My preference is for TN whisky...better known as 'shine'...not the everclear stuff, but the true TN corn whisky, the rich amber colour (color) which was made in our neighborhood (neighbourhood)..and it was made with care, carefully avoiding the feds...bought in mason jars. This is the true 'sippin' whisky..but the first sip will have you wondering IF or WHEN you will be able to breathe again. A small glass of it lasts a long time, and you best figure on not driving again. It has a sweet taste and smell..it is smooth, and the amber colour stands next to the finest whiskies and single malt scotches and blends right in. These are the ones aged in oak barrels, made from old family recipes. This isn't the shine made in new stills, where someone used lead in welding which leaches out into the shine, then the results put in a mason jar and you have what looks like clear water... In the one post, mention was made of the shortening of words in America..so I couldn't resist above.. But on the above whisky...sitting on a big front porch overlooking the river, SIPPING a bit of corn (knowing that when I arise from the chair my feet will be 6 feet away (I am 5'2:") as I look down...and I moved slowly to the steps, and definitely use the handrail going down the steps to see the flowers...I figure that batch was close to 180 proof..and glad I don't have to drive. That was on an ounce and a half, sipped over an hour's time. It does have a sweet, light fragrant to it..and the kick of Paul Bunyan's Blue MULE (he also had the famed Babe the Blue Ox).. That was my intro to Tennessee sippin' whisky. I really hope the art of making true Mountain 'shine, the good stuff, is not lost. We all know it is illegal..and badly and cheaply made shine can be deadly..but the properly made is an art and a tradition of the Scotch-Irish in the Smokies. Donna..who is just finishing her first cup of coffee...and reminiscing about that afternoon about 15 years ago... BTW, I did NOT have a hangover the next day..