FOOD & DRINK
BOURBON IS HAVING ITS DAY! PERFECT QUAFFS FOR DERBY DAY (OR ANY DAY) Text & Photos by Jenny Peters
ith the Kentucky Derby Festival (held in Louisville throughout this month) and the Derby (on May 7th), our thoughts turn to Kentucky bourbon. That uniquely American cornbased brown spirit invented in the 1700s is still made almost exclusively in Kentucky and is having its heyday right now. “There are many reasons that bourbon has exploded in popularity,” explains Gathan Borden, a founding member of the Kentucky Black Bourbon Guild and vice president of marketing for VisitLEX (Lexington, Kentucky). “Don Draper in Mad Men was a bourbon guy, which helped get the idea into the cocktail culture. That’s been on the rise, with mixologists in bars are doing all kinds of things with bourbon cocktails nowadays, so that’s created an approachable way for people to enjoy bourbon.” With 95 percent of all bourbons produced being made in Kentucky, look no further than that state with the limestone water (the secret ingredient that makes the bourbon so good) for the best that money can buy. In addition, Kentucky bourbon is required to have a minimum of 51 percent corn to be designated as bourbon.
A RECIPE FOR SUCCESS
Often wheat, malted barley, and rye are also included in the “mash bill” (the mix of cooked and fermented grains) that begins making bourbon. Mash bill recipes are closely guarded secrets, and a master distiller chooses the combination. The grains go on through the distilling process, and the resulting alcohol goes into the required charred white oak barrels (to be called Kentucky bourbon). The bourbon must be aged for at least two years before it can be legally bottled, and many spend much more time in the barrel before release.
THE NOSE KNOWS
Choosing a favorite bourbon is a lot like choosing a favorite wine; in other words, it takes a lot of tasting to discover what your palate prefers. For example, the corn in bourbon makes the liquor taste sweeter, while adding wheat intensifies that sweet base and adds bread notes. Well-known bourbons that lean into the wheat include Buffalo Trace, Pappy Van Winkle, and Maker’s Mark. Adding rye instead causes the bourbon to take on a spicy aspect and are often called “high-rye” bourbon when made with 18 percent or more rye; think Basil Hayden, Bulleit, Old Forester Classic, and Woodford Reserve.
58 | OUR CITY, YOUR LIFE | APRIL 2022