Tennessee whiskey is a quality liquor style popular across the US now reaching a wider audience across the globe. The Volunteer State is rightfully proud of their local whiskey and its rich tradition, which includes the Tennessee Whiskey trail of 25 distilleries across Tennessee.

There’s a simple, yet important distinction between Kentucky bourbon and Tennessee whiskey which makes a huge impact on the taste and what goes on the label.

Creating Tennessee Whiskey – like the famed Jack Daniel’s – and bourbon whiskey from elsewhere has the same initial steps. Distilled from at least 51% corn, the spirits are aged in charred oak barrels to develop a rich, smooth flavor. The crucial difference is that Tennessee whiskey is filtered through sugar maple charcoal as part of the Lincoln County Process, which distinguishes Tennessee Whiskey from your average bourbon.

Lincoln County Process is the charcoal filtration method in which fresh whiskey passes through charcoal chips and is then put in oak casks for maturation. For a whiskey to attain the Tennessee label, it must go through the charcoal mellowing stage, in the state of Tennessee.

You’ll find, more often than not, that your Tennessee whiskey will be darker in color than most straight bourbon (unless they’ve been aged in double oak or as a specific type of craft whiskey) and offer a brown sugar sweetness from the sugar maple charcoal in filtration.

The following list of best Tennessee whiskey brands showcases a wide array of spirits from the state. Chances are you’ll know Jack Daniels, but others on this list are equally worthy of the chance to be sipped, splashed, or muddled into cocktails by whiskey enthusiasts everywhere.

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1. Uncle Nearest 1856 Premium Whiskey

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Uncle Nearest 1856 Premium Whiskey is named after legendary African American master distiller Nathan “Nearest” Green (the man who taught Jack Daniel). It’s a high quality craft whiskey produced in Tennessee using a combination of corn and rye, and is put through the Lincoln County Process of charcoal mellowing before being oak barrel aged.