For The Love Of Port

From a local Port loving friend comes this article on Bourbon:

http://www.seattleite.com/booze-alert-bourbon-bum-rush/

I have never tried whiskey of any description apart from two unknown ones (one USA and one Irish) many years ago. I looked up a couple of internet sites to learn a little about Bourbon after reading the link. There must be some fairly rough stuff if it is aged in new barrels for as little as 3 months. Even the 2 to 4 years mentioned in Wikipedia seems extremely short. If it was in an old sherry barrel it might be mellow enough after that time.

I have consumed a rather large amount of whisky in my time. Whisky is made in Scotland. Whiskey is made anywhere else in the world.

Actually Scotch is made in Scotland and Bourbon is made in the USA. The spelling of whisk(e)y is mostly a matter of preference. There are other requirements that have to be met to call it Scotch or Bourbon.

My Bourbon shelf currently has:

Knob Creek Single Barrel
Old Medley 12 year Old
Russell's Reserve Single Barrel Small Batch
Wathen's Single Barrel
Blanton's Original Single Barrel
Old Forester Birthday Bourbon 2013
Four Roses Single Barrel 2013 Limited Edition
Eagle Rare 10 Year Old
Elijah Craig 21 Year Old

And a bottle of Cornelius Applejack (not a bourbon of course)

The article was right on some bourbon's being extremely hard to find.

Nice article--love a good bourbon. One gent from Port Club last year actually did a tasting of bourbons/whiskeys etc. last year instead of port. A phenomenal night with eight different versions---very interesting to taste and compare. Will say pacing and water are even more important than during a port tasting.... ....I took small sips all night until the tasting was completed. Recommend doing it and good for a larger group (with port about 16 per bottle is the max--with bourbon a lot more).

Four Roses is wonderful stuff as is Knob Creek. Like Parker as well (very strong--137 proof).

Michael T wrote:Actually Scotch is made in Scotland and Bourbon is made in the USA. The spelling of whisk(e)y is mostly a matter of preference. There are other requirements that have to be met to call it Scotch or Bourbon.

Actually...
Whiskey is Irish or American (aka bourbon). Irish whiskey is generally triple distilled. American whiskey is generally single distilled. (Exceptions to both, of course.)
Whisky is Scottish (aka scotch) and is generally double distilled.
Canadians can't spell (they use both spellings).

And Bourbon is whiskey, but whiskey is not necessarily Bourbon. Bourbon production is geographically limited to the US, and it can only be made by aging in virgin charred barrels. There is a ready supply of used Bourbon barrels since they can't be used again for Bourbon. Some go to age (non-Bourbon) whiskey and beer, others get turned into furniture or planters.

I like it a bit, and own a Woodford Reserve barrel. Woodford Reserve, however, I think it almost too smooth. Knob Creek, while made by mega producer Jim Beam, is pretty nice.

Eric Menchen wrote:And Bourbon is whiskey, but whiskey is not necessarily Bourbon.

Right, and don't even get me started about why Jack Daniels is not considered a bourbon.

Michael T wrote:

Eric Menchen wrote:And Bourbon is whiskey, but whiskey is not necessarily Bourbon.

Right, and don't even get me started about why Jack Daniels is not considered a bourbon.

Yes, I just listed two of the requirements. There are a bunch of others related to alcohol levels, % corn used in the mash ...

BTW, my math says 4-6% loss to the angel's share gives 12.8 to 20.8 gallons after 23 years, not 6 as the article says.

Bourbon must have a mash bill of at least 51% corn. Rye must be at least 51% rye. Bourbon must also be aged (I believe a minimum of 3 years) in newly charred white Oak barrels. This is why Bourbon tends to be sweeter than other whiskeys, the corn and new oak contribute.
I love good quality Bourbon.

Eric Ifune wrote: Bourbon must also be aged (I believe a minimum of 3 years) in newly charred white Oak barrels.

Bourbon is minimum 2 years in new oak, scotch is 3 years doesn't have to be new barrels.

Michael T wrote:

Eric Menchen wrote:And Bourbon is whiskey, but whiskey is not necessarily Bourbon.

Right, and don't even get me started about why Jack Daniels is not considered a bourbon.

So what's the real story on Jack Daniels?

Jack Daniels meets the basic requirements to be called a straight bourbon but as a final step they filter it through a sugar maple charcoal. They say that disqualifies it as a bourbon so they call it a Tennessee Whiskey. I think it was a marketing ploy to set them apart from all the other bourbons. You are not allowed to add coloring or flavors to a straight bourbon so maybe they are right, to me it is just confusing.

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According to Wikipedia:

Bourbon has no minimum specified duration for its aging period.[6] Products aged for as little as three months are sold as bourbon.[7]

Eric Menchen wrote:According to Wikipedia:

Bourbon has no minimum specified duration for its aging period.[6] Products aged for as little as three months are sold as bourbon.[7]

We are probably just splitting hairs here but you are correct that "bourbon" does not have to age 2 years, if it does it can be called "straight bourbon."

Legal requirements

On May 4, 1964, the United States Congress recognized Bourbon Whiskey as a "distinctive product of the United States." The Federal Standards of Identity for Distilled Spirits (27 C.F.R. 5.22) state that bourbon must meet these requirements:

Bourbon must be made of a grain mixture that is at least 51% corn (maize).[1]
Bourbon must be distilled to no more than 160 (U.S.) proof (80% alcohol by volume).
Neither coloring nor flavoring may be added.
Bourbon must be aged in new, charred oak barrels.[1]
Bourbon must be entered into the barrel at no more than 125 proof (62.5% alcohol by volume).
Bourbon, like other whiskeys, must be bottled at not less than 80 proof (40% alcohol by volume.)
Bourbon that meets the above requirements and has been aged for a minimum of two years may be called Straight Bourbon.[2]
Straight Bourbon aged for a period less than four years must be labeled with the duration of its aging.
If an age is stated on the label, it must be the age of the youngest whiskey in the bottle.
Only whiskey produced in the United States can be called bourbon.[3]

Silly question, but what the heck....If they can't add color* how exactly do they get all the bottles to have the exact same color? As it's impossible if you're blending many many barrels which will all age slightly differently and the wines will not all change color at the same time. So in reality you should end up with some bottles being darker or lighter in color than others.

*I say this as I've been told they add caramel color to give it a consistent appearance. Don't know if that's true or not, but thought I'd ask.

Andy Velebil wrote:Silly question, but what the heck....If they can't add color* how exactly do they get all the bottles to have the exact same color?

They don't all have the same color. Some are much darker and as a general rule the longer they are aged in the barrel the darker they get. Next time you are in a package store look at the bourbon section and see the different colors.

Also if it is a "single barrel" bourbon meaning that those bottles all came from a single barrel and were not mixed with bourbon from another barrel, there could be variation in the color

Sorry I meant same color within the same product. Like jack Daniels. The color of all of them is always the same.

I understand certain things will be different. But how are the major players products all the same color.

Andy Velebil wrote:But how are the major players products all the same color.

Massive amounts of blending?

I assume that something like Jack Daniels is blended across 10000s of casks, by which point the color is going to be pretty uniform even year-to-year. Sure, there is probably noticeable color variation cask-to-cask, but as a whole over 1000 casks it's likely pretty even.