PUSHING the LIMITS WRITTEN BY GEORGE B. CATALLO
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npopular opinion: Bourbon is getting boring. With the regulations on what makes a bourbon a bourbon, there isn’t a perception of much room for originality these days. And with more and more bourbon hitting the market every day, there is less and less room to stand out. The big area of requirement says bourbon mashbills must be at minimum 51% corn. However, despite this limitation wiggle room can still be found in the mashbill itself. Which means that additional 49% has limitless potential for alternative grains or malting techniques and there can even be room to play with the corn itself.
WHERE THERE’S SMOKE, IT’S ON FIRE! From peated barley in Kings County Peated Bourbon, to cherrywood smoked barley in Woodford Reserve’s Master’s Collection 2017, you’re starting to see smoked grains used in bourbon. That is definitely a category with room to grow. The easiest way to experiment with smoked grains in your bourbon mash would be the barley. It’s usually the minority grain in the bill, so you are more able to keep any smoked character subtle and balanced. It is also possible to smoke your wheat, rye, or even your corn. WWW.ART ISANSP IRITMAG.COM
Some woods to use that play nicely with the character of bourbon are hickory, mesquite, cherry, and pecan. Corn husks, grapevines, and peat work wonderfully as well. Local tree types can also be viable depending on the region. If you have maple, apple, or birch trees around — they work nicely too, and keep your local flavors in your whiskey. Choosing the type of fuel for smoking can be difficult, but there are two ways to go about it. First, you can choose your fuel based on your existing recipe. If your bourbon is higher in rye content, it's usually best to avoid anything spicier or overly bold. You are very much constructing a food dish at this point. Think of a Reuben sandwich. The contents are very savory and, individually, fairly bland. The rye bread is the zing of the dish, which is very balanced for it. Could you imagine how out of balance a spicy chipotle chicken sandwich would be on rye bread? Which brings me to low-rye or wheated recipes. You can up the intensity on a low-rye mash without the flavor becoming overly aggressive. However, with the delicate nature of a wheated mash, you don’t want to overpower the flavors of the whiskey either. Make sure to find your zen. As is always true with any spirit, the objective is balance.
THERE ARE SOME A-MAIZE-ING CORN VARIETALS BEYOND YELLOW! While bourbon must contain at least 51% corn in the mash, there is nothing regulating the type (or types) of corn that can be used. Obviously, yellow corn reigns supreme, but there are some fairly notable exceptions. Woodford Reserve used white corn in a past release from their Master’s Collection, and Balcones Baby Blue uses blue corn. The acclaim and success of both of those products shows the marketplace is receptive to alternative types of corn for use in bourbon. But white and blue certainly aren’t the only options. There are over 200 varieties of heirloom corn in America alone, not to mention all of the central and south American options. Varietals like Bloody Butcher, Hickory King, Oaxacan Green, Black Incan, or the rainbow-colored Glass Gem are all great contenders for mixing up your mash. The thing to remember about heirloom corn is that not all corn is created equal. Each variety will have its own average levels of sugar and starch, making for very different theoretical alcohol yield. Work closely with your grain supplier to be hyper-aware of the specifics
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