Distillery & TTB terms, in plain English
The vocabulary of distilling and compliance, defined clearly: proof gallons, the angel's share, mashbills, rickhouses, DSPs, excise tax, and more.
Federal reporting, excise, bonds, and the forms that go with them.
Proof Gallon
A proof gallon is one liquid (wine) gallon of spirits at 100 proof (50% alcohol by volume) at 60°F. It is the unit the TTB uses to measure and tax distilled spirits.
Wine Gallon
A wine gallon is a standard liquid gallon (231 cubic inches) measured at 60°F, regardless of the spirit's proof. It is the physical volume, before converting to proof gallons.
Distilled Spirits Plant (DSP)
A Distilled Spirits Plant (DSP) is a facility federally permitted by the TTB to produce, process, or store distilled spirits. Every legal U.S. distillery operates under a DSP permit.
Bonded Warehouse
A bonded warehouse is a storage area where spirits are held under bond, meaning the federal excise tax has not yet been paid. Tax becomes due when spirits are removed from bond.
Federal Excise Tax (Spirits)
The federal excise tax on distilled spirits is a per-proof-gallon tax owed when spirits are removed from bond, reported to the TTB on the semi-monthly excise return (Form 5000.24).
CBMA (Craft Beverage Modernization Act)
The CBMA provides reduced federal excise tax rates on the first tiers of distilled spirits a producer removes each calendar year, lowering the tax burden for craft producers.
Entry Proof
Entry proof (or barrel-entry proof) is the proof at which new-make spirit is filled into the barrel for aging. In the U.S., bourbon must enter the barrel at no more than 125 proof.
COLA (Certificate of Label Approval)
A COLA is the Certificate of Label Approval issued by the TTB that a producer must obtain before bottling and selling most distilled spirits in interstate commerce. It approves the label's text and design.
Storage Operations (TTB)
Storage operations is the TTB category covering spirits held in bond in the warehouse, reported on Form 5110.11. It tracks what goes into, stays in, and leaves bonded storage.
Production Operations (TTB)
Production operations is the TTB category covering the making of spirits, reported on Form 5110.40. It accounts for spirits produced by distillation and their disposition.
Processing Operations (TTB)
Processing operations is the TTB category covering bottling, blending, and other finishing of spirits, reported on Form 5110.28. It accounts for spirits taken from storage and turned into finished products.
Bond (Penal Sum)
A distilled spirits bond is a financial guarantee a DSP files with the TTB covering the excise tax on spirits held in storage or in transit. The penal sum is the maximum dollar amount the bond covers.
Gauging
Gauging is the measurement of the volume and proof of spirits, corrected for temperature, to determine proof gallons. The TTB prescribes gauging procedures and tables in 27 CFR Part 30.
Removals from Bond
A removal from bond is the act of taking spirits out of the bonded premises, most commonly on determination of tax for sale. Removals are what trigger the federal excise tax.
Tax Determination
Tax determination is the point at which the federal excise tax on distilled spirits is fixed, generally when the spirits are removed from bond. The proof gallons at that moment set the tax owed.
Spirits in Transit
Spirits in transit are distilled spirits being transferred in bond between premises, for example from one DSP to another, that have left the origin but not yet arrived and been received at the destination.
Bottled-in-Bond
Bottled-in-bond is a legal designation under the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897 for spirits that are the product of one distillation season and one distiller at one distillery, aged at least four years in a federally bonded warehouse, and bottled at exactly 100 proof.
Age Statement
An age statement is the declaration on a whiskey label of how long it aged, which by U.S. law must reflect the youngest spirit in the bottle. Straight whiskey under four years old must carry one.
From grain and mash to new-make spirit off the still.
Mashbill
A mashbill is the recipe of grains used to make a spirit, expressed as percentages, such as 70% corn, 21% rye, and 9% malted barley for a bourbon.
Distillation
Distillation is the process of heating fermented wash to separate alcohol from water and other compounds by their different boiling points, then condensing the alcohol vapor into a higher-proof spirit.
Fermentation
Fermentation is the stage where yeast converts the sugars in the mash into alcohol and carbon dioxide, producing a low-proof liquid called distiller's beer or wash that is then distilled.
Mash
Mash is the mixture of milled grain and hot water in which starches are converted to fermentable sugars before yeast is added. The grain recipe used is the mashbill.
