In this article, Jeremy White discusses Bourbon from the Bluegrass Gentlemen who know it best…

I just returned from a week in Las Vegas, where I alternated between the craps table and the poker room, depending on my mood. But one thing was constant, regardless of where I sat: The drink in my hand was a Whiskey Sour.

Now I feel like an idiot. Because I never requested a specific whiskey, I likely was given a splash of what the bartender had on the bottom shelf.
It may not have come from Kentucky, and it probably wasn’t bourbon. Truth be told, I’m typically a wine drinker — I understand it, therefore I appreciate it. But that may soon change, because I just had the luxury of learning about bourbon from three of the most brilliant aficionados in the Commonwealth of Kentucky (and the world, no doubt). Though my education is far from complete, it’s certainly leaps and bounds above where it was just a few days ago. Which is why I regret the Whiskey Sour.

My first mistake was not specifying that I wanted bourbon. As I’ve learned recently, all bourbon is whiskey, but not all whiskey is bourbon. Don’t be confused by that. The word bourbon, as I was told by Bernie Lubbers, a real-life Whiskey Professor for Knob Creek (yes, that’s his job title — check out the “What’s it Like” column on page 32), is essentially “a quality stamp.” To qualify as a bourbon, the whiskey has to meet certain criteria. First and foremost, it has to be made in the United States, otherwise it can’t be sold here with the word “bourbon” on the label. Beyond that, certain ingredients — and only certain ingredients — are permissible. Bourbon contains just five basic components consisting of water, corn, malted barley, yeast and either rye or wheat, depending on whether the distiller is aiming for a spicier or mellower, sweeter finished product. Some consider wood a sixth component, which, though not technically an ingredient, is paramount … more on that later. Most bourbon makers use rye, while some, like Julian Van Winkle III of Old Rip Van Winkle, prefer wheat.

“Wheat doesn’t pick up quite as much oak,” Van Winkle explains. “It’s like when you taste wheat bread versus rye bread. On the tongue, rye is more spicy, where wheat is sweeter and softer.”

Regardless of whether the chosen grain is wheat or rye, bourbon has to have a minimum content of 51 percent corn in a mash form, though it can’t exceed 79 percent corn. It has to be aged in a new, charred-oak barrel and can’t be placed in the wooden container at more than 125 proof. Additionally, it has to be distilled at 160 proof or below. Finally, no coloring or flavoring of any type can be added.

The two different proofs just mentioned are confusing. But there’s a reason for this, explains Lubbers: “You have to store it at no more than 125 proof because of what happens to it in the barrel. Over time, the water and alcohol molecules evaporate, but they evaporate at different rates. So some of your barrels will go up in proof.” If a barrel goes over 160 proof (which is an 80-percent alcohol content by volume), then, by U.S. law, it can’t be distilled into bourbon.

Distillation is a complex, highly scientific separation process that we shouldn’t even begin to tackle here. Do yourself a favor next time you find yourself with some free time on your hands, though, and visit a Kentucky distillery. You’ll leave with a newfound appreciation of what’s in your favorite bottle! Check out www.kybourbontrail.com for more information.

Now, back to the wood. As previously stated, only new, charred-oak barrels can be used for aging. One of those stipulations is political, while the other is supremely critical.

“The Cooper’s Union is the reason we have to store it in brand new barrels,” explains Lubbers. “They need to make barrels to stay in business. The more bourbon we make, the more barrels they make.”

The importance of a charred barrel, on the other hand, can’t be overlooked. Before aging, says Van Winkle, what “goes in the barrel is clear as water.” And, remember, no coloring or flavoring of any type can be added. That’s where the charred oak — the sixth ingredient? — comes in. As the bourbon ages in the wood, it is helped along by the change in seasons. During summer, the liquid expands and pushes into the soft wood. It passes through the charred layer and picks up color. Inside the oak, it caramelizes with the wood and picks up its sugars. It acquires flavors of vanilla and caramel and maybe citrus, depending on the characteristic of each individual barrel. When winter rolls around, the bourbon contracts. As it withdraws from the wood, it passes through the layer of charring once again. Each time it passes through the char, it gets a little darker. Each time it penetrates the wood, it becomes a little mellower. That’s why older bourbons (most are aged at least four years, though some are aged 25-30 years) are darker in color and more complex than younger ones.

It’s a misconception, by the way, that it must be made in Kentucky to be called bourbon. That said, the Commonwealth is the ideal spot.

Bernie Lubbers, THE Whiskey Professor

“Kentucky is perfect because we have those changes of seasons,” says Lubbers. “You need cold winters and hot summers, and Kentucky has those. But you also need spring and fall, too. They’re very important because that’s when the bourbon has time to relax and sit in the barrel and develop those flavors picked up in the wood.”

