Bourbon, Straight Bourbon & Bourbon Mash Whiskey — Why We Chose the Road Less Traveled
- Daniel Ford
- Jul 21
- 2 min read
At Dragon’s Mouth Distillery, we love a good tradition. But we love breaking it even more—especially when it leads to something unforgettable.
That’s why our newest fall release, The Judge, proudly carries the label Bourbon Mash Whiskey—a name that raises eyebrows and invites questions. To answer them, we’re diving into the three legal types of bourbon and explaining why we deliberately chose this lesser-known path.
First, What Makes Bourbon… Bourbon?
Before we talk about why we chose something not quite bourbon, let’s break down the three key categories recognized by U.S. labeling laws:
1. Bourbon Whiskey
The Baseline
To wear the name “bourbon,” a spirit must meet strict legal criteria:
Made in the U.S.
At least 51% corn
Distilled to no more than 160 proof
Aged in new, charred oak barrels
Barreled at no more than 125 proof
Bottled at 80 proof or higher
There’s no minimum aging requirement—so technically, even a few months in oak qualifies. This is your basic legal bourbon.
2. Straight Bourbon Whiskey
The Standard of Maturity
To qualify as “straight,” bourbon must:
Meet all the above rules
Be aged at least 2 years
Contain no added flavors or colors
Disclose the age if under 4 years
This is what most people picture when they think of “real” bourbon—well-aged, unaltered, and oaky.
3. Bourbon Mash Whiskey
The Rebel Label
Here’s where things get interesting.
Bourbon Mash Whiskey is made with a bourbon-legal recipe (corn-forward mash bill, same distillation process), but doesn’t qualify as bourbon because of how it’s aged.
The most common reason? It’s not aged in new, charred oak barrels—it might be rested in used barrels, finished in wine casks, or stored in a way that bends tradition.
It’s bourbon in spirit, but not by the letter of the law.
So Why Did We Choose Bourbon Mash Whiskey?
Because rules are for the faint of flavor.
We wanted to explore what bourbon could be without being limited by what bourbon must be.
Our fall release, The Judge, starts with a classic bourbon mash bill—corn-rich, bold, and full of body. But instead of new charred oak, we finished it in hand-selected used barrels that had already carried serious flavor: smoke, spice, sweetness, and depth.
The result is a whiskey that drinks like bourbon, but with a signature twist: softer tannins, richer mid-palate, and unexpected finish notes that would never emerge from new oak alone.
The Judge: Bourbon Mash Whiskey. Judgment Reserved.
Launching this October, The Judge isn’t bound by tradition—it’s guided by judgment. Your judgment.
It’s not here to prove it belongs in the bourbon category. It’s here to make its own case. And when you sip it, you’ll understand why we didn’t just chase the label—we chased the experience.
In Summary: Why We Made The Judge
The Judge lives in that third category. Not to sidestep tradition—but to prove that flavor, not formality, is what earns your respect.
This October, The Judge arrives.
Verdict? Yours to make.
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