The Tennessee Whiskey War

WSJ:

On the one side is Brown-Forman Corp., maker of the top-selling American whiskey, Jack Daniel's.
At the company's urging, Tennessee passed legislation last year requiring anything labeled "Tennessee Whiskey'' not just to be made in the state, but also to be made from at least 51% corn, filtered through maple charcoal and aged in new, charred oak barrels.
As it happens, that is the recipe for Jack Daniel's, which traces its Tennessee roots back more than a century and today sells more than 90% of the state's whiskey.
On the other side of this feud is U.K.-based Diageo PLC, the world's largest liquor company and owner of George Dickel, the distant No. 2 Tennessee Whiskey. It is lobbying Tennessee lawmakers to relax the rules so area distillers don't have to copy Jack Daniel's.
Some small craft distillers in Tennessee also say they want to be free to experiment and complain new wood barrels are in short supply amid growing thirst for American whiskey here and abroad.
Legislators in Nashville plan to debate axing some of the rules Tuesday in House and Senate committees ahead of possible floor votes.
Proposed amendments include rolling back the requirements on new barrels and maple charcoal filtering.Brown-Forman—which is based in Kentucky—is casting the debate in near-apocalyptic terms, saying in a news release Friday that Tennessee Whiskey was "under attack
."It accused Diageo of trying to undermine the designation by watering down regulations that would "dramatically diminish the quality and integrity'' of Tennessee Whiskey and make it inferior to bourbon.
Bourbon, the most famous type of American whiskey, is made with a recipe similar to Jack Daniel's. Under longstanding federal regulations, any whiskey labeled "bourbon'' must be distilled in the U.S. using at least 51% corn and aged in new oak barrels that have been charred. Unlike Tennessee Whiskey, bourbon doesn't require maple charcoal filtering. It can also be made in any state, although more than 90% of bourbon is produced in Kentucky.
There is no federal regulation governing the term "Tennessee Whiskey.''

According to Wikipedia, NAFTA regulations define Tennessee whiskey as straight bourbon whiskey produced in Tennessee.  That would make Diageo's case a little more difficult.

Whatever the case, I'm sure this, like most other subjects, is well beyond the comprehension of the Tennessee legislature.