How Bourbon Got Its Name

The origins of bourbon whiskey are shrouded in mystery and interlaced with fable. Even the name for this corn-based whiskey has several origin stories that include a Kentucky county, a famously debaucherous thoroughfare in New Orleans, and merchants with savvy marketing skills. While bourbon's origins are intimately tied up with Kentucky, the bourbon capital of the world, this very American product is surprisingly named after French royalty. Historians have no doubt that bourbon was named after the House of Bourbon, a long line of European monarchs who ruled France from 1589 to 1792 (and again for short periods in the 1800s).

Both Bourbon County, Kentucky, and Bourbon Street, in New Orleans, are named after this royal family. But from there the trail of this whiskey's name gets murkier. Bourbon County is one contender for the name's origin. In 1785, Virginia created the county and named it in honor of the House of Bourbon for France's King Louis XVI's help in the American Revolution. After Kentucky split off from Virginia in 1792, Bourbon County came with it. This agriculturally rich area eventually became known for its whiskey production. Corn was a major crop and the local whiskey's main ingredient. Even today, by law, bourbon must include at least 51% corn in its mash bill, the combination of grains used to make whiskey, among other stipulations.

According to legend, Bourbon County, Kentucky's whiskey made its way down to New Orleans where it became so popular that customers began asking for "Bourbon County whiskey" by name, which was eventually shortened to bourbon. Similarly, some believe Bourbon Street lent its name when visitors to New Orleans who tried the Kentucky whiskey on Bourbon Street began asking for "Bourbon Street whiskey." 

Although both these versions have a more romantic tinge, the most likely explanation comes down to advertising. Even before there was bourbon whiskey, merchants had begun affixing the name "Bourbon" on other things, like sugar and coffee, in hopes that the famous royal family's name would impart a bit of class to the product. In the case of bourbon whiskey, using the French royal family's name would have been a good marketing ploy for New Orlean's large French population. By the 1820s, advertisements for bourbon whiskey began appearing in newspapers, solidifying the name of bourbon for Kentucky whiskey. So make yourself the best old-fashioned you've ever had and raise a glass to the House of Bourbon, New Orleans' Bourbon Street imbibers, smart marketing, or the forgotten person responsible for choosing the name bourbon.