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 Kelso is an unincorporated community in Lincoln County, Tennessee, United States. Kelso is located along U.S. Route 64 east-southeast of Fayetteville. Kelso has a post office with ZIP code 37348. The community is home to the original Benjamin ...

in the United States. Although it is produced by one of only two

distilleries Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heating ...

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

. Due to a special

grandfathering A grandfather clause, also known as grandfather policy, grandfathering, or grandfathered in, is a provision in which an old rule continues to apply to some existing situations while a new rule will apply to all future cases. Those exempt from t ...

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 eff ...

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% ABV). Description The first column (called the analyzer) in a column s ...

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

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, 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 second 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 ...

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

, on the grounds of the

Fontanel mansion The Fontanel Mansion is a large log home in Nashville, Tennessee, on 186 acres of property that also contains public walking trails, a bed and breakfast inn called The Inn, the Carl Black Chevy Woods Amphitheater, Adventureworks Ziplines, the Natch ...

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 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 music artist ...

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

zip line A zip-line, zip line, zip-wire, flying fox, or death slide is a pulley suspended on a cable, usually made of stainless steel, mounted on a slope. It is designed to enable cargo or a person propelled by gravity to travel from the top to the bott ...

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 sma ...

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

molasses Molasses () is a viscous substance resulting from refining sugarcane or sugar beets into sugar. Molasses varies in the amount of sugar, method of extraction and age of the plant. Sugarcane molasses is primarily used to sweeten and flavour foods ...

sourced from

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

Whiskeys

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

ABV Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...

/80 U.S. proof): This product is made from white corn instead of the

yellow corn Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

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 Bourbon may refer to: Food and drink * Bourbon whiskey, an American whiskey made using a corn-based mash * Bourbon barrel aged beer, a type of beer aged in bourbon barrels * Bourbon biscuit, a chocolate sandwich biscuit * A beer produced by Bras ...

was given a score of 92 and described by whiskey-writer Jim Murray as "a classy effortless delivery…" in his 2009 ''

Whisky Bible Jim Murray (born 13 November 1957) is an English writer journalist, and a well known whisky critic. He is best known for his observations on whisky and his annually updated book on the subject, ''Jim Murray's Whisky Bible''. Life Murray was bor ...

''. 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 germinated cereal grain that has been dried in a process known as " malting". The grain is made to germinate by soaking in water and is then halted from germinating further by drying with hot air. Malted grain is used to make beer, wh ...

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

moonshine Moonshine is high-proof liquor that is usually produced illegally. The name was derived from a tradition of creating the alcohol during the nighttime, thereby avoiding detection. In the first decades of the 21st century, commercial dist ...

" 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–based Southern Prog ...

'' 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. Iced tea is also a popular packaged drink that can be ...

. * 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 ('' C. hystrix'' × '' C. medica'') native to tropical Southeast Asia. It has a spherical fruit, in diameter. The Key lime is usually picked ...

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'' magazine is an American wine magazine published by Wine Enthusiast Companies in Valhalla, New York. Founded in 1979 by Adam and Sybil Strum, Wine Enthusiast Companies engages in the wine accessories, storage, information, educat ...

'' 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 Mexican species, flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). Pollination is required to make the p ...

, 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, breakfa ...

, 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 state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

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 A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...

to create a

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 cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec civ ...

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