How to drink bourbon

Whiskey has always been an integral part of the life of farmers. This is not just alcohol, but also a loyal companion who went through a war with them. It was often used as a disinfectant for treating cuts or bullet wounds.

What is bourbon

Bourbon is a separate type of whiskey, which is a true American product. Most of it is made in Kentucky, but it can also be made in any other city. This drink, like other whiskeys, is a product of distillation, its strength is usually equal to 40 degrees. Any whiskey is made from grain, after which it is aged for a certain time in oak barrels. Then it is bottled.

Bourbon differs from other whiskeys in that it is made from corn, which is about half the raw material. The remainder is oats or rye. Bourbon must be aged in new barrels that have never been used before. The minimum aging period of this drink is 2 years. Other types of whiskey often include dyes, but they are not added to bourbon in principle.

However, for whiskey to become bourbon, he needs to go through another procedure. Someone says that this was an intervention of higher forces, since it was the priest who first guessed to put whiskey in a singed barrel. In fact, it was an incredible accident. He got barrels of fish. To get rid of germs and remove the fishy smell, straw was put inside and set on fire. This method of processing barrels made it possible to store any products in them after fish. Spilling whiskey into barrels, the traders went to the nearest market, which they needed to get at least 3 months. They tightly closed the barrels and set off on the road, hoping to keep the product intact. But upon arrival, they found that the drink acquired not only an amazing aroma, but also an unusual taste.

Now bourbon has a mild flavor, but then it was completely different. People called it fire water and did not pursue softness. It was important for them that the drink helped them live the next day in a battle with the indigenous tribes of the Indians. The life of people could not be called easy, so this drink fit perfectly into that setting.

Famous brands

There are several most popular manufacturers of this drink:

1. Jim Beam. Perhaps this is the most famous producer of bourbon. The first batch was made in 1795, and the manufacturer could not even think that in the future he would see such a stunning success. Many experts are sure that the yeast prepared according to a special recipe is the main secret to the success of this drink. This recipe is still used in production.
2. Maker’s Mark. This bourbon is a premium drink. Every year it is produced in a limited edition, not more than 19 barrels. The bourbon plant was built in 1840, but the first bottle was sold only in 1958. Manufacturers guarantee quality and come up with a special sign of authenticity in the form of wax falling from the bottle cap.
3. Blanton’s. This drink is created with almost bare hands. It does not contain any additives, it is immediately bottled in barrels, and after aging - directly into bottles. To prepare this drink use only the best grades of grains. Bottling occurs only after the master has personally ascertained the readiness of the drink. About 250 bottles are filled from one barrel.
4. Wild Turkey. This drink has at least 51% corn. The rest is occupied by other cereals.This gives the drink a unique taste. This bourbon is aged in barrels for at least 6 years, while its strength is 50 degrees. However, such a fortress is found only in the USA; export products contain no more than 43% alcohol. Production began in 1869, and after 20 years was a huge success.
5. Woodford Reserve. This drink began to be produced in 1812 in limited quantities, but something did not work out for the previous owners, and after dizzying success they were expected to decline. Brown-Forman bought the company in 1995, and production has been resumed since then. This bourbon belongs to the premium class and is aged for at least 6 years.
6. Four Roses. Despite the fact that this drink is made in the USA, local residents practically do not know about it. The fact is that it is bottled in Scotland. Around the middle of the last century, products were mainly exported. It began to be produced back in 1860, but the trademark was only registered after 30 years. The current owner is trying hard to make this drink popular again in the USA.

What is the difference between bourbon and whiskey and scotch tape

It’s not so easy to understand alcohol products. A huge number of names and manufacturers can confuse anyone. In fact, bourbon and scotch tape are also whiskey, but a slightly different look. Whiskey is obtained by distillation of grain alcohol. Producers take grains, then add sugar and yeast to them. Then a chemical reaction occurs, the result of which is a kind of mash. Then it is distilled, depending on the variety, the product is diluted with water and poured into barrels to hold the drink.

