Terminology
If you have just joined the world of whiskey or bourbon, you are probably scouring the interwebs trying to connect and find as much information as possible. You see things like BIB (Bottled in Bond) or OWA (Old Weller Antique), then wonder what the heck?
Here are some basic acronyms that will help you get started:
| 1B | Single Barrel |
| 4R | Four Roses (aka FR) |
| 4RYL | Four Roses Yellow Label |
| AB | Abraham Bowman |
| ABV | Alcohol By Volume, expressed as a percentage. Ex. 90% ABV, which is 45 proof. Learn More |
| AE | Angel’s Envy |
| AECS | Angel’s Envy, Cask Strength |
| AHH | A.H. Hirsch |
| AS | Age Stated |
| BF | Brown Foreman |
| BIB | Bottled in Bond (but you knew that already, didn’t you?) |
| BP | Barrel Proof |
| BT | Buffalo Trace |
| BTAC | Buffalo Trace Antique Collection |
| BTEC | Buffalo Trace Experimental Collection |
| CEHT | Colonel E. H. Taylor (aka EHT) |
| CONUS | Continental United States (usually used in reference to shipping) |
| CS | Cask Strength |
| EC | Elijah Craig |
| ECBP | Elijah Craig Barrel Proof |
| EHT | Colonel E. H. Taylor (aka CEHT) |
| ETL | Elmer T. Lee |
| FC | Fighting Cock |
| FR | Four Roses (aka 4R) |
| GD | George Dickel |
| GNS | Grain Neutral Spirits |
| GTS | George T. Stagg (part of the BTAC) |
| HH | Heaven Hill |
| HW | High West |
| JB | Jim Beam |
| JD | Jack Daniels |
| JPS | Jefferson’s Presidential Select |
| LE | Limited Edition |
| Lot B | Van Winkle Special Reserve Lot B |
| M10, M20 | Michter’s 10 Year, Michters 20 Year |
| MM | Makers Mark |
| MWND | Mid-Winter Nights Dram (from High West) |
| NAS | Non-Age Stated |
| OESO, OESF, OESV, OESK, OBSO, OBSF, OBSV, OBSK | These are the Four Roses bourbon recipes. You should try them all. 🙂 Learn More |
| OF | Old Forester (some use it as Old Fitzgerald) |
| OFBB | Old Forester Birthday Bourbon |
| OGD | Old Grand Dad |
| ORVW | Old Rip Van Winkle |
| OS | Old Scout |
| OWA | Old Weller Antique |
| Pf or PF or pf | Proof |
| PVW | Pappy Van Winkle |
| RHF | Rock Hill Farms |
| RHR | Rittenhouse Rye |
| RRR | Russell’s Reserve Rye |
| RY | Rebel Yell |
| SA | Smooth Ambler |
| SMOS | Smooth Ambler Old Scout |
| SAZ | Sazerac |
| SB | Single Barrel (aka 1B) |
| SFTB | Straight from the Barrel ( A Blanton’s international release) |
| SmB | Small Batch |
| THH | Thomas H. Handy (part of the BTAC) |
| VWFRR | Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye |
| W12 | Weller 12 |
| WFE | Willett Family Estate |
| WLW | William Larue Weller (part of the BTAC) |
| WR | Woodford Reserve |
| WT | Wild Turkey |
| WTRB | Wild Turkey Rare Breed |
| YO | Years Old |
All industries and passions have short hand that lessens the effort to share information. But it leaves newbies overloaded and confused. If you are one of the people who posts a ton about bourbon or whiskey, do your fans/readers a favor and write out your acronyms. At the least, do it the first time you use the term. It helps all of us to understand.