Tennessee Whiskey: The Lincoln County Process and Its Exception

Tennessee wrote maple charcoal into its whiskey law in 2013, with an exception for a distillery that did not use it. The statute sets seven production requirements, including charcoal filtration before ageing, but contains a clause written to accommodate Prichard's Distillery. In 2015, Tennessee's Attorney General concluded that the exception was unconstitutional. An unofficial Code reproduction dated 2 January 2024 still includes it. That tension sits at the heart of the Lincoln County Process and the name it helps define. [1][3]

What the Lincoln County Process means

Maple charcoal filtration comes before ageing, subject to the Prichard's exception. That is the essential point of the Lincoln County Process, which Tennessee's Attorney General described as designed to distinguish Tennessee whiskey from bourbon. The statute requires the spirit to be “filtered through maple charcoal prior to aging”. It concerns treatment before maturation, not filtration of finished whiskey before bottling. [1]

The seven conditions reproduced in the Attorney General's opinion specify maple charcoal and its place in the production sequence. They prescribe no charcoal bed depth, filtration temperature or duration. Those details should not be presented as universal requirements of Tennessee whiskey. [1]

George Dickel offers a producer example. Diageo describes its Bottled in Bond Tennessee Whisky as “Distilled and charcoal mellowed at Cascade Hollow Distillery”. That describes how this whiskey is made; it does not supply a separate category definition. The spelling also illustrates why both “Tennessee Whiskey” and “Tennessee Whisky” appear in the statute. [1][6]

For the wider relationship between grain, distillation and maturation, start with the American whiskey guide. Here, the story turns on what Tennessee requires and why one distillery was excused from the charcoal step.

The seven Tennessee whiskey requirements

The Tennessee name carries obligations well beyond the front label. Tennessee Code section 57-2-106 covers liquor “advertised, described, labeled, named, sold or referred to” as Tennessee Whiskey, Tennessee Whisky, Tennessee Sour Mash Whiskey or Tennessee Sour Mash Whisky. Its seven conditions govern all those descriptions, not just one preferred spelling on a bottle. [1]

The table summarises subsection (a), as reproduced in the Attorney General's 2015 opinion and FindLaw's Code text dated 2 January 2024. These are Tennessee's state requirements; the charcoal exception is explained below. [1][3]

The conditions work together, subject to the charcoal exception. Making whiskey in Tennessee is not enough on its own, and charcoal filtration does not replace the grain, barrel or strength requirements. For the qualifying distillery, the exception removes only the fifth condition. The other six remain. [1]

The definition also has teeth. Under subsection (b), a manufacturer breaching the section risks suspension or revocation of its licence for at least one year. The law is a production and naming restriction with licensing consequences, not merely an industry convention. [3]

The Prichard's exception

Prichard's is identified by dates, not by name. Subsection (c) describes a distillery through two historical windows: a county referendum authorising manufacture after 1 January 1979 and before 1 January 1980, and a first state alcoholic beverage commission licence after 1 January 2000 and before 1 January 2001. A distillery meeting those conditions is excused from the maple charcoal requirement. [1]

The Attorney General explained the purpose plainly: the clause was enacted to let Prichard's Distillery continue using “Tennessee Whiskey” despite not using the Lincoln County Process. The Tennessee name therefore does not mean that every whiskey bearing it has undergone charcoal mellowing. [1]

This is no broad exemption for small producers, traditional methods or distilleries already in business. The criteria are those particular referendum and licensing dates. The Attorney General expressly rejected the suggestion that the clause created “grandfather rights”, observing that it did not even address distilleries already selling products labelled Tennessee Whiskey. [1]

Story box: one distillery, two date windows

What the Attorney General decided

Issued on 18 March 2015, Opinion No. 15-23 was signed by Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III and requested by State Representative Bill Sanderson. It found that subsection (c) constituted “impermissible discrimination” under the Fourteenth Amendment and “impermissible class legislation” under article XI, section 8 of the Tennessee Constitution. [1]

The reasoning exposed the central contradiction. If charcoal filtration was intended to distinguish Tennessee whiskey from bourbon, why excuse one distillery because of referendum and licensing dates? The opinion found “no discernable reason” for distinguishing that distillery from other existing distilleries on those grounds. [1]

That was an Attorney General's opinion, not a court ruling. FindLaw's reproduction, marked current as of 2 January 2024 and checked in November 2026, still contains subsection (c). [1][3]

A separate transitional provision dealt with existing stock. Subsection (d) allowed distillers licensed in Tennessee on 1 January 2013 to sell stock they owned or had contracted for during a period of 36 months beginning on 1 July 2013. It also says that product made after 1 July 2013 must meet subsection (a). This temporary stock provision served a different purpose from the date-based charcoal exemption. The two should not be confused. [3]

How Tennessee whiskey relates to bourbon

Bourbon provides much of Tennessee whiskey's statutory foundation. The Attorney General stated that most of Tennessee's requirements were based on the bourbon standards of identity, identifying maple charcoal filtration as the distinctive fifth condition. These are closely connected kinds of spirit, not unrelated categories. [1]

That shared foundation does not make Tennessee's own conditions optional. The state provision adds manufacturing and maturation geography, alongside the charcoal treatment and its exception. Understanding the relationship means keeping both parts in view: the bourbon standards behind much of the framework, and the additional requirements attached to the Tennessee name. [1]

For the complete category definition, read the bourbon guide. “Straight” raises a separate question about whiskey terminology, covered in what makes a whiskey straight. It does not replace the need to examine Tennessee's requirements.

Reading the name without overreading it

Read the category name and the producer's process description as two different kinds of information. “Tennessee Whiskey” points to the state requirements set out here. A producer's account of charcoal mellowing can then explain more about how its whiskey is made. Prichard's is the reason the name alone cannot sustain an absolute claim that every example receives maple charcoal filtration. [1][6]

Keep “sour mash” separate from charcoal too. Tennessee Sour Mash Whiskey and Tennessee Sour Mash Whisky are expressly among the descriptions regulated by the statute, but those words do not introduce a different charcoal requirement within this section. The production method behind the terminology is explained in the sour mash guide. [1]

When reading a bottle or comparing accounts, distinguish what each claim tells you: the Tennessee name invokes the category rules, the producer describes its particular method, and the Prichard's clause supplies the specific exception to charcoal filtration. [1][6]

Where to go next

• American Whiskey: The Complete Guide: place Tennessee whiskey within the wider American whiskey family.
• Bourbon: The Complete Guide: explore the category underlying much of Tennessee's statutory framework.
• Sour Mash: What It Is and What It Does: separate sour mash terminology from charcoal mellowing.

Sources

[1] Office of the Attorney General and Reporter, State of Tennessee. Opinion No. 15-23, Tennessee Whiskey, 18 March 2015.
https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/attorneygeneral/documents/ops/2015/op15-23.pdf

[3] FindLaw, Thomson Reuters. Tennessee Code Title 57, section 57-2-106, unofficial reproduction, current as of 2 January 2024.
https://codes.findlaw.com/tn/title-57-intoxicating-liquors/tn-code-sect-57-2-106/

[6] Diageo, Cascade Hollow Distilling Co. George Dickel Bottled in Bond Tennessee Whisky, undated producer account, edition recorded in November 2026.
https://www.thebar.com/en-us/products/george-dickel-bottled-in-bond-tennessee-whisky-750-ml

This desk-researched article uses the supplied verified fact sheet, distinguishing the Attorney General's opinion, the unofficial Code reproduction and the producer's account.

Last checked: November 2026