Bourbon is an American type of whiskey that is made from corn kernels. Their number should not be less than 51%. Moreover, the alcohol content in the finished drink ranges from 40 to 45%. Such a drink is aged for at least two years in barrels burnt from the inside. This cooking technology gives the product a unique taste and aroma. According to the law, only a drink prepared in the USA can be called bourbon, although in Russian any drink made from corn grains is called such a word.

Scotch is a type of Scotch whiskey that is made according to their culture and traditions. Often it has a shade of smoke, as the raw materials for the drink are dried using peat stoves. The finished product is aged for at least 3 years in oak barrels. By law, a product may be called Scotch tape if it meets a number of requirements. The most important of them says that the product must be made only in Scottish distilleries. To prepare the drink should use water, malt barley and whole grains of other cereals. The law also states that the storage capacity cannot exceed 700 l, and the addition of other substances, except for alcohol caramel and water, is not allowed.

The law sets requirements for the alcohol content in whiskey. For example, the finished product cannot contain less than 40% alcohol. In addition, the drink is required to preserve not only the taste and aroma, but also the color of the raw materials that were used to create the tape.

In Scotland, there are a large number of manufacturers of adhesive tape, but among all Highland with special traditions of the preparation of this drink can be noted. This company is located in the mountains and is one of the most popular and recognized manufacturers of adhesive tape.

Composition and calorie content

Bourbon is considered a low-calorie product, 200-250 kcal per 100 g, so it can be consumed even by people who monitor their weight. In addition, the drink is rich in vitamins of various groups and minerals, adopting all the beneficial substances from corn, which is the main ingredient. This drink contains vitamins B, PP, A. Also, bourbon is rich in iron, magnesium, phosphorus, sodium, calcium, potassium.It contains various antioxidants that prevent the ingress of harmful substances into the body, it used to be used as an antiseptic, treating wounds.

How to drink bourbon

Not all people know how to drink alcoholic beverages correctly, especially for different varieties of whiskey, including bourbon. Before tasting the drink, it is recommended to transfer it into a special transparent vessel. It has thin walls, which allows you to appreciate the noble color of the drink, which it takes for a long exposure in the barrel. After that, you can pour the drink into a glass.

A classic bourbon dish is a wide glass with a thick bottom. You can also drink it from special Scottish tin mugs. It is customary to fill the container by 1/4, but do not immediately proceed to the tasting. First you need to hold the bourbon container in your hand for the drink to warm up. Shake after that - this will allow the drink to open as much as possible. Next, bring the container to the nose and evaluate the aroma of bourbon. After this short ritual, you can drink the drink in small sips.

Each sip needs to be sipped a little, taking a sip, exhale air through the nose. Since bourbon is famous for its aftertaste, it is necessary to make long pauses between sips, which will allow you to fully appreciate it.

It is not recommended to add ice to the drink, but in some cases it is necessary. There is a "white bourbon", the exposure time of which is less than 2 years, it has a sharp taste, therefore, to soften it, add ice.

It is also justified to add ice to drinks that are aged from 4 to 6 years. With this shelf life, the drink already has the necessary taste, but it’s difficult to catch some notes in the general bouquet. If you add ice, it will melt, and water will make it easier to distinguish between them.

What to drink

Drinking bourbon is not recommended, since this will not allow you to fully enjoy its taste. But some people are scared away by the strength of the drink. In such cases, you can drink it with mineral water or natural juices. You can also mix one of these liquids with a drink. In the USA, bourbon cola is sometimes washed down. However, it is worth remembering that only inexpensive varieties of bourbon can be mixed with water or juice. In certain circles, it is considered ignorance to mix long-term bourbon.

