Benjamin Prichard's Tennessee Whiskey is a brand of

Tennessee 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 ...

produced in the small community of Kelso, Tennessee in the United States. Although it is produced by one of only two

distilleries Distillation, also classical distillation, is the process of separating the component substances of a liquid mixture of two or more chemically discrete substances; the separation process is realized by way of the selective boiling of the mixt ...

operating in Lincoln County – and its unaged variation is named Lincoln County Lightning – Prichard's is not produced using the

Lincoln County Process 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, w ...

. Under 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 still A pot still is a type of distillation apparatus or still used to distill liquors such as whisky or brandy. In modern (post-1850s) practice, they are not used to produce rectified spirit, because they do not separate congeners from ethanol as ...

s rather than

column still A column still, also called a continuous still, patent still or Coffey still, is a variety of still consisting of two columns. Column stills can produce rectified spirit (95% alcohol by volume, ABV). Description The first column (called the ana ...

s. The Prichard's Distillery company opened the Kelso distillery in 1997 and opened a second location in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, in 2014.

History

The whiskey brand and distillery were founded by Phil Prichard, who is now the company's master distiller. He named it after his ancestor Benjamin Prichard, who operated a distillery in

Davidson County, Tennessee Davidson County is a county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is located in the heart of Middle Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 715,884, making it the 2nd most populous county in Tennessee. Its county seat is Nashville, ...

, in the early 1800s, who bequeathed his distilling equipment to his son after his death in 1822. The first Prichard's Distillery location was opened in an old schoolhouse in Kelso in 1997, making it the first new legal distillery to open in the state since the repeal of

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

. A second Prichard's distillery opened in May 2014 in

, on the grounds of the Fontanel mansion in Whites Creek neighborhood. Both sites have distillery tours. The Fontanel site was owned by country music singer

Barbara Mandrell Barbara Ann Mandrell (born December 25, 1948) is an American retired country music singer and musician. She is also credited as an actress and author. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, she was considered among country's most successful mus ...

from 1987 to 2002, and since 2010, it has been a tourist attraction, including a winery,

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s, hiking, an amphitheater with live concerts, lodging, dining, shopping, and a tour of the Mandrell mansion, one of the largest

log home A log house, or log building, is a structure built with horizontal logs interlocked at the corners by notching. Logs may be round, squared or hewn to other shapes, either handcrafted or milled. The term "log cabin" generally refers to a smal ...

s in the world. Prichard's Nashville location closed in 2021. Prichard's rums come from American

molasses Molasses () is a viscous byproduct, principally obtained from the refining of sugarcane or sugar beet juice into sugar. Molasses varies in the amount of sugar, the method of extraction, and the age of the plant. Sugarcane molasses is usuall ...

sourced from

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

Whiskeys

As of 2018, the Prichard's line of whiskeys includes: * Prichard's Tennessee Whiskey (40%

ABV Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest of the solution, ...

/80 U.S. proof): This product is made from white corn instead of the yellow corn used for most Tennessee whiskeys. It doesn't use the Lincoln County Process that is normally required to qualify as Tennessee whiskey and is the only Tennessee whiskey that isn't required to meet this legal requirement. * Prichard's Double Barreled Bourbon Whiskey (45% ABV/90 proof): This bourbon was given a score of 92 and described by whiskey-writer Jim Murray as "a classy effortless delivery…" in his 2009 '' Whisky Bible''. It uses a re-barreling process that involves cutting down the proof level after 9 years of aging and then putting the spirit into new charred oak barrels again. * Prichard's Double Chocolate Flavored Whiskey (45% ABV/90 proof): This flavored whiskey blends bourbon with artisan chocolate. It is the result of a collaboration between Prichard's and the Olive and Sinclair Chocolate Company. * Prichard's Rye Whiskey (43% ABV/86 proof): This product was named one of the five best value rye whiskies by ''Gayot'' in 2014. * Prichard's Tennessee Malt Whiskey (40% ABV/80 proof): This product is a

malt Malt is any cereal grain that has been made to germinate by soaking in water and then stopped from germinating further by drying with hot air, a process known as "malting". Malted grain is used to make beer, whisky, malted milk, malt vinegar, ...

(barley-based) whiskey. * Prichard's Lincoln County Lightning Corn Whiskey (45% ABV/90 proof): This "

moonshine Moonshine is alcohol proof, high-proof liquor, traditionally made or distributed alcohol law, illegally. The name was derived from a tradition of distilling the alcohol (drug), alcohol at night to avoid detection. In the first decades of the ...

" is made from white corn and bottled straight from the still. ''

Southern Living ''Southern Living'' is a lifestyle magazine aimed at readers in the Southern United States featuring recipes, house plans, garden plans, and information about Southern culture and travel. It is published by Birmingham, Alabama Alabama ...

'' said it has "an agave-like aroma" and "a salty, grassy taste."

Other spirits

The current line of rums and liqueurs made at the Prichard's distilleries includes:

Rums

* Prichard's Fine Aged Rum (40% ABV/80 proof): This rum is made with

and aged at least three years in handmade, charred white oak casks. * Prichard's Crystal Rum (40% ABV/80 proof): This blend is distilled five times. * Prichard's Sweet Georgia Belle Peach Mango Rum (35% ABV/70 proof): Natural peach and mango infusions give this rum a summer fruit flavor for cocktails and

iced tea Iced tea (or ice tea) is a form of cold tea. Though it is usually served in a glass with ice, it can refer to any tea that has been chilled or cooled. It may be sweetened with sugar or syrup, or remain unsweetened. Iced tea is also a popular pac ...

. * Prichard's Key Lime Rum (35% ABV/70 proof):

Key lime The Key lime or acid lime (''Citrus'' × ''aurantiifolia'' or ''C. aurantifolia'') is a citrus hybrid (''kaffir lime, C. hystrix'' × ''citron, C. medica'') native to tropical Southeast Asia. It has a spherical fruit, in diameter. The Key lime ...

s add citrus flavor to this tropical rum. * Prichard's Cranberry Rum (35% ABV/70 proof): This is a cranberry-infused rum, and the producer suggests serving it with limes. * Prichard's Private Stock Aged Rum (45% ABV/90 proof): A limited offering that is ultra-aged for ten years in charred oak barrels to deepen the flavor, this rum is only available at the two Prichard's distilleries. ''

Wine Enthusiast Wine Enthusiast Companies is a New York based company that engages in the wine, e-commerce, information, education, events, media, and travel markets.Covel, Simona, ''The Wall Street Journal'' (October 2, 2008)Wine Enthusiast Looks to Win Over ...

'' described it as "Weighty, rich and toffee-like, it's rum with gravitas." * Prichard's Spiced Rum (40% ABV/80 proof): With tropical flavors, natural

vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). ''Vanilla'' is not Autogamy, autogamous, so pollination ...

, and

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, biscuits, b ...

, this spicy rum is smooth enough for sipping in addition to being used in frozen cocktails.

Liqueurs

* Prichard's Sweet Lucy Liqueur (35% ABV/70 proof): With a higher ABV than the cream version, the Sweet Lucy recipe comes from a homemade blend of whiskey, peaches, apricots, oranges and sugar that has a long history among hunters and other outdoorsmen. * Prichard's Sweet Lucy Cream Liqueur (17.5% ABV/35 proof): This liqueur is made with a blend of Sweet Lucy and premium

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

cream. * Prichard's Sweet Lucifer Liqueur (35% ABV/70 proof): This is Sweet Lucy infused with spicy

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is an herbaceous perennial that grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of l ...

to create a bourbon liqueur with some spicy heat. * Prichard's Praline Cream Liqueur (17.5% ABV/35 proof): This sweet spirit is made to taste like the nutty caramel flavor of a praline. * Prichard's Fudge Brownie Cream Liqueur (17.5% ABV/35 proof): This dessert liqueur is made to appeal to

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cocoa beans that can be a liquid, solid, or paste, either by itself or to flavoring, flavor other foods. Cocoa beans are the processed seeds of the cacao tree (''Theobroma cacao''); unprocesse ...

lovers.

Awards and accolades

Prichard's Tennessee Whiskey and various other Prichard's spirits have earned awards from the American Distilling Institute and Ultimate Spirits Challenge on several occasions, as listed below. Lincoln County Lightning was rated by ''

'' as the "#2 Legal Moonshine in the U.S." For its rums, Prichard's won gold and silver medals at the International Cane Spirits Festival across a span of several years (2006–2009): Fine Aged Rum (Gold), Crystal Rum (Gold), Peach Mango Rum (Gold and Silver), and Key Lime Rum (Gold). Additionally, the American Distilling Institute gave the distillery's aged rum a silver medal in 2007, and the Ultimate Spirits Challenge recognized the Aged Rum, Crystal Rum, and Private Stock Rum with ratings and recommendations that ranged from good to very good in 2012. In liqueurs, Sweet Lucy received a gold medal from the American Distilling Institute in 2010 and a very good rating and recommendation in the Ultimate Spirits Challenge in 2012.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Prichard's Distillery
official website Bourbon whiskey Products introduced in 1997 Lincoln County, Tennessee Distilleries in Tennessee Tennessee whiskey