We're all used to whiskey being made from barley, corn, rye, and even wheat. But what about rice? 
Rice is the world's third most abundant cereal crop, and yet historically, you would be hard-pressed to find a whiskey distiller that used it as the base of their spirits outside of Japan. 
But recently, that has all changed. Distillers like Louisiana-based JT Meleck are amongst a small number of US producers who are crafting a contemporary image of what rice whiskey can offer. 
And the subsequent liquid is distinctly different from what is being created by their Japanese counterparts. 
To find out more, we talked to Mike Fruge from JT Meleck about fermentation, flavour and the future of rice in a country where corn is king.