What to eat

Since this drink has a high alcohol content, they get intoxicated very quickly. To slow down the process of intoxication a bit, you need to eat bourbon, although this is not always encouraged. For example, in Kentucky, they eat chocolate. This is probably the best flavor combination. These products complement each other perfectly. However, this snack has a negative side. Chocolate quickly kills the aftertaste of bourbon, so it is not recommended to seize expensive varieties, otherwise it will be a waste of money. Another good snack would be crackers without additional flavors. They can soften the sharp taste of short-aged bourbon, while not drowning the taste of the drink, so they can be eaten with long-aging varieties. You can also jam bourbon with meat, vegetables or nuts. The only requirement for dishes is the lack of salt and seasoning.

This drink goes very well with fruits, especially sweet ones. Oddly enough, but most bourbon cocktails require the addition of sugar. You can also soften the taste of the drink with a couple of sips of milk.

There are several dishes that absolutely can not be eaten with bourbon. First of all, these are spicy dishes that destroy the taste of the drink. It is also not recommended to eat cheese or fish.

Bourbon cocktails: recipes

Of course, bourbon is good in itself, but because of the high strength, some people cannot drink it in its pure form. Other people want variety, so cocktails are a great option. Bartenders immediately fell in love with this drink, because it has a pronounced taste and aroma, which makes it an ideal ingredient for cocktails.

Cherry Bomb

Making this cocktail is easy. It will take 40 ml of long-aged bourbon, 30 ml of cherry cocktail, 1-2 drops of egg white. Crush the ice, pour it into the shaker, pour all the ingredients there, close tightly and mix for at least 10 seconds. Carefully separate the ice from the liquid, pour the mixture into a glass and garnish with a slice of lemon. Also, as a decoration, you can use a sprig of cherry.

Mint Julep

To prepare this cocktail, you will need a glass of bourbon, a few mint leaves and 1-2 teaspoons of sugar syrup. Pour sugar syrup into a metal glass, which is used for pre-mixing drinks. Add mint leaves to it and grind them into the pulp with syrup. Then fill 1/2 cup with crushed ice, then pour half of the bourbon there. Mix thoroughly, fill the glass with ice to the top and pour out the remaining bourbon. One sprig of mint can be left for decoration.

Manhattan

This recipe can be called a classic. It is believed that it was coined in 1870 in the eponymous bar, where a ceremony was held in honor of Tilden - one of the presidential candidates. However, there are references to earlier preparations for such a cocktail, so this is just a beautiful legend.

For preparation, you will need 50 ml of bourbon, 25 ml of red vermouth, one cherry and 2-3 drops of angostura. Mix all ingredients in a shaker, add ice and mix thoroughly. Pour the cocktail into a pre-chilled glass; before serving, garnish with a berry.

Gangster

This cocktail allows you to maximize the taste of bourbon. To prepare it, you need 60 ml of long-aged bourbon, Maker’s Mark, 15 ml of honey liquor, 5 ml of lemon juice, a third of a teaspoon of bitter and ice are ideal. Put ice in a glass. In a separate container, mix the remaining ingredients, mix thoroughly and strain into a glass. Serve with lemon peel.

Milk and Egg Shake

To prepare it, you need a third glass of long-aged bourbon, 6 yolks, a third glass of sugar, a glass of milk, 15 g of vanillin, a quarter teaspoon of nutmeg. Beat the yolks thoroughly with sugar in a water bath. Slowly pour a third of the milk into the mixture and mix until it becomes thick. Then remove the mixture from the water bath and pour into another container. Now you can pour the rest of the milk into a cocktail, add vanillin and ground nutmeg. Stir the mixture thoroughly and refrigerate for at least 8 hours. Garnish with grated chocolate or cinnamon sticks before serving.

Al capone

This cocktail is perfect for home parties. To prepare it, you need to take 120 ml of bourbon, 60 ml of any vermouth, 40 ml of sugar syrup, ice. Place all the ingredients in a shaker and beat thoroughly, then strain into a glass and garnish with an orange slice on top.

