CA, MG, AND FE CONCENTRATIONS IN SURFACE WATERS NEAR EARLY INDUSTRIAL DISTILLERY LOCATIONS IN TENNESSEE AND KENTUCKY

Kentucky and Tennessee have been the primary whiskey producing regions in the United States for over 200 years. The specific locations of Kentucky and Tennessee whiskey distilleries in the early-industrial era appear to be the result of the geochemistry of available natural waters, stratigraphy, geomorphology, and average ambient temperatures. Early-industrial distilleries are located near first-order streams where groundwater surfaces. Groundwater sources are derived from carbonate bedrock and have Ca, Mg, and Fe concentrations that are attributed to superior tasting whiskey. Water samples were collected from these sites and were analyzed for Ca, Mg, and Fe concentrations using ICP-MS. Samples from Kentucky have Ca concentration % that ranged from 65% - 93%, Mg concentration % ranged from 6% - 34% and Fe concentration % ranged from 0.05% - 0.3%. Samples from Tennessee had Ca concentration % ranging from 82% - 94%, Mg concentration % ranging 5% - 17%, and Fe concentration % ranging from 0.01% - 0.4 %. This data suggest that a few locations in rural Kentucky and Tennessee had ideal conditions related the physical environment and water chemistry resulting in the production of better tasting whiskey made from corn.