This spirit dwells in sugar maple charcoal, the Lincoln County Process, before entering the new, charred white oak barrels for aging. We use the Lincoln County Process quite a bit differently than others. Since our new whiskey is only "hearts", we don't need to use charcoal filtering to remove impurities or take a harsh edge off. Instead, we allow our spirits to acquire a unique, sweet maple smokiness from the charcoal. This signature step serves to differentiate Clayton James Tennessee Whiskey from all other Tennessee Whiskies.