There are other factors that give Kentucky a bourbon-making edge as well, such as an ample supply of corn and limestone water from the Mammoth Cave system. “The limestone filters out the iron in the water,” Lubbers says.

While four years is a good benchmark, anything beyond 30 is simply too long, says Van Winkle. “Anything beyond that and you pick up too much char and too much oak,” he explains. “Plus, you lose most of it if it sits in the barrel that long.”

Once bourbon is in the bottle, it’s good for another 20-30 years provided the bottle’s original cap or cork seal isn’t broken, says Van Winkle. But there’s no need to wait that long to drink it. For starters, what’s the point in buying a quality-stamped product if you don’t intend to consume it? Secondly, says Van Winkle, bourbon “really doesn’t change in the bottle like wine.”

So, now that you have an appreciation for bourbon — particularly a fine Kentucky one — how should you go about enjoying it? We figured there was no one better to ask this question than Fred Noe Sr., who just happens to be the great-grandson of Jim Beam himself.

Noe says he personally likes his “with a little ice and water. But that’s not the only way to drink it. It really just depends on your personal taste.” All three of the bourbon experts Southern Gaming interviewed were quick to point out that there is no right or wrong way to enjoy bourbon.

“Drink it the way you like it,” insists Noe. “If you like it on the rocks, that’s great. Or drink it with water, or in cocktails. It’s very versatile. To say there is only one way to drink it would be very close-minded.”

When Van Winkle sips bourbon, how he takes it depends on the age of what’s in the bottle. “If it’s a younger bourbon, I might want to mix it with something,” he says. “If it’s under 20 years old, I’ll probably have it over ice or maybe add a drop or two of water. That helps cool it down a tad. The older ones, I’ll take them neat. They’re more mellow and I don’t want to dilute the flavor.” He’s quick to point out, however, that “how you want to drink it is really up to you and what you like.”

What is important is that you take time to enjoy the bourbon, says Noe. Sure, you can take it in shots, but will you really appreciate the depth and complexity of flavors if you do that?

“Sip it and savor the flavor,” says Noe. “You should smile when you sip a bourbon. It shouldn’t hurt ya.”

Believe it or not, bourbon got its name by accident. Maysville, Ky., was a popular shipping port in the 1800s. Barrels of whiskey made in nearby Bourbon County were sent to Maysville Port, where they were loaded onto vessels that carried them down the Ohio River and then down the Mississippi, where cavalrymen often received them. Since these barrels were stamped with the name “Bourbon” on them — meant to identify them as having come from the county of that name — the whiskey contained within them quickly became known as bourbon.

The history of bourbon is as fascinating as the drink itself. Though not as old as beer or wine, bourbon has been around since the late 1700s (whiskey was being made in Kentucky in the 1600s, for the record).

If you’re newly interested in giving bourbon a try, whiskey professor Bernie Lubbers suggests you start by pairing it with ginger ale and soda water. As your palate develops over the years, the way you take your bourbon will change as well.

“There’s an evolution to it,” says Lubbers. “Bourbon is a big flavor. You can drink it any way you want it, and a lot of people mix it with Coke. But Coke has a lot of sugars and flavors that will cover up and mask the bourbon. Ginger ale has sugar, too, of course, but the ginger ale will actually complement the flavors in the barrel. You might start with ginger ale and soda water, then move on to just soda water. From there you can go to just water, and then eventually to just drinking it on the rocks.”

Fred Noe Sr., meanwhile, offers this advice for beginners: “Don’t be afraid to add water to it. I would say to go to a nice bar and talk to the bartender about it. Start light and work your way up to a more complex bourbon over time. Sip it to enjoy the flavor.”

Finally, says Julian Van Winkle, be picky about your ice. It makes a big difference. “About 90 percent of bars use ice cubes from ice machines,” he says. “When you see a small cube that’s white, that means it’s got a lot of air in it and is going to melt fast and get too watery if you’ve already added some water. You want bigger, colder ice cubes. If you go to a bar and see the bartender chipping ice off a big block, then you know you’re in a bar that knows what it’s doing and understands bourbon.”

_____________________________________________________________________________________

By Jeremy White

Jeremy White is a freelance writer and editor living in southern Indiana. He regularly covers gaming, sports, food and business for a variety of regional and national publications. Recent assignments have ranged from covering U.S. egg exports to profiling National Football League hopefuls at the NFL’s annual scouting combine. He has a degree in creative writing and journalism and frequently visits Las Vegas as well as local Kentuckiana gaming facilities.

Posted May 4th, 2009 under Features Articles, In this Issue. Tags: Bernie Lubbers, Freddy NOe, Jim Beam, Kentucky Bourbon, VanWinkle
RSS 2.0 feed. Leave a response, or trackback.