Scotch, Tennessee, and bourbon are all brown spirits but every brown spirit isn’t a bourbon or a Scotch. Here is the difference between bourbon and whiskey for your better understanding of brown spirits.
Scotch whiskey is distilled from water and malted barley and conforms to the Scotch Whiskey Order of 1990. Only yeast is used for fermentation and the alcoholic strength must not be more than 94.8% by volume. There aren’t any additive substances used except caramel coloring. The aging period is not less than 3 years.
Tennessee whiskey is a straight bourbon whiskey that is produced only in Tennessee. By law, the spirit that conforms to the North American Free Trade Agreement and also is bound to expose to a column of charcoal chips before maturation.
For a consumer, Scotch whiskey has a character of smoky flavor, bourbon is sweeter, and Tennessee is somehow mellower than bourbon and bears a charcoal taste