The Trade & Environment Database (TED)((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.))
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 GIANT
case studies.
4. Author and Date: Suzan Herzeg, Bryan Rund and Jim Lee
II. 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: Substate
III. 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.asp
11/2003
