National Bourbon Day

Decatur Wine & Spirits / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)

June 14th is National Bourbon Day in the United States.

Bourbon is an American whiskey whose name originally derived from France's Bourbon dynasty. The whiskey itself has been around since the 18th century, though the name "bourbon" was not given to it until the mid-19th century. It's not known who originally created bourbon, though it is often credited to an Elijah Craig. There are a range of other sources given.

Bourbon is generally a drink with a protected origin and most agreements state that it must be made in the United States, and it is strongly associated with the American South and Kentucky. The way in which bourbon is made is similar to the ways used in Europe to distil similar drinks for centuries. Bourbon is a corn whiskey and sour mash is an important part of the process.