A brief history. Whiskey made in Kentucky was sold by the barrel and transported downriver to New Orleans where it was distributed. While not an exclusive market, it was reportedly the largest and most lucrative. The barrels of Kentucky Whiskey also had the county of origin marked on the barrel head. One Kentucky county that was a major producer became the most popular and buyers began to order whiskey by that county's name... Bourbon County, or simply Bourbon. Eventually all Kentucky whiskies adopted the name Bourbon.
Making Bourbon is not like baking a cake. Sure each distiller has their own recipe, but the end product is a combination of variables that can't be duplicated elsewhere. Even within the same company, each barrel is unique from the next because of the aging process. The design of the warehouse it's aging in, The location in the warehouse, the composition of the wood each barrel is made from, how the barrels are charred, relative humidity, temperatures, and on and on... all combine to make each distillery's offerings unique products. All the raw materials to make the whiskey are locally sourced. The limestone bedrock under the state's soil give the water used, certain characteristics not found outside the state. Same with the corn, and the trees the barrels are made from.
The real uniqueness of bourbons, outside of the natural resources used is the Master Distillers. Each Master Distiller knows how to blend the barrels from his different warehouses to get the consistent product he sells. That is an acquired skill and talent that is handed down and kept a guarded secret along with the recipes. It's a moving target due to irregularities in the variables. It is part science, part art and the Master Distiller is the only one who knows all the various parts and how they fit together.
So Bourbon was and still is a product that can only truly be made IN Kentucky. That's not to say some fine whisky isn't made by many others in many places, it's just not Bourbon Whisky. Like women, pretty ones come with all different colors of hair.
