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From the Knowledge Vault

Bourbon

This is the first in a series by Zachary Pearson, Kindred Cocktails Editor. Read them all: Bourbon, Bourbon After the Act, Bourbon: What it is ... and isn't, Making Bourbon, Who Makes My Bourbon, Producer Capsules., Finding the Good Stuff, Tasting the Good Stuff, Neat, Mashbills, Geeky Information and Resources.

Bourbon whiskey has a storied, often apocryphal history, with interesting main characters, complex governmental regulations and a variety of subtypes, each with their own flavor profile. I'll tell a bit of this story, along with some tips for finding and recognizing older or important bottles of Bourbon on liquor store shelves. ;

A lot of foundational stories are only to be taken at face value. And yet there’s a deep history of pioneer families who started out making whiskey as part of the homesteading experience and with enough generations, some of their descendants are still manning stills throughout Kentucky.

While the main focus here will be on Kentucky Bourbon whiskey, much of this information applies to other grain whiskies made in other states as well. Delicious rye whiskey abounds, and a few intrepid people make spirits from wheat or other exotic grains.

So pour a glass of the stuff and sip it as you read.

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Recent Discussion

  • Re Chingon, 1 hour 59 minutes ago danoman89 commented:

    Next time would probably riff with some mezcal and yellow or green chartreuse for benedictine

  • Re Not So Good, 1 day 23 hours ago fmoehl commented:

    I added a q
    1/4 oz. Lime and used a Canvas 12y. ****

  • Re The Sicilian Conquistador, 1 day 14 hours ago Mixed up in Na… commented:

    Used Planteray dark rum. Didn’t have dell’Etna amaro, Lucano, or Abano; B.T. Parsons’s book, AMARO, described Nardini & Segesta as being light on orange notes; flipped a coin; used Nardini: delicious.

  • Re Don Draper's Bitter End, 3 days 18 hours ago Shawn C commented:

    Good find on that early menu with the drink listed as "The bitter end of Don Draper." Yes, switching to a 90 proof bourbon would cut the heat and reduce the rye pepper as well (although Four Roses does have substantial rye in the blend, probably close to Bulleit Bourbon?) I could see deleting the orange liqueur to test the original recipe. Now I wonder if the ratios are correct or if something was reshuffled to add the orange. Was it a 3 oz or 2.75...or something else? Maybe 2 bourbon, 1/2 Averna, 1/2 Fernet Branca? Or 2 : 3/4 : 1/4?

  • Re Don Draper's Bitter End, 4 days 7 hours ago noksagt commented:

    Fair. Archived menus call for Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon, 90-proof. So: original was lower proof and likely to lean sweeter and less spicy than say BIB rye.