Orange blast

This cocktail is the best orange drink. To prepare it, you need to take 100 ml of orange juice, 40 ml of bourbon, sugar, ice, an orange slice, several sprigs of mint. Put ice in a glass, then moisten the rim a little with water and sprinkle it with sugar. Mix orange juice with bourbon in a shaker, add a few mint leaves, ice and mix well. Strain the liquid into a glass, decorate the drink with an orange slice and a mint branch. A cocktail will look very beautiful if you make a hole in the peel of an orange and insert mint there.

Bourbon with cola

This is a classic American cocktail recipe. It will take 50 ml of bourbon, 100 ml of cola and ice. Fill the glass with ice cubes to the top, pour bourbon there, then Coke. Mix gently. Decoration is usually not required, but a slice of lemon can be used.

Rating of the best bourbons

Each bourbon is good in its own way, but among all the brands there are several of the best that have long established themselves and are constantly in the tops:

• Jim Beam;
• Knob Creek;
• Maker’s Mark;
• Pappy Van Winkle;
• Old Forester;
• Old crow

How to make bourbon at home

Kentucky residents are sure that the best thing that has happened with corn is bourbon. A home-made drink made from corn grains cannot be called such, but if you try hard, it will not be inferior in the quality of products made in the USA. You do not need to be the owner of a large enterprise to make good bourbon, because, in fact, it is ordinary moonshine.

Since the main component of bourbon is corn, special attention should be paid to the choice of raw materials. In large quantities, you can find whole grains of corn in the markets, but the quality of the products there leaves much to be desired, and a drink prepared from this raw material will be able to get a maximum rating of “mediocre”. Corn raw materials in supermarkets are much better, although whole grains are not sold there, but there is corn grits and premium flour.

The second component in importance can be called malt. It is he who turns starch into sugar. Only unfermented types of malt can be used. There are no special complaints to malt, it can be from any cereal crop, however, only light varieties should be selected.

It is also undesirable to use beer varieties of malt, because due to the drying technology, a small part of the enzymes dies. For beer, this is not critical, but for bourbon this is a problem. It is best to germinate the malt yourself.

It should be remembered that in bourbon should be at least 51% of corn. You can increase indicators, but not decrease. The remainder need not be completely filled with malt. For example, you can add 24% wheat malt and 25% barley. Everyone will choose the ingredients to their taste, because this is what gives the whiskey an individuality. Once the composition is determined, you can start cooking:

1. First release starch from corn cells. It is easy to do this by boiling raw materials at a temperature of 72 degrees or more. The remaining crops also need to be filled up with corn. As soon as the mass warms up to 72 degrees, you can add a small amount of malt, it will dilute the mixture.
2. Now fill the raw materials with water and cook. Speaking of water, it is very important to choose the right amount of fluid. The ideal ratio is 1 part of raw materials to 4 parts of water. So, fill the raw materials with water and heat to 72 degrees, after which add about 10% of malt. It is advisable to grind the malt first. Next, cook the wort for 120 minutes at a temperature of 100 degrees. Throughout the cooking process, it is important to constantly stir the wort.
3. After 2 hours, lower the liquid temperature to 60 degrees, then add the rest of the malt. At this stage, temperature plays a very important role. If it is higher than indicated, then the enzymes may die, lower - the malting process can be delayed. Therefore, it is recommended to use an accurate thermometer. Now comes a very important stage in the preparation of the drink. Within 120 minutes you need to maintain the temperature of the wort at around 60 degrees. Its increase is allowed by a maximum of 5–7 degrees. This period is needed to convert starch into sugar.
4. Now add the yeast. It is important to remember that they work effectively at temperatures from 20 to 30 degrees, so it is important to cool the liquid to these values. For 10 l of liquid, 100 g of yeast will be enough, and if it is dry, then 20 g will be enough. After adding the yeast, the fermentation process will begin, which usually takes no more than 4 days. At this time, you need to put the mash in a secluded place.
5. For the next stage, a moonshine will be required. Pour the liquid through a gauze filter into a distillation cube. This is done to remove lumps and impurities. To obtain the desired result, double distillation is required. The first distillation does not require fractionation; the output should be a product with a strength of about 30%. Dilute the resulting mash with water to a strength of 16–18%.It is important to use clean water, in order to obtain an ideal result, it is recommended to additionally filter using activated carbon. The second distillation should take place over low heat. It is important to select the "head". The first 100-150 ml of mash is called heads, they should never be consumed, since they contain substances hazardous to health. Finish the collection of mash is necessary when the strength of the distilled liquid drops below 45%, these are the so-called “tails”. As a result, after distillation, a liquid with a strength of 50-60 degrees should be obtained, it must be diluted with water to 40–45 and left to infuse for 2-3 days. If in the future the drink will be aged in a damp basement, then it is not necessary to dilute it.
6. Now the longest stage remains - aging in baked barrels under bourbon. Manufacturers often carry out additional filtering using maple coal, and then pour the drink into barrels. The minimum exposure time is 2 years, but the longer, the richer and softer the taste of the product becomes.

