Tennessee Whiskey
I. Identification
1. The Issue Tennessee Whiskey is protected under NAFTA and under WTO disciplines on the protection of geographic indications related to wines and spirits. It has a long history. 2. Description The method of making Tennessee Whiskey is similar to that of making Bourbon. Only pure spring water is used. It involves the sour mash fermentation process. The filtering is a charcoal mellowing process known as the “Lincoln County Process.” This involves “slowly dripping the newly made whiskey through giant containers hard-packed with 10 feet of sugar maple charcoal (it must be charcoal). The process takes ten days, and during this time the whiskey absorbs the essence of the charcoal, refining the spirit and giving it a unique flavor and aroma.” The liquid is then poured into white oak barrels (that have been charred on the inside) for aging. This gives the whiskey its smoky flavor and caramel color. 3. Related Cases See other TED cases on geographic indications and related trademark issues at the project on Geographic Indications and International Trade (GIANT) project. Click here to access GIANTcase studies. 4. Author and Date: Suzan Herzeg, Bryan Rund and Jim LeeII. Legal Clusters
5. Discourse and Status: Agreement and In Progress 6. Forum and Scope: US and Multilateral 7. Decision Breadth: NAFTA (3) 8. Legal Standing: SubstateIII. Geographic Clusters
9. Geographic Locations a. Geographic Domain: North America b. Geographic Site: Eastern North America c. Geographic Impact: USA 10. Sub-National Factors: 11. Type of Habitat: Temperate
IV. Trade Clusters
12. Type of Measure: Import Ban
13. Direct v. Indirect Impacts: Indirect
14. Relation of Trade Measure to Environmental Impact
a. Directly Related to Product: Yes, Spirits
b. Indirectly Related to Product: No
c. Not Related to Product: No
d. Related to Process: Yes, Culture
15. Trade Product Identification: Kentucky Bourbon
16. Economic Data
17. Impact of Trade Restriction: Ban
18. Industry Sector: Food (and Drink)
19. Exporters and Importers: US and many
V. Environment Clusters
20. Environmental Problem Type: Culture
21. Name, Type, and Diversity of Species: NA
22. Resource Impact and Effect: High and Regulation
23. Urgency and Lifetime: High and 100s of years
24. Substitutes: Like Products
VI. Other Factors
25. Culture: Yes
26. Trans-Boundary Issues: No
27. Rights: Yes
28. Relevant Literature
The Story of Jack Daniel – http://www.vic.com/tnchron/class/JD.htm, Jack Daniels
– http://www.jackdaniels.com/allfacts.asp11/2003
Site Author, David J. Curtis: David Curtis, a seasoned professional with decades of bartending and bar management experience began his career in Midtown Manhattan, NY, tending and managing bars before diving into Manhattan’s bustling nightlife club scene. Over the years, he has mastered high-volume, high-pressure bartending as the lead bartender in iconic Midtown clubs and tended bar briefly in the Wall Street area, generating over $1,350,000.00 annually in personal drink sales. He has since extended his expertise to establishments in Georgia and now Tampa in Exclusive Platinum Service Awards Clubs, Florida. David’s roles as a Bartending Instructor at the American Bartending School in Tampa, while maintaining a second job bartending, and his years experience of managing bars, and working as a Brand Ambassador along with his extensive professional library of over 1,000 bartending books, highlight his dedication to continually refining his craft. He holds a diploma in Bar Management and is BarSmarts certified by Pernod Ricard.
Footnotes 👇
- This is a TED (The Trade & Environment Database) article written by scholars, deleted from the university website and ported over here by me. There are at least a few hundred articles that were part of that database. I only took the ones related to alcohol and a few more such as Tabasco Sauce.[↩]
