With Kentucky being the bourbon capital of the world, it's only fitting that the Bluegrass state is home to the country's oldest distillery.

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95% of Bourbon is Made in Kentucky

Did you know that 95% of bourbon is made in Kentucky? I always thought that for a whiskey to be considered bourbon it had to be made in Kentucky, but it turns out that isn't true. There isn't a law on record saying that bourbon has to be made in Kentucky, but let's be honest, bourbon just tastes better in the Bluegrass State (okay, maybe we're biased).

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The Science Behind Good Bourbon

What's fascinating about Kentucky's bourbon history, is there's actually a scientific reason behind bourbon being made in Kentucky. It turns out the natural resources in Kentucky, make for the perfect combination for a bourbon flavor profile. From the soil being perfect for growing corn, to the limestone aquifers, Kentucky is the perfect area for bourbon. In fact, Kentucky's history with bourbon dates back to the 1700s and it's fascinating. You can read more about Kentucky's history with bourbon, here.

With Kentucky being the bourbon capital of the world, it's only fitting that the oldest distillery in the country would be located there. So what is the oldest distillery in America? That title goes to Buffalo Trace.

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Buffalo Trace Distillery

Located in Franklin County Kentucky is the Buffalo Trace Distillery which is the oldest continuously working distillery in the United States. Buffalo Trace has been around for more than 200 years and even was able to operate through prohibition.

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Many distilleries had to close due to prohibition, but Buffalo Trace was able to continue operating by making whiskey for "medicinal purposes."

In Kentucky, buffalo carved a pathway that was followed by America's early pioneers. On the spot where the buffalo migration route crossed the Kentucky River, we've been making legendary bourbon whiskey for over 200 years. Buffalo Trace is the oldest continuously operating distillery in America. During Prohibition the distillery was even permitted to remain operational, to make whiskey for "medicinal purposes".

You can learn more about Buffalo Trace's history through their website, here. Buffalo Trace is open for tours and tastings, you can learn more about those, here.

LOOK: Best Beers From Every State

To find the best beer in each state and Washington D.C., Stacker analyzed January 2020 data from BeerAdvocate, a website that gathers user scores for beer in real-time. BeerAdvocate makes its determinations by compiling consumer ratings for all 50 states and Washington D.C. and applying a weighted rank to each. The weighted rank pulls the beer toward the list's average based on the number of ratings it has and aims to allow lesser-known beers to increase in rank. Only beers with at least 10 rankings to be considered; we took it a step further to only include beers with at least 100 user rankings in our gallery. Keep reading to find out what the best beer is in each of the 50 states and Washington D.C.

Gallery Credit: Angela Underwood