My New Obsession - BOURBON (Part II)

So, I promised you my greatest hits. Here goes...

Best Bourbon - Baker's

Distillery: Jim Beam

Proof: 107

Aged: 7 Years

My taste description: Starts off with a definite sweet, caramel smell. Taste is first caramel, then nutty, and finally a bit spicy.

Finish: Smooth and sweet.

Final thoughts: Had my doubts about Jim Beam, since it's the best-selling bourbon and their white label product is what I mix with Ginger Ale in most cases. But Baker's is serious stuff. So delicious, sweet, and nutty. Apparently it's popular with scotch drinkers because of the nutty characteristics. And the price is right - about $50 for a fifth. I'll be bringing a bottle of this back with me next time I am home in Adams, so find me.

Best Distillery Tour - Woodford Reserve

Woodford takes you through every step of the bourbon process, from cooking the grains, to fermenting, to triple distilling, to barreling, aging, bottling, and labeling. This was a close call because the Maker's Mark tour was very good as well and we got to taste the sour mash and the white dog. But they did not allow us to see the bottling or post-production processes.

Best Barrelhouse - Jim Beam

Maybe because it was our first tour, but something about the Jim Beam barrelhousse was incredible. The smell is amazing, the bluish tint of the mold is breathtaking, and the history sitting in that warehouse is just incredible.

Worst Tour - Wild Turkey

Perhaps because they are in the process of building a brand new distillery and therefore all we got to see was a barrelhouse, and perhaps because it was the coldest and windiest day on the trip, we all felt Wild Turkey offered the worst tour of all. The tour guide was ok, but I think by this point, we knew as much about the bourbon-making process as he did. We also caught him in a fib regarding the charred oak barrels, which he later denied knowing was a fib. Don't f*ck with the Sons of Adams, sir.

Douchiest Tour Mate - Redneck Lady from Maker's Mark Tour

While at Maker's Mark, we had the rare pleasure of a visit from the master distiller - some would have called us star struck. He asked if we had any questions for him, and this lady actually asked him in a very thick southern drawl, "Why does ya'lls bourbon fizz up when I put coke in it. Because the others ain't do that." Once the stunned silence and dropped jaws passed, the master distiller responded with the best possible comeback: "I don't know, I don't put coke in mine." Great answer, sir.

Best Bourbon Tasting Experience - Heaven Hill

Believe it or not, Heaven Hill, maker of such mediocre bourbons as Evan Williams black label and Elijah Craig, had the best tasting. Not only because they let us sample the Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage, which has a surprisingly long and graceful finish, despite it's quick spiciness and smokiness, and the Elijah Craig 18 year Single Barrel, which is so complex and sweet that it could almost be compared to a cognac, but because the drinking experience was excellent. They house a ridiculously cool barrel-shaped room with a sweet wrap-around bar and high stools where the tasting occurs. They first get your taste and smell senses warmed up by asking you to identify two common scents (such as rosemary) blindly and apply that warm up to the real bourbon. We tasted the bourbon first neat, then with a few drop of water, and the difference was spectacular. I definitely recommend adding water to these bourbons if you ever have the pleasure. Pretty amazing stuff.

Best Grounds - Maker's Mark

My dad, basically a professional gardener and groundskeeper, would love this place. The grounds were gorgeous and in great shape, despite the wet and cold weather.

My New Obsession - April 2nd - BOURBON (Part I)

Well, it's not exactly a new obsession, but I finally THINK I understand the ins and outs and all of the complexities of this sweet, sinful spirit.

See, I just spent about a week with my two best buds driving through the Blue Grass hills of Kentucky along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail - a stretch of about 70 miles just south and east of Louisville - that is home to dozens of large and small distilleries that are responsible for producing 98% of the world's bourbon. We toured 7 separate distilleries and of course tasted their best offerings at every stop. Here's a rundown of what we learned, followed by my assessment of some of my favorite hits.

What is Bourbon?

Bourbon is the only true AMERICAN spirit. In 1964, Congress passed a bill naming bourbon the country's only native spirit. To be considered a straight bourbon whiskey, the spirit must fit the following criteria:

1) Bourbon must be produced in the USA. Kentucky straight bourbon must, obviously, be produced in Kentucky.

2) Bourbon must contain at least 51% corn. Most bourbon contains 70-80% corn, with the remaining ingredients being wheat or rye, and malted barley. Basically the only wheat bourbons are Makers Mark, Buffalo Trace, and Rebel Yell. Wheat bourbons are smoother than rye bourbons (think wheat bread vs. rye bread). The remaining bourbons are rye bourbons, which give the spirit it's spicy characteristics.

3) Bourbon must be pulled out of the still at no more than 160 proof. Once the recipe is assembled (what percent corn, what percent wheat or rye, and what percent malted barley), each grain is heated separately (since each one will cook at a specific temperature) and then combined. To this combination, yeast is then added. The entire concoction is called the mash, or sour mash. The yeast is allowed to work it's magic in a fermenter for anywhere from 3-6 days. Once the fermenting action is done, the mixture is distilled and the alcohol pulled out. The white liquor that is removed is called "white dog," or in layman's terms "moonshine." It's this white mixture that must not exceed 160 proof. White dog is pure whiskey. It's clear and very potent. We got to taste some at Maker's Mark and at Buffalo Trace. It would put hair on anyone's chest.

4) Bourbon must be put into the barrel at no more than 125 proof. Since "white dog" needs to be pulled from the still at 160 proof, but barrelled at 125, obviously you need to cut it with something. Kentucky sits on thousands of underground limestone springs and the rivers running through the state contain pure, limestone-filtered water. This water is perfect for bourbon since it contains no iron and is very clean of other impurities. This water is added to the white dog to cut the whiskey to 125 before it enters the barrels.

5) Bournon must contain NO ADDITIVES. Jack Daniels is a whiskey, not a straight bourbon, because their whiskey is filtered through maple wood chips before it hits the barrels.

6) Bourbon must be aged a minimum of 2 years in virgin, charred oak barrels. Typically, white oak is used because of the tradition of bourbon and the availability of materials. The whiskey is dumped into the charred barrels and are allowed to sit in them for a minimum of two years. Since the barrels are charred, the combination of the char and the wood are what give bourbon it's characteristic red/brown color. The bourbon seeps into the follicles of the wood and takes on the taste of the oak and the wood sugars that are pulled out upon charring. The Kentucky climate is perfect for this action, since in heat (hot summers), the wood will expand and open it's pores, allowing the bourbon into the wood, and in cold temperatures (frigid winters), contract and push the bourbon back out.

The barrels are stored in barrelhouses or warehouses of varying sizes. Some barrelhouses we saw, such as Jim Beam and Wild Turkey, were 7-9 stories tall holding 200,000-300,000 barrels of whiskey. Others were only one story tall - Four Roses, which could hold 25,000-30,000 barrels of whiskey. Some distilleries feel that rotating the barrels from high stories (where it's warmest) to lower stories (where it's coldest) helps the bourbon age consistently. Makers Mark rotates it's barrels. Others, such as Jim Beam, store their barrels in an X pattern, meaning barrels of the same year will be placed all over the warehouse, then combined before bottling.

For these reasons, the key take away we took was "All bourbon is whiskey, but not all whiskey is bourbon."

Stay tuned for Part II tomorrow!