Sour Mash
Sour mash is a process that uses a portion of spent mash (backset or setback) from a previous distillation to acidify a new mash, ensuring consistent pH and protecting fermentation from contamination.
Yeast
Yeast is the microorganism that ferments the sugars in the mash into alcohol. Distilleries often guard proprietary yeast strains because they shape a spirit's flavor as much as the grain does.
Congeners
Congeners are the flavor and aroma compounds, including esters, acids, aldehydes, and fusel oils, produced during fermentation and distillation. They give a spirit its character beyond pure ethanol.
Pot Still
A pot still is a batch distillation vessel, usually copper, that is filled, heated, and emptied for each run. It produces a heavier, more flavorful distillate and is traditional for single malt whiskey and many craft spirits.
Column Still
A column still (continuous or Coffey still) distills continuously by passing wash down a tall column against rising steam, separating alcohol across multiple plates. It produces high-proof spirit efficiently at scale.
Cuts (Heads, Hearts, and Tails)
Cuts are the points during distillation where the distiller separates the run into heads (early, volatile, harsh), hearts (the clean spirit kept), and tails (late, heavy, oily). The cut decision defines quality and yield.
Foreshots
Foreshots are the very first liquid to come off a still at the start of a run, high in methanol, acetone, and other volatile compounds. They are separated out and not kept in the final spirit.
Feints
Feints (also called tails) are the later, heavier fraction of a distillation run, rich in fusel oils and heavier compounds. They are cut away from the hearts and often redistilled with the next batch.
Fusel Oils
Fusel oils are heavier alcohols produced during fermentation that carry oily, solvent-like flavors. They concentrate in the tails of a distillation run and are largely cut away from the hearts.
Low Wines
Low wines are the low-proof spirit produced by the first distillation of wash, typically around 40 to 60 proof. They are redistilled to raise the proof and refine the spirit.
High Wines
High wines are the higher-proof spirit produced by redistilling low wines. They represent the concentrated alcohol from which the final hearts cut is taken.
Stripping Run
A stripping run is the first distillation in a batch (pot still) process, where alcohol is stripped out of the fermented wash to produce low wines. A second distillation, the spirit run, then concentrates and refines those low wines into the final spirit.
Wash (Distiller's Beer)
The wash, also called distiller's beer, is the fermented liquid that goes into the still. It is the product of fermenting the mash, usually around 8 to 12 percent alcohol, before distillation concentrates it.
Mashing In
Mashing in is the step of combining milled grain with hot water to begin converting starches to fermentable sugars. It is the start of the mash that will later be fermented.
Doubler / Thumper
A doubler (or thumper) is a vessel attached to a column or pot still that performs a second, in-line distillation of the vapor, raising the proof without a separate run. A thumper is a doubler charged with liquid that bubbles, or thumps.
Spirit Safe
A spirit safe is a locked, glass-sided box through which spirit flows off the still, letting the distiller observe and test it (and historically letting tax authorities control it) without direct contact.
Rectification
Rectification is the further refining, redistilling, or blending of distilled spirits after the initial distillation, such as making gin from neutral spirit or blending whiskies. Historically it carried its own federal tax classification.
Neutral Spirit (GNS)
Neutral spirit, also called grain neutral spirit (GNS), is spirit distilled at or above 190 proof (95% alcohol by volume), so that it is essentially without taste, aroma, or character from the material it was made from. It is the base for vodka, gin, and many blended and flavored spirits.
Stillage (Spent Grain)
Stillage is the residue left in the still after distillation, the spent grain and liquid. Part of the liquid (backset) is often reused, and the solids become animal feed or other byproducts.
Backset (Setback)
Backset, also called setback or stillage backset, is the spent, acidic liquid recovered from the bottom of the still and added to a new mash to lower its pH. It is the basis of the sour mash process.
New-Make Spirit (White Dog)
New-make spirit, also called white dog, is the clear, unaged distillate that comes off the still before it goes into a barrel to mature.
Proofing Down
Proofing down is the process of adding water to high-proof spirit to lower it to a target proof, whether for barrel entry or for bottling. It is calculated precisely to hit the intended proof without overshooting.
Aging, the rickhouse, and everything that happens to the barrel.