Barrels are burned from the inside, for this they put straw and set fire to them. Such a barrel gives the drink not only taste, but also color, so there is no need to put caramel in addition. It is important to use only barrels made of oak.

The drink itself is unpretentious, some manufacturers do not stand it in the cellars, but in ordinary warehouses, where it is hot in summer and cold in winter. Therefore, you can withstand bourbon even in an apartment. Also, do not forget that industrial barrels have volumes of up to 2,000 liters, so the drink is refined for a long time in them. Home aging may take less time, as barrels of 5–15 l will be used.

The benefits and harms of bourbon

Bourbon has absorbed the best of corn kernels, so this drink is healthy. In small quantities, it is able to dilate blood vessels, lowering blood pressure. It also prevents the development of cardiovascular disease.

There are a large number of medicinal tinctures, the basis of which is bourbon. Such tinctures help to cope with insomnia, arrhythmia and even tachycardia. The substances contained in it will be useful to people with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, they are able to treat indigestion and constipation. Bourbon relieves tension of the nervous system and fatigue.

Small doses of bourbon daily can help with gallbladder problems. The drink has a beneficial effect on bile, diluting it and lowering viscosity. He also improves her color.

Due to its antiseptic properties, bourbon is an excellent anti-sore throat. It allows you to relieve inflammation and destroys germs in the throat. To prepare the treatment mixture, you need to mix 1 tbsp. a spoonful of bourbon with a glass of warm water. Gargle with a ready-made mixture in the morning, afternoon and evening.

In the treatment of bronchitis and pneumonia, bourbon has also been used. Tincture with nuts allows you to perfectly cope with these ailments, and with beets - to relieve muscle fatigue, restoring strength after heavy physical exertion.

However, such a healthy drink is not without drawbacks. For example, it contains a large amount of tannin and furfural, so excessive consumption of the drink threatens with strong alcohol intoxication. Even in ordinary vodka there are more than 30 times less of them, so you need to drink bourbon wisely.

It is also worth abandoning bourbon in exacerbation of chronic diseases. You can not drink it to pregnant women and nursing mothers.

Interesting facts about bourbon

1. Bourbon is a county in Kentucky where this type of whiskey was originally produced. People asked if the merchants still had that bourbon, and this name was fixed for the drink.
2. Kentucky has a large number of bourbon producers. The total number of barrels in their storage facilities is approximately 5 million. Their total value exceeded $ 2 billion.
3. Since 2007, in the United States, September has been considered the national month of bourbon.
4. According to statistics in the United States, more than half of the exported alcohol is bourbon.
5. In the middle of the last century, the US Congress called bourbon the country's main drink and national treasure. At the same time, standards were introduced by which whiskey can be called bourbon. The main requirement is that the drink must be produced in the United States.

Bourbon photo