Bourbon Glossary: Terms Every Ohio Hunter Should Know

A

Agency Store — A privately owned retail store that operates under contract with OHLQ to sell spirits. Ohio has roughly 577 agency stores across the state. They look and operate like regular liquor stores, but their inventory, pricing, and product availability are all controlled by the state. See our store map to find agency stores near you.

Allocated — A product designation meaning the bottle is distributed in limited quantities. Stores receive small, unpredictable shipments of allocated products rather than being able to reorder freely. Blanton's, Weller, and E.H. Taylor are classic examples in Ohio. Allocated doesn't mean impossible to find — it means you need to be in the right store at the right time. See Exclusive vs. Allocated for the full breakdown.

Age Statement — The number on a label indicating the youngest whiskey in the bottle. A "10 Year" bourbon means every drop spent at least ten years in a barrel. Some excellent bourbons carry no age statement (NAS), which isn't necessarily a negative — it just means the producer chose not to disclose the age.

B

Barrel Proof / Cask Strength — Bourbon bottled at the proof it comes out of the barrel, without adding water to dilute it. Barrel proof bottles are typically between 110 and 140 proof and deliver more intense, concentrated flavors. Booker's, Stagg Jr., and Rare Breed are well-known barrel proof releases available at OHLQ.

Barrel Select / Store Pick — A single barrel chosen by or for a specific retailer. In Ohio, these are often part of the Single Barrel Saturday program. Each pick has a unique flavor profile since no two barrels age identically. Store picks are some of the best values in the OHLQ system.

Bottled-in-Bond (BiB) — A legal designation under the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897. The whiskey must be the product of one distillery, one distilling season, aged at least four years in a federally bonded warehouse, and bottled at exactly 100 proof. It's essentially a government-backed quality standard. E.H. Taylor Small Batch and Old Grand-Dad Bonded are common BiB bottles at OHLQ.

Bourbon — 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 a minimum of 80 proof. It does not have to be made in Kentucky, despite popular belief. Ohio has its own bourbon producers in the OHLQ catalog.

BTAC — Buffalo Trace Antique Collection. An annual release of five ultra-limited bourbons and ryes: George T. Stagg, William Larue Weller, Eagle Rare 17 Year, Thomas H. Handy Sazerac, and Sazerac 18 Year. Distributed through the OHLQ bottle lottery system in Ohio.

Bunker / Bunkering — Stocking up on bottles you love while they're available, anticipating they might become harder to find. A modest bunker is reasonable — buying a backup of your favorite daily sipper is smart. Buying a case of allocated bottles to hoard crosses a line.

C

Chill Filtered — A process where whiskey is cooled and passed through a filter to remove fatty acids and proteins that can cause cloudiness at lower temperatures. It produces a clearer-looking whiskey but can strip out some flavor compounds. See also NCF.

Control State — A state where the government controls the wholesale distribution (and sometimes retail sale) of distilled spirits. Ohio is one of 17 control states. The main benefit for consumers is uniform, state-set pricing with no markups on rare bottles. See OHLQ vs. Other States for how Ohio compares.

D

Delivery Day — The day of the week when a store receives its regular shipment from the OHLQ distribution center. All new products, restocks, and allocated bottles arrive on the delivery truck. Knowing your store's delivery day is essential for hunting. Check our delivery days page or read the full guide.

Drop / Drop Day — The day new or exclusive products are released to stores. In Ohio, drops align with each store's delivery day. The weekly release list from OHLQ tells you what's dropping and where. See How to Read the Weekly Release List.

Dusty Hunting — The practice of searching for old, overlooked, or forgotten bottles sitting on store shelves. In Ohio, dusty hunting is less common than in private-market states since OHLQ's centralized system keeps inventory relatively current. But it's not unheard of — small-town stores occasionally have bottles that have been sitting for years.

E

Exclusive — In Ohio, this means a product made or selected specifically for the OHLQ market. These are bottles you can't buy in other states. OHLQ releases new exclusives weekly. They range from widely available to gone-in-a-day depending on the brand. See Exclusive vs. Allocated.

F

Finish / Secondary Finish — The practice of transferring aged whiskey into a second barrel type for additional maturation. Common finishes include port, sherry, wine, rum, and toasted barrels. The secondary barrel imparts additional flavors on top of the base bourbon's profile. Many OHLQ Exclusives are finished bourbons.

Flipper — Someone who buys allocated or limited bottles at retail with the sole intention of reselling them at a markup on the secondary market. Flipping is frowned upon in the bourbon community and is technically illegal in Ohio since reselling spirits without a license violates state law.

H

Honey Barrel — A single barrel that turned out exceptionally well. The term is used informally by distillers and barrel pickers to describe a barrel whose flavor profile is notably above average. When you hear that a store pick is a "honey barrel," it's high praise.

