Stop 1: America's Spirit

Kentuckians have been distilling whisky since 1776, the very year our country was founded. Early Times was first distilled in 1860 and has been enjoyed ever since. Even during Prohibition, when it was sold legally as a medicinal whisky!

Stop 2: The Early Times Recipe

Early Times is crafted from a traditional whisky mashbill, or recipe, of corn, rye and malted barley. Rye adds a spicy, lively character to whisky. Corn adds sweetness. Malted barley gives it a malty, cocoa, cereal taste. The Early Times mashbill contains more rye than many other whisky recipes.

Stop 3: Mashing

After grinding, the corn is cooked with water and set-back, which is leftover ingredients from previous batches of Early Times. This process is called mashing. It's what makes Early Times a sour mash whisky. Every whisky made in Kentucky uses a sour mash process.

Stop 4: Limestone Water

Whisky must be made with iron-free water. Kentucky is famous for its limestone water which is mineral rich, yet removes iron from water. The Early Times distillery uses purified limestone water which allows the character of the grain recipe and flavors to shine through.

Stop 5: Proprietary Yeast

Early Times uses a proprietary strain of yeast to ferment its sour mash and convert its natural sugars into alcohol. Our unique yeast strain produces a very clean spirit that has hints of citrus and ripe apple fruit notes. These combine with the spice notes derived from the rye grain to create a wide range of pleasing flavors.

Stop 6: Distiller's Beer

The fermented grain mash, or "Distiller's Beer," must be distilled to separate the spirit from the "beer." During distillation, the "beer" is exposed to steam heat in a still which vaporizes the spirit from the grain solids, water and yeast. Then the vapor is redistilled and condensed as a new whisky. The new whisky is then pumped into a cistern room where it is reduced to a designated proof and prepared for barreling.

Stop 7: The Still

The shape, style and even the material a still is made of also affect the flavor. Early Times Distillery uses a column still and thumper to craft its new whisky. This process removes any remaining solid grains, water and yeast. These leftover ingredients become the mash, or set-back, which is used to "sour" the next batch.

Stop 8: The Barrel

Only charred American white oak barrels are used to mature Early Times. In fact, Brown-Forman is the only bourbon making company in the world that makes its own barrels in order to control the quality of its whisky. Each barrel is toasted and charred so the new whisky can develop an even greater range of taste, aroma and characteristics. The toasting process sets up the rich vanilla flavor found in Early Times, while the charring process caramelizes the white oak's natural wood sugars into a layer of flavor we call "red layer."

Stop 9: Maturation

Maturation will contribute wood and sweet characteristics to the whisky as well as ripening fruit notes and mellowing any rough elements. Barrels of new whisky are stored in warehouses to "mature," not to "age." Age is important only insofar as how long it takes the whisky to mature. Cycling, which is the expansion and contraction of the whisky into and out of the "red layer" behind the char in the barrel, brings about maturation. Raise the temperature and the whisky expands, lower it and the whisky contracts. This is one cycle.

Stop 10: The Warehouse

What the warehouse is made of, where it is located and how it is ventilated also impact the flavor of the whisky. Unheated warehouses can seldom count on experiencing more than one maturation cycle per year. However, Early Times is matured in brick warehouses equipped with temperature controls by which we create our own weather. This allows Early Times to experience as many cycles per year as is necessary. This could mean as many as 4-5 cycles per year as compared to only one for most whiskies. The final product's taste ultimately depends on the maturation period. "Age" is no criterion for quality or taste. In Early Times you will find a more fully matured whisky - richer and smoother in taste.

Stop 11: The Peak of Perfection

At Early Times we constantly work toward this goal - "the peak of perfection" - in every step as we craft our whisky. Our unique grain recipe with its greater-than-average rye content, use of pure water to cook our grains, proprietary yeast fermentation, batch distillation and consistently controlled maturation in company-crafted barrels all contribute their part. These assure you that Early Times will always have that same smooth flavor that has made it a favorite of whisky drinkers over the years.