Angel's Share
The angel's share is the portion of aging spirit lost to evaporation through the barrel over time, commonly a few percent of volume per year, varying by climate, warehouse position, and barrel.
Rickhouse
A rickhouse (or rackhouse) is the warehouse where barrels of whiskey age. Barrels rest on wooden ricks, and in traditional construction the ricks span vertically across all floors.
Regauge
A regauge is the act of re-measuring a barrel's volume and proof during aging, recording the current contents so loss and value are based on real measurements, not estimates.
Cooperage
Cooperage refers to the craft and facility of making barrels, and to the barrels themselves. A cooper builds, toasts, and chars the oak casks used to age whiskey.
Char Level
Char level describes how deeply the inside of an oak barrel has been burned, graded roughly from #1 (light, about 15 seconds) to #4 (the heavy alligator char, about 55 seconds). It strongly shapes color and flavor.
Barrel Proof
Barrel proof (or cask strength) describes whiskey bottled at or near the proof at which it came out of the barrel, with no water added to bring it down to a standard bottling proof.
Dumping
Dumping is the act of emptying aged spirit out of one or more barrels, typically to bottle or blend it. At the dump the barrel's final volume and proof are measured (regauged).
Bulk Spirits
Bulk spirits are distilled spirits held in containers larger than consumer bottles, such as barrels, totes, or tanks, before bottling. They are tracked in proof gallons rather than cases.
Categories and label terms you see on the bottle.
Bourbon
Bourbon is an American whiskey made from a mashbill of at least 51% corn, distilled to no more than 160 proof, entered into new charred oak barrels at no more than 125 proof, and bottled at no less than 80 proof. It carries no minimum aging period unless labeled straight.
Rye Whiskey
Rye whiskey is an American whiskey made from a mashbill of at least 51% rye grain, distilled to no more than 160 proof, and aged in new charred oak barrels. Like bourbon, straight rye must age at least two years.
Single Barrel
A single-barrel whiskey is bottled from one individual barrel rather than blended from many, so each batch reflects the character of that one cask.
Small Batch
Small batch whiskey is blended from a relatively limited number of selected barrels to achieve a consistent flavor profile. The term is not legally defined, so batch size varies by producer.
What a barrel costs, how it is traced, and how it reaches the shelf.
Cost Per Barrel
Cost per barrel is the fully loaded cost of producing and aging a barrel of spirit: direct materials, the barrel, labor, overhead, storage, and evaporative loss.
Lot Traceability
Lot traceability is the ability to follow a batch of spirit forward and backward across its life, from grain receipt through fermentation, barrels, and bottled lots.
Three-Tier System
The three-tier system is the U.S. alcohol distribution structure that separates producers, distributors (wholesalers), and retailers into distinct licensed tiers, with most sales required to pass through all three.
Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) Shipping
DTC shipping is the sale and shipment of spirits directly from a producer to a consumer, bypassing distributors and retailers. For spirits it is permitted in only a limited and changing set of states, each with its own rules.
Workplace safety and sustainability reporting for distilleries.
TRIR and DART
TRIR (Total Recordable Incident Rate) and DART (Days Away, Restricted, or Transferred rate) are the two core OSHA safety metrics. Both are normalized to a 200,000-hour basis, which represents 100 full-time employees working a year, so rates are comparable between operations of different sizes.
Maximum Allowable Quantity (MAQ)
The Maximum Allowable Quantity (MAQ) is the limit, set by the International Fire Code, on how much of a hazardous material such as a flammable liquid may be present in a single control area before stricter high-hazard (H-occupancy) requirements apply. The base quantities come from IFC Table 5003.1.1.
NFPA 704
NFPA 704 is the standard behind the fire diamond, the four-section placard that communicates the hazards of a material to emergency responders at a glance. It rates health, flammability, and instability from 0 to 4, plus a special-hazard field.
Scope 3 Emissions
Scope 3 emissions are the indirect greenhouse-gas emissions across a company's value chain, everything outside its own operations (Scope 1) and purchased energy (Scope 2). The GHG Protocol organizes them into 15 categories spanning upstream suppliers and downstream products.
Double Materiality
Double materiality is the principle, central to the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the ESRS standards, that a company must assess sustainability topics from two directions: how its operations affect people and the environment (impact materiality) and how sustainability matters affect the company financially (financial materiality).
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