Hunt List — A personal list of bottles you're actively searching for. Keeping a hunt list helps you stay focused during store visits instead of relying on memory. BHO has a built-in hunt list feature to track your targets.

L

Limit One — A purchase restriction enforced at the register. When OHLQ designates a product as limit one, each customer can buy a single bottle. The restriction is coded into the point-of-sale system and stores are expected to enforce it. See How to Read the Weekly Release List for more on purchase limits.

Lottery — OHLQ's system for distributing ultra-rare bottles like Pappy Van Winkle and BTAC. Hunters register during a limited window, winners are selected randomly, and winners purchase at standard retail price. See our complete lottery guide.

M

Mashbill — The grain recipe used to make a whiskey. Bourbon requires at least 51% corn. The remaining grains — typically rye, wheat, and malted barley in various proportions — shape the whiskey's flavor profile. A high-rye mashbill produces spicier bourbon; a wheated mashbill is typically softer and sweeter.

N

NAS — No Age Statement. A whiskey that doesn't disclose the age of the spirits in the bottle. This isn't inherently good or bad — many excellent bourbons are NAS (Wild Turkey Rare Breed, for example), while others use it to obscure the inclusion of younger whiskey.

NCF — Non-chill filtered. Whiskey that hasn't been chill filtered before bottling, preserving the full range of flavor compounds. NCF bourbons may appear hazy when chilled or when water is added, which is a sign that the oils and fatty acids are intact. Many bourbon enthusiasts specifically seek out NCF expressions.

NDP — Non-distiller producer. A brand that doesn't distill its own whiskey but instead sources it from other distilleries, often blending and bottling under its own label. This isn't a negative — some excellent bourbons come from NDPs. Barton, MGP in Indiana, and other large distilleries supply whiskey to numerous brands you'd recognize.

O

OHLQ — Ohio Liquor, the state's brand for spirits retail and distribution. OHLQ manages the wholesale distribution of all distilled spirits sold in Ohio, sets retail pricing, and oversees the network of agency stores. Their website at ohlq.com publishes the product catalog, weekly releases, and lottery announcements.

P

Product Pulse — OHLQ's email newsletter that announces new products, exclusives, and lottery openings. Signing up is one of the first things any Ohio bourbon hunter should do. It's the most reliable way to hear about releases without checking the website daily.

Proof — A measure of alcohol content equal to twice the ABV (alcohol by volume) percentage. An 80-proof bourbon is 40% ABV. A 100-proof bourbon is 50% ABV. Higher proof generally means more intense flavor, though the relationship isn't perfectly linear.

R

Rye Whiskey — American whiskey made from a mashbill of at least 51% rye grain. Rye tends to be spicier and more assertive than bourbon. Some allocated releases in Ohio — like Sazerac Rye and Thomas H. Handy — are rye whiskeys, not bourbons.

S

Secondary Market — The resale market for bourbon, where bottles trade between individuals at prices well above retail. Operating on the secondary market is technically illegal in Ohio — selling spirits without a license violates state law. Prices on the secondary market are often many multiples of Ohio's state-set retail price, which is precisely why Ohio's system is so valuable.

Single Barrel — Bourbon bottled from one individual barrel rather than blended from multiple barrels. Each single barrel is unique, which means flavor can vary from bottle to bottle even within the same brand and expression.

Single Barrel Saturday (SBS) — OHLQ's program for distributing store-pick single barrel selections. Participating stores receive exclusive barrel picks that typically hit shelves on Saturdays. See our full SBS guide.

Small Batch — Bourbon blended from a select number of barrels, though the term has no legal definition for how many barrels qualify. In practice, small batch means the producer chose specific barrels for their quality or flavor profile rather than blending from the entire warehouse. Four Roses Small Batch and Knob Creek Small Batch are common examples.

T

Tater — Bourbon community slang for an overeager hunter who chases hype over quality, pays secondary-market prices for bottles that don't warrant it, or buys allocated bottles they have no intention of drinking. The term is used with varying degrees of affection. Most experienced hunters will admit they were a tater at some point early on — it's a phase, not a permanent condition.

U

Unicorn — A bottle that's extraordinarily rare and represents the pinnacle of a hunter's wish list. What qualifies as a unicorn is personal — for one hunter it might be Pappy 23, for another it might be a specific vintage of a store pick they missed. The defining feature is that finding one would be a memorable event.

W

Wheated Bourbon — Bourbon that uses wheat instead of rye as the secondary grain in the mashbill. Wheated bourbons are generally softer, sweeter, and rounder than their high-rye counterparts. The Weller lineup and Maker's Mark are the most well-known wheated bourbons in the OHLQ catalog. Pappy Van Winkle is also a wheated bourbon.

While Supplies Last — A product availability designation meaning there's no formal per-customer purchase limit. Bottles are sold first-come-first-served until they're gone. For popular releases, "while supplies last" means the window to buy can be very short. See How to Read the Weekly Release List.