can take the place of time, but the 15-gallon [57-liter] barrels allowed us to age the whiskey a little more quickly to start." [6] After 2013, the company focused on larger barrels with only limited production of smaller barrel whiskeys. The brand also started using a new label that featured "Pappy," the distillery's 560-US-gallon (2,100 L; 470 imp gal) copper still, Big Richland Creek and a rustic barn. Each bottle included a real thumbprint added by Mike Williams. [6]
Collier and McKeel's unaged white dog whiskey received a silver medal from the American Distilling Institute in 2012 in the Artisan American Spirits category. [9] Wine Enthusiast gave the Collier and McKeel Tennessee Whiskey a score of 92 and rated it Best of Year in 2016. [10]
Canadian whisky is a type of whisky produced in Canada. Most Canadian whiskies are blended multi-grain liquors containing a large percentage of corn spirits, and are typically lighter and smoother than other whisky styles. When Canadian distillers began adding small amounts of highly-flavourful rye grain to their mashes, people began demanding this new rye-flavoured whisky, referring to it simply as "rye". Today, as for the past two centuries, the terms "rye whisky" and "Canadian whisky" are used interchangeably in Canada and refer to exactly the same product, which generally is made with only a small amount of rye grain.
Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from fermented grain mash. Various grains are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden casks, which are typically made of charred white oak. Uncharred white oak casks previously used for the aging of port, rum or sherry are also sometimes used.
Bourbon is a type of barrel-aged American whiskey made primarily from corn (maize). The name derives from the French Bourbon dynasty, although the precise source of inspiration is uncertain; contenders include Bourbon County in Kentucky and Bourbon Street in New Orleans, both of which are named after the dynasty. The name bourbon may not have been used until the 1850s; the association with Bourbon County did not appear until the 1870s.
Rye whiskey can refer to two different, but related, types of whiskey:
Tennessee whiskey is straight whiskey produced in the U.S. state of 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 Tennessee whiskey producers are required by Tennessee law to produce their whiskeys in Tennessee and – with the sole exception of Benjamin Prichard's – to use a filtering step known as the Lincoln County Process prior to aging the whiskey. Beyond the perceived marketing value of the distinction, Tennessee whiskey and bourbon have almost identical requirements, and most Tennessee whiskeys meet the criteria for bourbon.
Jack Daniel's is a brand of Tennessee whiskey. It is produced in Lynchburg, Tennessee, by the Jack Daniel Distillery, which has been owned by the Brown–Forman Corporation since 1956.
George Dickel is a brand of Tennessee whisky produced in Tullahoma, in Coffee County, Tennessee. Today owned by Diageo, the modern brand was introduced in 1964, though the distillery has a longer history. Whisky production and aging takes place at the Cascade Hollow Distillery, which offers tours to the public and is part of the American Whiskey Trail. George Dickel operates the second-largest distillery in Tennessee, selling 130,000 cases in 2013, while the largest is Jack Daniel's, which sold 11.5 million cases the same year.
The Lincoln County Process is a step used in producing almost all Tennessee whiskeys. The whiskey is filtered through—or steeped in—charcoal chips before going into the casks for aging. The process is named for Lincoln County, Tennessee, which was the location of Jack Daniel's distillery at the time of its establishment, but is no longer used in that county.
American whiskey is whiskey produced in the United States. American whiskeys made from mashes with at least 51% of their named grains include bourbon whiskey, rye whiskey, rye malt whiskey, malt whiskey, wheat whiskey, Tennessee whiskey, and corn whiskey.
Buffalo Trace Distillery is a distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky, United States, owned by the Sazerac Company. It has historically been known by several names, including the George T. Stagg Distillery and the Old Fashioned Copper (O.F.C.) Distillery. Its namesake bourbon brand, Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon whiskey, was introduced in August 1999. The name "Buffalo Trace" refers to the ancient buffalo trackway that crosses the Kentucky River in Franklin County, Kentucky. The Sazerac Company purchased the distillery in 1992.
Sauza Tequila Import Company is a producer of tequila located in Tequila, a municipality of the state of Jalisco, Mexico. It was founded in 1873 when Don Cenobio Sauza started La Perseverancia distillery. Sauza Tequila Import Company is owned by Beam Suntory, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Their products include Sauza, Conmemorativo, Hornitos and Tres Generaciones.
Nelson's Green Brier Distillery is a whiskey distillery located in downtown Nashville, Tennessee that produces different varieties of Tennessee whiskey and bourbons. The distillery offers daily public tours and tastings as well as a large mercantile shop with bottles, barware and apparel available for purchase. In July 2023, Nelson's Green Brier Distillery opened a newly renovated distillery restaurant and full-service bar at their 1414 Clinton St. Nashville, TN 37203 location. The same facility also now offers four new private event and dining spaces available to rent for corporate functions, weddings and celebrations of varying sizes.
Willett Distillery Ltd, is a private, family-owned-and-operated company that produces bourbon and rye whiskey. Over the years, the company has bottled whiskeys that range from two years of aging maturity up to 28 years. The company was named Kentucky Bourbon Distillers (KBD) between 1984 and 2012.
Benjamin Prichard's Tennessee Whiskey is a brand of Tennessee whiskey produced in the small community of Kelso, Tennessee in the United States. Although it is produced by one of only two distilleries operating in Lincoln County – and its unaged variation is named Lincoln County Lightning – Prichard's is not produced using the Lincoln County Process. Due to a special grandfathering exemption under a Tennessee law enacted in 2013, the Prichard's distillery in Kelso is the only producer allowed to label its product as "Tennessee Whiskey" without using this process. Prichard's whiskey is produced entirely using pot stills rather than column stills.
The Chattanooga Whiskey Company is a producer of bourbon whiskey and "Tennessee High Malt" bourbon whiskey, located in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The company was founded by Tim Piersant and Joe Ledbetter. The brand was launched in April 2012, and the company simultaneously announced its intention to help change local distilling laws. The launch met with some initial criticism, primarily due to where the product was made, but Hamilton County laws prohibited the manufacture of "intoxicating liquors" at the time. Local public awareness eventually became a catalyst in galvanizing support to change Prohibition-era distilling laws. In March 2015, the company opened the first legal distillery in Chattanooga since Prohibition. The first experimental whiskey, "Batch 001: Tennessee High Malt", was released in August 2017.
Manatawny Still Works is a maker of American whiskey, rum, and gin. It is produced in Pottstown, Pennsylvania along the bank of the Manatawny Creek.
Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey is a brand of Tennessee whiskey produced by Uncle Nearest, Inc., headquartered in Shelbyville, Tennessee, United States. The whiskey is named after the formerly enslaved man, Nathan "Nearest" Green, who taught a young Jack Daniel the craft of distilling.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to whisky: