Tag: terroir

Kentucky's limestone story is the most repeated water claim in whisky, and most of it is true — limestone groundwater is low in iron and carries the calcium and magnesium that fermentation yeast needs. What the story leaves out is that the same distilleries strip those minerals back out before the water ever touches finished whiskey. Limestone water is mash water. Proofing water is the opposite specification.

Almost every historic distillery sits next to a named spring, well, or river. That water is real heritage — but the modern science of what survives distillation tells a more surprising story about where a whisky's character actually comes from.